Jumping Off Rock in the Uwharrie National Forest

An early spring Mourning Cloak butterfly along the trail.

The northern most “official” section of the Uwharrie Trail begins at the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead. It then runs south for 19 miles to the 24/27 Trailhead that is about 2 miles east of River Rd. on Hwy 24/27. The popular Uwharrie Trail is well marked with white blazes along its many rocky curves, ridges, peaks and valleys.

To get to the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead you turn onto Orphir Rd. off of Hwy 109 in the crossroad community of Uwharrie and head about 5 miles. You will come to Ant Hill Rd. or the road's other name, Flint Hill Rd. If you take that right onto Ant Hill Rd. and go about 2 miles you will see a small parking lot with a rail fence on your right that is the trailhead.

Jumping Off Rock Outcrop

(to enlarge any picture click on the photo)

Barnes Creek below Jumping Off Rock

To find the actual Jumping Off Rock outcrop go about a quarter mile east of the Jumping Off Rock Trailhead on Ant Hill Rd. and you will notice a pull off area on your left that holds a couple of cars. The outcrop juts out about 40 feet above Barnes Creek.

                                                                              

Barnes Creek (last two photos) from across the street from the pull-off for Jumping Off Rock.

Tuckertown Lake and Bringle Ferry Rd.

High Rock Dam

I was heading today to High Pines Church Rd. near Fiddler’s Creek Rd. in the Uwharrie National Forest to see if I could locate the 290 acre Birkhead property that has been preserved by the Land Trust of Central NC. But I got sidetracked and spent the afternoon wondering around Tuckertown Lake, below the High Rock Lake Dam on the Yadkin River.


Hydro-electric turbine housing on dam

The Yadkin River is still plenty muddy from all of our heavy winter rains that caused significant flooding but I found a few areas where it’s beginning to clear. Often the muddy water from the western sections of the Yadkin gets filter-out in High Rock Lake or Tuckertown Lake while Badin and Tillery stay fairly clear but that sure didn’t happen this winter. Some locals say the water is the muddiest they have ever seen.

There is a short trail from a picnic and fishing area beside the Yadkin Bridge at Bringle Ferry Rd. up and around the High Rock Dam. You can get a real close-up view of the dam, the churning hydro-electric turbines, and a bird’s eye view of the Yadkin as it flows into its Tuckertown basin.


Yadkin/Tuckertown

Some interesting old homes are along and near to Lick Creek Church Rd. where residents took the Bringle Ferry across the Yadkin before there was a bridge and before the dam. Bringle Ferry Rd. runs off of Hwy 8 several miles north of Hwy 49 in the tiny community of Healing Springs in Davidson County.

(Clink on any photo on this blog to enlarge it)


A sitting stone gathers moss

Birkhead Wilderness Area, Tot Hill Trailhead

Rock outcrops on Coolers Knob

Intertwined beech roots

Talbotts Branch

I remain a homeowner in Greensboro and I am still very active with the Guilford County Open Space Committee but I am spending most of my time in the beautiful Uwharrie National Forest, Morrow Mt. State Park and around the eastern end of the Yadkin River that merges with the Uwharrie River to become the Pee Dee. Fishing and hiking in this region are exceptional and I plan many posts about the attractions, activities and history of this special region of NC.

One of the closest Uwharrie National Forest areas to Greensboro is in Randolph County just outside of Asheboro in the Birkhead Wilderness Area.

To find the Birkhead Wilderness, Tot Hill Trailhead that is part of the Uwharrie National Forest drive down Hwy 220/I-73 South out of Greensboro about 23 miles into Asheboro and take the Hwy 64/Hwy 49 exit off of Hwy 220/I-73. Turn right and head away from Asheboro down Hwy. 49 South (Hwy 64 branches off to the right) for about 6 miles and turn left onto Tot Hill Farm Rd. (You will see a Birkhead Wilderness sign for the Tot Hill Trailhead and another sign directing you to Lassiter Mill Rd. and other Birkhead trailheads.) Go about 2 miles (passing the golf course on your right) and you will see on your right the Tot Hill Trailhead with its small gravel parking lot.

A delightful hike of just over a mile that follows the main white blazed trail takes you along Talbotts Branch and up to the top of Coolers Knob Mountain that is one of the higher Uwharrie peaks at 935 feet.

New 450 Acre Tract Preserved for Guilford County

The largest single piece of property recommended for preservation by the Guilford County Open Space Committee was approved by the Guilford County Commissioners at their meeting on Thursday July 23rd.

The 450 acre tract, with deeds going back to the 1850's, will be purchased for $2,292,000 with open space bond funds approved by voters in 2004. The bargain price of $5,093 per acre reflected the ongoing real estate recession and the generosity of the owners -- Hines family members and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

This huge new tract will provide important protection for 2 miles of Reedy Fork Creek and help the water quality in the Haw River as the water flows east. Eventually water quality in Lake Jordan should benefit from this project. This tract may become a secondary route for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and help connect trails from the natural section of Bryan Park to Northeast Park.

The site contains an old cemetery with simple stone markers and some open fields may prove to be ideal for some significant local sustainable farming. The large forest on this property will now be preserved to continue to clean our air.

I will post some pictures soon (I am in the midst of a major move) of this wonderful 450 acre tract that flows in all directions from the intersection of Hines Chapel Rd. and McLeansville Rd.

