Part I: Pettigrew State Park

/ Katie / Leave a comment

This year for our sixth wedding anniversary we took an entire week off to camp, hike and explore new places! I can’t share all of our experiences in one post, so this will be a five part series (whoa!). I hope you enjoy it, and I encourage you to explore new parks on your own!

Patrick and I haven’t taken a full week off for ourselves in about two years, so we were overdue. We usually book hiking and camping trips in North Carolina’s mountains (near the Tennessee border) but we wanted to explore the eastern part of the state.

In February, we camped at Carolina Beach State Park and had a beautiful time. It was perfect because it was off season so we could take the pups to the beach. We had to be strategic with this trip since all beaches were in season and packed with visitors.

As followers and fans of the state’s Passport Program, we opened the map and searched for a few parks that were somewhat in the same vicinity so we could experience new parks, collect our stamps and hike more miles. We found Pettigrew State Park, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Dismal Swamp State Park, Merchants Millpond State Park and Goose Creek State Park. We booked a great campsite at Pettigrew State Park, mapped out the other parks and found they were about an hour away. And just like that, we committed!

The drive to a secluded oasis

The windows were down, favorite songs turned up, arms out the window, the country wind and southern heat were hitting our faces… yes, vacation was upon us, and we were almost to our destination!

As we were driving to Pettigrew we started to realize why it’s one of North Carolina’s “dark sky areas” by how much farmland that surrounded the area. A plane was flying above crop dusting a small section of the thousands of acres of crops. We found out from a local later in the week that he loves having an audience! I’ll take an air show any day!

Welcome to Pettigrew State Park!

We were greeted by a ranger at the main office who seemed appreciative we were “staying for a while.” She proceeded to tell us, “when people come out here to camp, they come for reasons.”

We found ‘the reasons’

We pulled up to campsite No. 3. A site shaded by the canopy of cypress trees all around us and we noticed it was large enough to fit three more tents! We set up camp, the pups realized they were in the woods, it was official – we were here to stay!

We set out on our first hike for the evening just to explore the park a little before we planned other hikes. Pettigrew not only offers hiking but boating and fishing on Lake Phelps and exploration of Somerset Place.

Hikes at Pettigrew (all trails are rated as easy and distances are one-way):

  • Cemetery Trail, 0.34 mile
  • Bee Tree Trail, 1.3 miles
  • Lake Shore Trail, 0.25 mile
  • Moccasin Trail, 2.8 miles
  • Morotoc Trail, 4.2 miles

Facts about Lake Phelps:

  • It is North Carolina’s second largest natural lake.
  • It is five miles across and seven miles wide. It has an average depth of 4.5 feet and a maximum depth of nine feet.
  • It is believed to be more than 38,000 years old.
  • Scientists have long wondered about the origin. To this day, no explanation has gained universal acceptance.
  • Artifacts reveal the presence of American Indians as early as 8,000 B.C.
  • Thirty dugout canoes were found in the lake.
  • Archeologists believe the Algonquian Indians sank their canoes in the lake to store them until the next hunting season.
  • One of the canoes is 37 feet in length, the longest American Indian dugout canoe in the southeastern U.S.
  • Another canoe is the second oldest in the nation, dated to be 4,390 years old.
Lake Phelps offers a gorgeous sunset.

Hiking highlights:

  • Lake Shore Trail: This is a beautiful boardwalk trail that takes you out to the swimming area. There is no lifeguard on duty so it’s a ‘swim at your own risk’ area but remember, the lake averages 4.5 feet, so it’s a safe spot to cool off!
  • Cemetery Trail: This is a trail that will take you out to where the Pettigrew’s have been laid to rest. There is a lot of great history in this park. James Johnston Pettigrew was a general under Robert E. Lee’s command during the Civil War. Pettigrew led “Pickett’s Charge” during the Battle of Gettysburg. Pettigrew died two weeks after his 35th birthday from mortal wounds. Pettigrew, his grandfather and father are buried at the end of the Cemetery Trail. There a few words when you experience their gravesite. It is a quiet, peaceful place.
  • The Moccasin Trail was our favorite! We hiked out on a very hot late morning but what we hiked to was worth the sweat. You hike to a 350-foot boardwalk that takes you out to Moccasin Overlook. You walk over crystal clear water and through cypress trees draped with Spanish moss. This is a great spot to stop and eat a small lunch!

We realized what the ranger meant when people ‘came here for reasons’ after we felt the pure, natural and secluded life the park offered. This park is hands-down a gem in North Carolina. Patrick and I were really able to indulge in the simple life and enjoy the darkest nights we had ever experienced.

I encourage you to look into Pettigrew for your next visit! I know you will hike it and like it!

