Carolina Beach State Park - Sunset at Oak Toe

SUNSET AT OAK TOE

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence, there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Christopher McCandless

During a quick trip to Carolina Beach during a very hot June, the FBWG and my Faithful Hiking Companion decided to try to catch the sunset at Oak Toe in the Carolina Beach State Park.  We had hiked the park once before.  Carolina Beach State Park 


On that day the trail to two of the park's signature vistas was washed out. 




 This time new trails and decking awaited our visit.  We were not disappointed.  Our first destination was Sugarloaf.

Sugarloaf is an unusual sand dune on the eastern banks of the Cape Fear River which rises 55 feet above sea level.  Amazingly this mound has remained a historical marker since the early mariners noted it on their maps.  Called "Sugarloaf" because it resembled a mound of sugar, the site has been one of historical notoriety. 

From the top of Sugarloaf we got the first of many views of the magnificent Cape Fear River....and the first of many flyovers by the pelicans and seagulls who make the river their home.

On the summit of Sugarloaf was a crooked live oak tree adorned with Spanish moss.  

Scrambling down the riverside of the dune, we soon discovered a special treat left by some previous river rat.... a beach swing!  

My Faithful Hiking Companion eagerly hopped on the swing and soon understood why the previous river rats hung this swing....for the view and the gentle breeze was a welcome relief on a hot summer day.  And the view along the river was something to behold!

The first view was up river towards Oak Toe, you can see the outline of the old trail which traced the shore line.  

Looking down river, you can see the remnants of former Confederate gun positions as the outline of Federal Point appears around the point.  Fort Fisher is just beyond the tree line. 

Leaving the riverside to take up the trail to Oak Toe, required a slog up the deep sand of Sugarloaf.  It was a 
heart thumper for a hot day.  

Leaving Sugarloaf, the sinking sun on the horizon reminded us that we needed to hustle to hike the half mile to Oak Toe in time to catch the sunset.

The trails are all well marked.  The Sugarloaf Trail is the three mile grand loop around the park.  From it you can take spur trails of various lengths.  The trail to Oak Toe is new and begins as nice forest walk to the river side and eventually to a nice observation deck.

The trail along the river allowed us to look back to the Sugarloaf beach.  And looking up river, we got our first of many sunset views.

The trail leaves the river side to cross the edge of a dry grass marsh to access a nice overlook.  Greeting us was the nicest flyover of the day.

Additionally, the Royal Princess, a river tour boat from Wilmington also provided us with a warm welcome. 

The folks on the Royal Princess were on a sunset tour and soon we joined them in watching one of the most spectacular displays of nature I have ever witnessed.  

Watching a sunset is not only visceral....it is also spiritual...if you contemplate the majesty of the moment, your mind has a hard time comprehending what you are seeing.  So I will try to capture the moment for you....enjoy!

SUNSET AT OAK TOE

"Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below. And that means that day and night are linked in a way few things are as there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?"
 - Nicholas Sparks

"The first stab of love is like a sunset, a blaze of color - oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples..." 
 -Anna Godbersen

"Burst of gold on lavender melting into saffron. It's the time of day when the sky looks like it has been spray painted by a graffiti artist."  
      - Mia Kirshner
          

 "Behind us, the sun was setting in a simultaneous congruent withdrawal and the river turned to flame in a quiet duel of gold...it was the old dance of the days in the Carolina marshes...the final signature a ribbon of bullion strung across the tops of water oaks." 
                      -  Pat Conroy      

            "In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence."  -  Robert Lynd.










"Nothing in life is guaranteed. You can't predict how many days you'll have on this Earth, how many more sunsets you'll be here to see.  I want you to make me a promise.  Always watch the sunset, baby girl."  -  Jessica Prince










At the end of the world, the sunset is like a child smashing a pack of crayons into God's face."  - Craig Stone

"The strange thing about the sunset is that we actually don't want the sun to set, we want it to stay right on the horizon, not below it, not above it, just right on it!"  -  Mehmet Murat ildan 

"A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and torn a cloud like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going." - John Steinbeck








"Peace is seeing the sunset and knowing who to thank." - Mortimer Peabody











"So we saunter toward the Holy Land, till one day the sun shall shine more brightly than ever he has done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts, and light up our whole lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and golden as on a bank side in (summer)."  Henry David Thoreau

What can I say about this hike?  Rarely can you time a hike to get this kind of display of nature.  Carolina State Park is a great place to hike. If you are vacationing in the area, it is a great place for the family to visit.  





