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March 10, 2006
Lakeshore Trail - Day 2
Foreboding? We hope not!
Day two on the Lakeshore Trail started out slowly as we walked along an old woods road on the contour just above Fontana Lake. A few miles further up the trail we stumbled upon evidence of settlement from the early 1900s. A long unused woods road led uphill to a series of rock walls terraced on the hillside in a lovely cove. We dropped our packs and explored the area for perhaps 20 minutes. The area was riddled with signs of former inhabitation including old rusted buckets strewn about the landscape.
Onward we walked until we came upon a vernal pool alongside the trail. Vernal or temporary pools are vitally important for amphibian populations. Because they dry up in the summer, these areas hold no fish, and thus make ideal locations for frogs, toads, and salamanders to breed. I checked out some salamander larvae wriggling about in the ooze for a few minutes, and then continued onward.
A few miles down the trail we came upon an old woods road that had been freshly graded and had gravel recently laid down. One of the issues that is driving the possible road development in the park is access to cemeteries by the descendants of the settlers in the parks. Since 1976, the National Park Service has been taking visitors to each of the 22 cemeteries found in the park. Each cemetery is visited once a year. The families arrive by boat and visit the graves to re-mound them, place decorations, and honor their ancestors. Alongside the freshly graded road was an orange road construction sign that hopefully is NOT a portent of things to come.
The remainder of the day was a pleasant stroll with a tough climb over an unnamed ridge as we approached Hazel Creek. Once at campground 86 along Hazel Creek I strung my hammock between two trees, settled down for dinner, and then crashed for the night.
In the morning, I recorded an audio dispatch from Hazel Creek. Take a listen!
Great Places to Hike | By Jeffrey Hunter | 09:26 AM