  • Home sweet home.
  • The Lake Shore Boardwalk Trail.
  • The Lake Shore Trail takes you to the swimming area.
  • Lake Phelps.
  • Maverick (left) and Hope (right) enjoyed placing on the bench at the boat launch.
  • The Collins House at Somerset Place.
  • Stop and enjoy the butterfly garden at Somerset Place!
  • A sunset over Lake Phelps.
  • Night hikes were the best! Just don’t leave behind your head lamp!
  • The view of Lake Phelps from the Moccasin Overlook.
  • Cypress trees and crystal clear water at the Moccasin Overlook.

Who Else is Afraid of Finding a Snake on the Trail?

/ Katie / Leave a comment
There are a lot of critters we can encounter on the trail, so always be vigilant of your surroundings.

I’m convinced I get my fear of snakes from my father!

As often as we hike and camp with Hope and Maverick, we always leave room in our packs for a first-aid kit for ourselves and the pups. For my 30th birthday earlier this year, Patrick gave me an extractor pump kit (Right? Exciting stuff when you turn the big 3-0!). But all jokes aside, I keep it in my pack for my own peace of mind.

Growing up in upstate New York we were always exposed to various critters like raccoons, snakes, coyotes and many more but never venomous snakes. Key word here: venomous.

Our first spring season in North Carolina, the first time I heard about a copperhead snake I about curled up into a fetal position and stayed there forever.

Last year, my husband was trail running one afternoon and ran up on a copperhead rattling its tail at him.

What to do if you see a snake

What inspired this post was a news story I saw the other day about the number of snake bites on the rise in North Carolina. “In April, 50% more people called about snake bites than the previous four-year average in April.”

When my husband had his surprise encounter on the trail, he left it alone and kept running, which is the right thing to do.

Before any outdoor adventure, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the animals that are native to the area (snakes of NC) and ask a park ranger if there were any recent animal sitings you should be aware of.

Before you hike it and like it, know your critters first!

We Hiked It and Liked It… At Dawn!

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Even when it was raining

Disclaimer: This photo is not the best quality! We started hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at about 5:15 a.m.

Last night I came home to a happy husband and a hot meal! Remember when I wrote about loving where you live? Every week, a group of local farmers and small business owners gather with their goodies for us neighbors to purchase for our enjoyment.

The farmer’s market is up there on our favorite list with the more than 10 miles of sidewalks and one-mile greenway. Patrick bought dinner for us from Emma Keys, a wonderful local restaurant that is a vendor at our market every week, and we enjoyed it on our back patio.

Over dinner, he pitched an idea that we’ve never tried before. He says to me, ‘I was thinking. Instead of going to the gym, why don’t we go for an early morning hike?’

Is that even a question?!

The sun is rising!

So, after dinner we prepared the coffee maker, water bottles and lunches for the next day and set our alarms for 4:45 a.m.

The sound of soft music slowly getting louder graced us the next morning. Usually once Maverick hears our alarms he is up like a shot ready to take on the day, and we were right behind him.

We loaded the pups and packs into the car and off we went to the trail. Sadly, it was raining and was so humid. But we parked the car and once we got under the canopy of the woods we barely felt the rain drops. It was beautiful hiking among the sounds of the early morning birds and amphibians that were along a pond we passed. I will say, for someone who has been afraid of ‘nature at night’ since she was a little girl, it was creepy hiking in the dark with only a lantern and head lamps!

The reward! We hiked 3.5 miles in rainy, humid conditions but the feeling of showing up and accomplishing a morning hike for the first time was worth every minute!

With each step, conversation and sip of our coffee, it seemed like the sky was getting a little brighter and it was!

Overall, we hiked 3.5 miles in rainy, humid conditions but the feeling of showing up at about 5:15 a.m. to hike and try something new was worth every minute! I felt energized that morning and the entire day when I was at work.

We hiked it and liked it at dawn! And it all started with a happy husband and a hot meal!

Make Sure You Love Where You Live

/ Katie / 1 Comment

The importance of getting away when you can’t actually get away

As I mentioned in my first post, my husband and I are from upstate New York. We love where we are from and the few places we lived before we moved south, but the winters were too much. We always had the desire to move somewhere south.

Here we are and here we stay! We moved to North Carolina five years ago and it was love at first sight. We have big cities, small towns, mountains and a beautiful coast.

After living in our apartment for about three years, we decided to call this state our home and began house hunting. Our agent did a phenomenal job finding us our perfect first home. But I remember her telling us when we had our first meeting, make yourself a “must-have” list.

Yikes. A “must-have” list? Eight bedroom, six bathroom house with balcony, wrap-around front porch, infinity pool… Kidding! Our list consisted of our personal needs and wants in a first-home purchase. But we made sure to write down, ‘in close proximity to a greenway or park.’

