If you enjoy native wildflowers, you can probably still catch some Spring blooms along the DeHart Botanical Gardens hiking trail. The trail-head parking area is located on Route 58 West between Stuart and Meadows of Dan. If you're headed up the mountain, the pull-off area and gated drive will be on the right. The mailbox near the gate has a visitor log and trail maps. The preserve is a nearly 200 acre garden that is open to the public as a day use hiking facility.
Last week Dale Swanson joined me on a hike of the DeHart Trail. He works as the Program Manager for DRBA in Patrick & Stokes Counties. We took the opportunity to gather more data that will be useful in the Recreational Use Planning process currently underway in Patrick County.
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| Fire Pink; silene virginica |
The initial climb to the top of the ridge from the parking area is characteristic of the entire trail. It is well worth the effort; the ridge-top where the trail begins provides a breathtaking birds-eye-view of the Smith River Valley and the only complete view of Rocky Knob anywhere along Route 58.
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| Pendelton home chimney |
We crested the ridge and began to descend the side of the mountain. We were thankful for the series of switchbacks, which took us past a series of large boulders that create a small cave in the mountain-side and eventually to the old homesite located on the loop trail near the bottom of the mountain. The original chimney from the Pendelton home bulit in the late 1800's is the only part of the house that still stands.
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| Red Trillium; trillium erectum |
We picked a wonderful time to hike the trail - wildflowers were scattered all over the mountain-side and we were able to identify a few of them. There were several we could not identify, such as this flower which we later found to be a Red Trillium.
Past the old homesite a short spur trail took us to a small waterfall. There are a couple small creeks that bubble up from springs in the mountain and converge into one creek that drains into the Smith River less than a mile from the Dehart Preserve. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the water in these creeks is probably some of the freshest and cleanest there is. Because there is no development or ground disturbance, rain water is well-filtered before it soaks into the aquifer and chilled to perfection before it bubbles out of the mountain.
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| Waterfall near the lowest point of the trail |
The climb back to the top of the ridge was a bit strenuous but worth the effort! The Dehart Mountain Trail is great for those hikers who like a challenge and those interested in viewing native flora and fauna.
We hope to spread knowledge about all of the great outdoor recreation opportunities there are in Patrick County and guide the smart development and improvement of our amenities through Recreational Use Planning. If you are interested in joining this effort, please attend one of the Patrick County Rivers & Trails Group meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for May 17th at 7pm at PHCC in Stuart.
If you hike this trail...please notice that there are bear warning signs on the road near Lover's Leap. Bears are frequent visitors to the nearby Lover's Leap Birdhouses store. The store owners have named four local bear family members. Peaches, the mommy; Scar, the father; and twin offspring Ash & Oak. They most likely roam about in the nearby park.
ReplyDeleteThere were definitely a couple points along the trail where I thought, "this looks like bear heaven". A couple years in a row I've seen a mother and her cubs crossing a field at the bottom of this mountain- close to the waterfall.
DeleteI studied under Mr. DeHart at Louisburg College. Wonderful person.
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