Saturday, 3.11.23
Through three parks and two states, our hike on the Ridgeline Trail was supposed to be only about nine miles. The hardest part was finding our starting trailhead. The second hardest part was reaching the ending, which turned out to be some 14 ½ miles away.
Our usual gang of hiking gal pals spent Friday night in Elvis the Motor Coach at Kings Mountain State Park. The next morning, Dianne, Cathy, and I dropped off a car at the Sparrow Springs access in Crowders Mountain State Park and headed back to our Kings Mountain trailhead.
Dianne had downloaded the Ridgeline Trail on the Avenza app, and we also picked up a map at the trailhead kiosk. You’d think with all that information, we’d be on the trail in no time. You’d be wrong. Although the paper map said to take the Kings Mountain trail to the Ridgeline trail, the little blue dot on the Avenza map that showed our location was having none of it. We traipsed around off trail through the woods, around mountain laurel thickets, and down a hill to a stream before that little blue dot finally found us the trail. Even the paper map had it in for us, listing the Ridgeline Trail to Crowders Mountain State Park at only 5.8 miles.
The Ridgeline Trail is well-named since it follows a series of ridges from Kings Mountains, SC to Pinnacle and Crowders Mountains in North Carolina. These are monadnocks, isolated hills and ridges of erosion-resistant rock that rise above the rolling foothills of the Piedmont. Trivia Question: Which came first, Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire, or the term monadnock? If you said Mount Monadnock, you’d be correct. From the Monadnock State Park website: “Monadnock, which comes originally from the Abnacki Native American word for mountain that stands alone, is now a standard geological term for any singular mountain that rises above the surrounding plain.“ And it’s pronounced Mo-nad-nock.
The first part of our trek was relatively monotonous, a term which here means boring. We walked on mostly level ground surrounded by leafless hardwood trees. We had to search hard to find any evidence of spring. To amuse ourselves, we brainstormed limericks. Dianne came up with this one:
Off on a hike Beth and Cathy did go,
Food and water were a Yes not a No.
But Cath found with a shriek
That her bottle had leaked.
And her backside was wet from the flow.
When at last we found some redbuds in bloom (I re-named them purplebuds), we stopped for a snack. I had just heard Amanda McNulty, of SCETV’s “Making It Grow” fame, extol the edibility of redbud blossoms. So we ate them. Not as tasty as Cheetos, but then we didn’t die either, so there’s that.
We walked along the border of Kings Mountain National Military Park and soon crossed the border into North Carolina. Shortly after, we came to a spur trail of 0.2 miles that led to the Boulders Access Area atop a hill. Eager for a view of something other than leafless hardwoods, up we went. Yup,boulders. We climbed one or two just ‘cuz and then headed back to our trail.
About a mile further, we came to another out-cropping of boulders. For once, my desire to remain intact out-weighed my desire to climb to the top. Instead, we perched on some low-risers and ate our lunch.
From here on, it became very apparent that we were hiking along a ridge. Quartzite boulders lay strewn across the path, making it difficult even to tell where the path was. It wasn’t long after climbing one especially rocky and steep section that we reached the high point of our hike. Literally and figuratively.
Another 0.2 spur trail led up to Pinnacle Mountain, at 1,705 feet above sea level the highest point in Gaston County, NC.
We were not the only ones treating the warning signs as challenges: this part of the trail was buzzing with people, dogs, and even babies. Once you clambered up the first set of rocks, the way was clear to a series of overlooks. The vertical rock wall reminded me of a castle’s turrets; directly below were the cliffs. An Internet search tells me that this is the remnant of an ancient mountain peak from some 400-500 million years ago. I enjoyed exploring the nooks and crannies of this area. Others spread out blankets for a picnic lunch. Several young guys hung out on some rocks talking, their speaker on the ground playing music for all to hear. I saw a group of women sitting and admiring the views with flutes of champagne in hand. I imagine this would be a popular place to view the sunset, although I’d hate to have to come back down in the dark.
By the time Cathy and Dianne had pulled me down off the rocks, we were ready for this hike to be done. We walked on, thinking we only had one mile to go, but no. It was one mile to an intersection of trails. This sign indicated that both trails led back to the Visitors’ Center where our car was, but one was shorter than the other. We decided to take the longer of the two since it seemed to be heading downhill instead of up like the other. Turnback Trail led to Fern Trail (which now had no ferns) and finally, finally back to the Visitors’ Center where our car was patiently waiting.
It had been a long hike, some five miles longer than we anticipated. But the weather was perfect and the trail did have its pleasures, among which was the company of my two wonderful gal pal hikers, who find fun and companionship wherever they hike!
Dianne’s final limerick masterpiece:
Beth laced up her shoes for a stroll,
To finish the trail was her goal.
The longer she strode,
The heavier her load.
“Keep going,” her friends did cajole.
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