little hike, Shoaff Park

 jumping logs

Found a Big Rock

Rocks, what are they?

Rocks, Where do they come from?

"Well, judging just from the picture, it looks like those red chunks are banded, not foliated as a crystal, but it may be a pegmatitic granite. It's that or a conglomerate sedimentary rock that was metamorphosed"

Tales of The Relic

The Relic, in Despair

Earlier in my hike, I had gone along the slippery creek bank looking for The Relic. It had been years since I had ventured so far into these woods and couldn't remember where it was exactly. Not finding it, I crossed the creek and hiked for a while on the other side, eventually coming back to cross.  I spotted The Relic from across the stream. It had shifted from the steep hill down to the creek bank, covered in leaves and sprouting grass and small plants. 

The Field of Detritus

The hillside. The Relic used to be up near the discarded building materials between the two trees. Years earlier, with help, I had attempted to free The Relic of this dubious resting place. The effort was doomed to failure. Time, weather, and gravity had done the rest.

The Creek of Futility

The path to The Relic comes from up the right side of the creek. Much of the path has worn away, so The Relic can only be reached by slipping along the bank and skipping from rock to rock. It is slippery and treacherous. Beyond this point there are gaps in the path to jump across and fallen trees. Seems there is very little use of this section of woods anymore.

The power of The Relic!

Here is The Relic, cleaned up a little. It wasn't easy to access. You can see how close it is to the water, probably gets submerged during heavy rain. It's a mystery, The Relic. Who can solve it?

Fall at McCormick's Creek

  It was perfect weather for a fall hike, and the colors were gorgeous under blue skies.

 These kids were having fun at the falls.

 I tried scaling the cliff face to access a small cave, but gave up halfway.

 

 A massive Beech tree had fallen onto the steps, which had recently been rebuilt. Builders left the tree as it lay on both sides. There were over 100 steps from the creek to the summit, with convenient landings every 30 steps or so.

This is a honkin' great big tree. Maybe a Cypress?



CCC built fire tower.

The Wolf Cave entrance.



The other end. Entering was off limits.