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Published: February 7th 2014
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The last two weeks have seen below freezing temps and a few inches of beautiful but crippling snow, followed by a prediction o six more weeks of the cold season. So after two cabin feveresce weekends playing board games and drinking seasonal beers, my wife and me decided we had to take advantage of the above average temps. It was in the fifties then the seventies respectively.
Saturday we headed to Raven Rock State park in Lillington, We had originally planned to go against our normal plan and take the trip down to the rock itself, but the idea of bringing the dogs down the tight staircase seemed unwise. We started on the american beech trail, I was hoping to enlighten my wife with the educational brochure the park offers for this trail, but in my haste I grabbed the spanish version instead of one I could read.
After getting back onto the Raven Rock loop trail we passed a couple people and made our way along the creek till we turned right to follow the Little Creek loop trail. There was still snow on the ground and ice in te creek making for a very scenic trip. After
making our way around the end of the loop we figured out why the trails were mostly deserted when the rain started. We joked about how we should have known better than to head out without checking the weather first. I guess we saw the temperature and just went for it. By the time we go back to the Raven Rock trail it was coming down pretty steady so we took one of the service roads back to the parking lot. I'm not sure if it was any quicker, and my wife Stephanie was doubting whether or not I knew where we was going. Wet but afely back in the jeep we decided to grab beer on the way home and called it a day.
Sunday we started out a little earlier, and I figured we should try something a little flatter, since our older dog Holly had been limping the night before. I'm afraid she's getting arthritis already, or she just pulls to hard, or didn't stretch. Anyway we headed to Shearon Harris lake park since it's relatively low lying as it follows the outline of a penninsula. We wanted to take the whole five mile Penninsula trail
starting out along the east side. I've been out this way a number of times bass fishing but I've never hiked the whole trail. The first couple miles went easily, all very scenic on the water, passing a couple other people with dogs and a photographer.
I told Steph we were pretty much in the middle of the lake here, all the way out on the tip of the park. It was all fine until she saw that we were in the shadow of the Duke energy nuclear plant. I tried to reassure her we would be fine while she went on about Chernoble and the Fukashima plants, then told me to never bring home any fish I might catch here. Again I tried to tell her that the warm water discharge wasn't radioactive, that it was only used for cooling but she seemed skeptical, and when I mentioned how good the fishing was because of the abnormally large size of the bass she was sure that she was right.
This back half of the trail that I had never been on stayed close to water but had quite a few more inclines and declines than the first
half, under the watchful eye of the plant the trail made varying cut backs and up and down small valleys. We were both sweating by this time as the temp had been picking up all morning. Even with this rise in the mercury there were small pockets of water that were mostly frozen over, and still some snow where the sun was weakest. the last mile or so heads back into the woods, meeting up with a disc golf course and then rolling by the Womble homestead area. I was told that their family name still resides in the Sanford area. And as for the disc golf, I had no idea one man could need so many frisbees. I mean like thirty frisbees. Can they all be that different? I'm genuinly interested to know.
We had parked near the head of the trail which was also the cartop boat launch, so when we got back someone was unloading their kayak from atop their Subaru, I was a little envious.
Being out there in the woods after two weeks of harsh clime we felt a dash of spring, it made us doubt the groundhogs prediction and assume summer was right
around the corner. Shearon Harris park is beautiful, it also has bike trails and a playground if you have kids, it'll only get better as the leaves sprout, and will be especially attractive when the fish start biting. If you don't mind the looming nuclear plant, and most people don't, you'll have a great time exploring the trails and shorelines. It's exit 89 off route 1 south of Raleigh, head toward Harris lake and take a right a few miles down into the park. Maybe I'll see you there.
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