Saving forests, meadows and wetlands in Guilford County

The photos above are of an American Toad and a Great Blue Heron shoring up its nest for the spring. Both taken last week on the 250 acre Richardon Tract.

The important work of the Guilford County Open Space Committee was reported on today in a fine article by Taft Wireback in the N&R.

Be sure to note the interactive map of the open space sites.

Not as well organized on the N&R web site is the following important info:

WHAT IS OPEN SPACE? “Land in a predominantly undeveloped condition including forests, wetlands, stream corridors, managed meadows and agricultural areas. Land protected by Guilford County as open space is protected in perpetuity and is suitable for native wildlife and plant habitat; water quality protection; natural resource preservation; passive recreation; trails for non-motorized vehicles; ecologically sustainable agriculture; and scientific or educational uses.” — Adopted by Guilford Open Space Committee, July 2007

BENEFITS OF OPEN SPACE: Protecting water quality, Improving air quality, Reducing flood damage, Enhancing economic development, Creating scenic landscape, Saving habitat for plants and wildlife, Restoring water supplies, both below ground and lakes, streams or rivers, Promoting low-impact recreation, Sustaining local farms and agriculture, Connecting people with nature, Preserving a natural legacy for generations to come.

DID YOU KNOW?
North Carolina once had an abundant agrarian landscape, but its farms are vanishing. The state lost 5,500 farms from 2003 through 2006 totaling 300,000 acres, the size of Cleveland County.

The American Water Works Association says that for every 10 percent increase in acres of forest, a community’s cost for water purification drops 20 percent.

Federal regulators estimate it’s at least 20 times more costly to treat contaminated water than to protect from pollution the watershed that supplies it.

North Carolina has 3,300 miles of streams so polluted they do not meet basic clean water standards.

In studying 14 of North Carolina’s 33 state parks, researchers at N.C. State estimated those 14 parks pump more than $195 million a year into the economy.

Living close to a park is good for home values. Houses close to an urban park gain $800 to $2,000 in value. Living near a larger, more rural park adds as much as $11,300.

Guilford County open-space advocates hope to set aside 100 acres of protected open space for every 1,000 residents. Currently, the county has about half that much.

OPEN SPACE ACROSS N.C.
An increasing number of North Carolina cities and counties are putting aside money for open space and park land. Since 2004, 13 cities and counties have passed 16 open-space referendums with a total value of $335.6 million.

GUILFORD'S $38 MILLION
North Carolina has four trust funds that help counties, cities and nonprofit groups preserve open space for the public. Since 1997, those programs have pumped $37.6 million into Guilford County, most of it within the last year.

The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund has provided $33.5 million, about $26 million earmarked for the new Haw River State Park. Other grants from this trust went to smaller city and county parks run by the county, Greensboro, High Point, Gibsonville, Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Stokesdale and Summerfield.

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is aimed at helping state and local government prevent water pollution, often by buying land in watershed areas. It has given $2.6 million to Guilford County, Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority and the nonprofit Haw River Assembly for such purchases across the county.

The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund buys conservation easements, where farm families sell development rights for anything other than farming. It provided $508,000 to the nonprofit, Greensboro-based Piedmont Land Conservancy last year for such purposes.

The Natural Heritage Trust Fund enables state agencies to buy important natural areas. It awarded $1 million last year to Haw River State Park for riverfront property near the park’s environmental education center. Sources: Land for Tomorrow, The Trust for Public Land, Guilford County Open Space Committee

Guilford County Open Space Committee

Thanks to the N&R and Taft Wireback for featuring the Guilford County Open Space Committee in today's 10 Plus column!!

443 Pristine Acres Preserved and Protected

Tonight at the Guilford County Commissioner’s meeting the commissioners approved the purchase of the 250 acre Richardson tract off of Plainfield Rd. near Church St. for $2.56 million. (Click to enlarge map above.) The broadly supported decision by the commissioners, after one and a half years of hard work by the Guilford County Open Space Committee, ensures completion of our goal to preserve 443 acres of beautiful uplands and very sensitive wetlands that flow directly into Lake Townsend. This major project will protect and improve our water quality and our air quality. This project will provide significant protection for trees, plants, waterfowl and animals. This project helps to sooth the eye and the soul.

The State Of NC agreed on Nov. 4th to purchase the adjoining 193 acre Morton tract. The two tracts combine to preserve 443 acres. The state became very interested because the joint purchase of the two tracts provides most of the route for the Mountains to Sea Trail from the Greensboro Watershed Trials to the Haw River State Park. The Richardson family of Vicks Vaporub fame and the Morton family of Grandfather Mountain fame also gifted a significant part of their property for this major conservation project. To make this deal potentially sweeter the Open Space Committee will apply for a grant of around $1.3 million from NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

It was the Guilford County Open Space Committee that conceived and nominated the Haw River State Park in 2001 that now contains around 1500 acres and is growing. In 2006 and 2007 two additional tracts were purchased and preserved by the Open Space Committee and in 2008 we preserved seven new tracts. Not counting our important efforts at the Haw River State Park (that used only state funds) we have now preserved nine tracts of open space in Guilford County that total 725.5 acres. Of the $10 million Open Space Bond Funds approved in 2004 we have now spent (including the Richardson tract) $3.8 million. Over $6 million in funding still remains for additional projects in Guilford County. (Wake County voters overwhelmingly passed an additional $50 million open space bond in 2007 and in Mecklenburg County voters approved an additional $34 million.)