Two Nights in Uwharrie

I had another great Winter backpacking trip in Uwharrie National Forest. Uwharrie is located in Troy between Sanford and Charlotte adjacent to Morrow Mountain State Park. The park has rolling hills between 500' and 700' in elevation. I have backpacked here twice before and last year completed the Uwharrie Marathon which I will run again this March. The marathon basically covers the majority of this hike. I hope you enjoy the video.

Day 1, Friday 1/13/23

Taking a half day PTO and driving for two hours got me to the Trailhead at NC 109. After reading any important notices on the informational board - there weren't any - I started hiking south on the Uwharrie Trail. 

The trail took me quickly into the woods and down to a small stream. After crossing the stream at mile 1.5 I reached Watery Branch Creek which the trail followed for about 3/4 miles. Along this stream there are several good camping spots which I took advantage of in previous trips. I continued on past Yates Place Campround until I reached at mile 3.5 the junction where I could either continue left on the Uwharrie Trail (white blaze) or go right onto Dutchmans Creek Trail (yellow blaze). I decided to stay on Uwharrie Trail and leave the difficult climb up Lick Mountain for day three. Continuing the hike to mile 7 and having only half an hour of daylight left I reached Big Island Creek and decided to call it a day. 

I set up camp next to the stream and hurried to collect wood for a decent campfire and for my wood stove. As it got dark, I enjoyed steak and noodles paired with a Merlot that I brought to room temperature next to the fire. Even though it would not drop significantly below freezing I made sure my water filter would stay in the sleeping bag, my pot was filled with water for the morning coffee and the hose of my drinking water bag was empty. After settling in for the night I read an hour on my kindle - "The world Without Us" by Alan Weisman - a book suitable for a backpacking trip. I fell asleep at 8 PM.

Day 2, Saturday 1/14/23

I woke up at my regular time of 5 AM and immediately started to boil water for the coffee. Even though it is not recommended to cook in the vestibule between inner tent and rain fly I have always done so. It allows me to stay in the warm sleeping bag. This is also the only reason I still bring along a small gas cooker and I wish my wood stove would burn cleaner. During the night, it did not drop below freezing and I stayed warm. After coffee and oatmeal breakfast I quickly got up and packed up. I was back on the trail at around 7:45 AM. 

After hiking for a mile, I decided to leave Uwharrie Trail and instead switch to continue on Keyauwee Trail, one of the mountain bike trails. At mile 2.5 I crossed the Upper Wood Run Creek at a spot I had camper twice before. Reaching mile 5 and the parking lot at Wood Run Camp I switched to the Wood Run Trail and continued all the way south where at mile 6.5 I switched to the Dutchmans Creek Trail which I would follow for the rest of the day. At 11 AM and mile 7.5 it was time for lunch and I ate some cheese, cooked an Asian chicken noodle soup and tea. After an hour rest I continued on for another two hours until I reached mile 13.5 and my campsite next to Little Island Creek.

As it was only 2 PM there was plenty of time to collect wood, set up the hammock and relax and read before cooking dinner. After dinner I had a decent fire going as it got colder. 

Day 3, Sunday 1/15/23

Woke up again at around 5 AM and it was well below freezing. While waiting for the water to boil there were even a few snow flurries. Fortunately, the wind had calmed down overnight, and I stayed nice and warm in the tent. As the day before I packed up at around 7:30 AM and continued along the Little Island Creek.

After about 15 minutes the trail leaves the creek and heads very steep up a rocky slope to an intermediate peak. Unfortunately, due to private land the trail then drops back down to the previous elevation and the steep climb repeats. Finally, the climb ends at the peak of Lick Mountain. The trail then descends on the other side dropping down to Dutchmans Creek which I crossed at mile 2. For the next half mile, the trail continues along the creek accommodating multiple campsites. At mile 4 I closed the circle reaching the intersection from day one and I switched back onto Uwharrie trail for the last 3.5 miles towards the car. About half a mile after passing Yates Place Campground there is a junction and a short out and back that takes you to Crystal's Place Trail Shelter which was completed by the Uwaharrie Trailblazers in 2022. I took this detour to check out the place and was surprised to find a beautiful shelter with picnic bench, fireplace and wood. A perfect spot to sleep on a rainy day.

After returning to the trail there were two miles left to hike back to the car. A can of IPA left on ice in my car kept my mind occupied until I reached the car at around noon.

As always, I have thoroughly enjoyed my hike and the camping experience. However, it is unfortunate there is so little publicly owned land in North Carolina. To my knowledge only three places allow backpacking and wild camping: Uwharrie, Pisgah and Croatan National Forests.