The access is a 10, easy to find right off the main road to Carolina Beach...

the trails are well maintained and marked 9....the scenery on a normal day is average ....8....on a sunset hike....10+...the effort to view is lopsided....easy hike with great views.  Overall a 9 ranked hike.

Wilson Creek - Gragg Prong Falls

GRAGG PRONG FALLS

On Father's Day we took a trip to the Lost Cove Section of the Wilson Creek National Scenic River and visited another great swimming hole - Gragg Prong Falls.

The Gragg Prong Creek begins at the foot of Grandfather Mountain in the Beacon Ridge Section and flows down the mountain to Wilson Creek. Along the way creating many spectacular water falls, rapids and verdure. 

Getting there is not easy.  If you are hiking in the Wilson Creek area, purchase a map, not so much for the trail but to find the trail head!  To get to Trail 262 (Timber Ridge Loop) and Trail 440(Mountain to Sea Trail), you first have to find Forest Road 519 off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is just north of MP 308, a gravel mountain road that takes you to Roseboro.  You know you are in Roseboro when the road widens and you see this little private chapel on the ridge. 

Just south of Roseboro, Forest Road 519 merges with Forest Road 981 and you see a one lane bridge.  There is a parking area on each side of the bridge and from this point you can pick up the white blazed MST.  The sign says 3.8 miles to FR 464 which is the trail head for Huntfish Falls....so you are just three miles from Huntfish Falls and 1.25 miles from the Upper Gragg Prong Falls, 1.5 miles from the Lower Gragg Prong Falls.

The trail generally follows the Gragg Prong Creek as it flows south, eventually intersecting with the Lost Cove Creek. It is a really nice trail, the forest walk only interrupted by the four creek crossings which will soak your boots, but on a hot day is welcome relief. 

Along the trail we were treated with the new blooms of Rhododendrons.   

The trail seems to end but only if you have not observed that the trail picks up on the other side of the creek.... the fourth creek crossing is just above the falls.  

The Upper Gragg Prong Falls is one great swimming hole.  Above the falls is a shallow pool.  The falls are made up of two cascades. The upper cascade pours into a jacuzzi size pool over six feet deep.  The lower cascades creates several nice slides into a waist deep pool....which eventually pours into a swimming pool size pond. 

On this warm summer day, there were several folks enjoying the cold mountain water and sunning themselves on the rock face.  I enjoyed watching the young folks demostrate their agility by walking the rock ledge between the jacuzzi pool and the lower cascade.  Oh youth is so wasted on the youth!

We left the young folks playing in the falls and lumbered down the trail hoping to find the Lower Gragg Prong Falls but before we could we found the Middle Gragg Prong Rapids.

Not far from the rapids the trail takes a steep turn. To the right is a trail out to the rock face of the Lower Gragg Prong Falls.  

These falls are several stories high and flow down the rock face to a widening creek below.  

There is no trail to the base of the falls but I guess you could climb down the sloping rock face, the climb back would be brutal. 

Leaving the Lower Falls, I spied a nice small waterfall upstream. There are wonderful creek scenes everywhere you look!

Returning to the Upper Falls, the Fat Bald White Guy found himself hot and tired.  When you are hot and tired and have available a natural cold water jacuzzi just off the trail, what you gonna do?!   

Well I jumped into the cold mountain stream....and did it ever feel good.  The pool was over six feet deep and was stirred by the rapid flow of the upper cascade.  No man could have created a better jacuzzi !   

Before we left I lounged on the rock face chatting with a nice young man from Johnson City, Tennessee who was visiting the falls with his father whom you see in the picture below with his feet in the upper pool.  

Not long after this picture is taken, the old gentleman got up and stood right in front of me with his back to the pool and proceeded to execute the best back flip I have seen since Carl Edwards won the Coca Cola 600!!

Leaving the Gragg Prong Falls, we trudged up the trail, getting our feet wet fording two of the four creek crossings.  We paused several times to enjoy the flowers on the trail and checked out one creek beach.  The scene there was the best of the day.

  

What a great hike!  Access is tough without a map...and even then not easy to find....6...the trails are well marked and maintained 8....the scenery is a solid 9...the effort to view ratio leans to an easy hike for a great view....but the real key to this hike is the swimming hole!....overall a solid 8 hike.

While we accessed the trail head from the Blue Ridge Parkway through Roseboro on FR 519, I think the best way to reach it is from the Wilson Creek access via NC 90 and FR 381.  If you go that way, be sure to stop and take a look at one of the remnants of the Edgemont Community, the Edgemont Baptist Church.