Morrow Mountain Loop Trail
Loop
0.8 miles
Easy
After a long summer with no hiking whatsoever (except Clingman's Dome a couple weeks back) because of the brutally hot weather, and time and money constraints, Kristina and I decided to take the boys to Morrow Mountain since the temperature for the day was to be in the mid-seventies. There was a slight chance of rain, but it looked like a very slight chance. Turns out we were right and never did get rained on. We chose Morrow Mountain because it is relatively close to the house... less than an hour drive. I had never been to Morrow Mountain and didn't know what to expect of a "mountain" in Albemarle, NC. As it happens, Morrow Mountain fits the bill quite nicely, all things considered.
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| Morrow Mountain Trail Map |
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Full size map available at:
http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momo/pics/parkmap.pdf
We left the house about 11:00am. After a stop for lunch at McDonald's in Rockwell, we made our way to the park. Thank God for GPS devices because there was a celebration at Biden Lake and we had to detour around the normal route which was inaccessible due to a large block party.
Once in the park, the road winds all the way to the top of Morrow Mountain. While the mountain itself isn't all that tall (936 ft above sea level and only about 400 feet above the base), it appears mountainous because there's not much else of any height in the area. This is what makes the molehill seem a bit like a mountain. The views go on for miles. Also, once in the trees, it's easy to pretend that you are actually up in the mountains. It has a "mountain" feel to it.
We drove to the top of the mountain and got out to find it quite cool and breezy. The boys and I were warm in our hoodies, but Kristina's long sleeve tshirt left her a bit chilled. I offered my hoodie, but she wouldn't have anything to do with the idea. Once we started hiking, she warmed up quickly.
The first thing we did was walk to the top of the mountain and take a picture of the boys for their peak bagging list.
The we found the start of the Morrow Mountain Loop Trail. This trail starts at the end of the parking area and circles most of the way around the mountain about 30 yards below the road/parking lot, then cuts back uphill to the lower end of the parking lot. And it does all this in 0.8 miles. There's not much to see looking up the hill, but looking out from the mountain provides some nice views. The sky was cloudy the day we were there, so the views were shorter than they would be on a sunny day, but it was still rather nice.
Elijah has not yet hit his stride with the hiking thing. For all his excitement about going, we hadn't gone a 100 yards when he wanted to know if we could take a break and eat something. It seems his favorite trail activities are eating, drinking, and resting... not necessarily in that order. I'm hoping that he'll toughen up by next spring/summer and want to do longer hikes.
About halfway through the trail, there is evidence of a fire that burned a significant part of the South East side of the mountain back in April, 2010. Somehow, I never heard about this fire.
With many of the trees burned and dying, brush was starting to grow up around the sides of the trail. It will take many years for the forest to reclaim that side of the mountain, and I expect in a couple years, unless the rangers keep the brush cut, there won't be many views along that stretch. For now, though, the views there are spectacular (for a 936' mountain).
Just before the trail cuts back and works its way up to the parking area, we stopped at a bridge over a wash out (a drainage ditch for the parking lot) and took a "much needed rest."
Elijah ate an apple while Conner and I explored the rocks in the ditch. They were moderately interested to learn that the indians had used the rocks from Morrow Mountain to make arrow and spear heads. The rock there is Rhyolite which breaks off in thin layers with sharp edges. It's easy to see why they chose to make arrowheads from this rock.
We made our way back to the car and Elijah was SO relieved to have FINALLY made it back. We gave him a juicebox and some cookies. Then he was happy. Life is good....
Imagine if you can, how his little world crashed around him when he found out we were going on ANOTHER HIKE THAT SAME DAY!
(Some pictures in this post were scavenged off the internet. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!)
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