Fortunately, the city of Greensboro’s Parks and Recreation Department has more than 8,000 acres of parks and open space, more than 100 miles of trails and greenways, 117 parks, four botanical gardens, three lakes and a partridge in a pear tree. And 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

This made our ‘in close proximity to a greenway or park’ item easy to check off! We found a beautiful neighborhood that had more than ten miles of sidewalks and its own one mile greenway! Also located down the road from us is Country Park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Haw River State Park.

As much hiking and camping that we love to do, sometimes we can’t make it out to a new trail or area of the state because of conflicting work schedules, the house needs to be cleaned, etc. So it is a huge bonus when I can either walk down the road to the greenway or take a short drive to a nearby park.

Having these amenities close to your home will allow you to live a happier, healthier life. So if you’re reading this, I invite you to remind yourself to love where you live and find a healthy activity close to your home that keeps you feeling energized. When you do, it’ll help you get away when you can’y actually get away.

‘Hello, it’s me again!’

/ Katie / Leave a comment

The importance of sharing the trail

Hope (right) and Maverick (left) make the best hiking buddies for my husband and I.

This weekend I celebrated National Trails Day and went on a beautiful hike on one of our favorite trails, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. I hiked a section on Lake Townsend in the city of Greensboro.

As I mentioned on my ‘About Us’ page, we hike with our two German Shepherds, Hope and Maverick. My personal rule is to never hike alone. YOU can, but I don’t like to because I am just about scared of everything!

Hope and Maverick make the best hiking partners when my husband, Patrick, has to work. He works every weekend but one each month so I’m usually hitting the trails with the pups.

This time of the year it starts to get real hot. It’s early June and I already have a tan (that’s unheard of where I’m from!). The pups and I stopped off the trail for our first water break, and I had just removed my pack from my back, and see someone with an orange shirt coming at us at a good pace. He was trail running and as he ran by we smiled and said our ‘good mornings.’

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the breed, German Shepherds have “the willingness to put their life on the line in defense of loved ones.” Our pups do not like when someone walks, runs or bikes up from behind us without warning. It’s a threat to them and they go into protective mode.

We continue our hike and decide to turn around right at the two-and-a-half mile mark. Again, looking ahead, I see a human coming up to us at a good pace so I pull the pups’ leashes just off the trail so the second trail runner we ran into can pass with ease. Again, we said our ‘hello’s’ and kept going.

Towards the end of our journey, we are hiking up a hill and out of nowhere I hear, “hello, it’s me again!” The second trail runner had caught up to us and he kindly warned us he had to pass us. I thanked him and proceeded to tell him, ‘I appreciate you saying ‘hello’ because my dogs don’t like being run up on without warning.’ He laughed and said, ‘I can’t imagine!’

This is a friendly reminder that sharing the trail is so important. In our case, we know our dogs don’t like being run up on. So, we will always make a conscious effort to say ‘hi’ to a fellow hiker if we are approaching them (even if they don’t have a dog).

A simple greeting is what makes hiking even more special. We all hit the trail for different reasons but we’re all there for the same benefits.

Hope (right) and Maverick (left) needed to cool off at mile two on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Lake Townsend is one of our favorite areas to hike. The trails are easy to moderate and the scenery is peaceful.

The Story Begins Here…

/ Katie / 1 Comment

I grew up in a small town in upstate New York and most of my family vacations during the summer months were to a random campsite at a lake. Which was perfect for a family of five. Dad could take us fishing and boating, and mom lathered us three girls in sunscreen as we spent a day at the beach.

We did both camper and tent camping at our favorite spots that include Southwick Beach State Park (my all-time favorite), Bowman Lake State Park and many more. The years spent at Southwick actually inspired me to choose where I wanted to go to college, SUNY Oswego, a campus that had a premier view of the lake, Rudy’s, Bev’s and sunsets that you don’t see anywhere else. Oh, and snow… lots of snow which was my least favorite part!

After I moved into my residence hall at SUNY Oswego on Aug. 30, 2009, my roommate and I experienced our first sunset.

My family and I camped in all sorts of elements. It seemed to be an annual tradition to get caught in a rain storm on Memorial Day weekend. One year we made reservations to camp at Kellystone Park Campground for the long holiday weekend. It snowed. My sister and I were setting up our tent while my dad was setting up the camper and it started snowing. We couldn’t believe it!

Another year for Labor Day weekend, we camped at Southwick when tornados ripped through the surrounding area that ended up shutting down the New York State Fair. I remember waking up to horrendous wind and seeing constant lightning strikes. We were fortunate to have been in the camper that trip and had a few items blown over but people lost tents and other items.

Snow, rain and even tornados. Why do I keep camping?! I’ll tell you why. The memories and stories that I look back on make me happy. If it rains, get under your shelter and play a game of cards. If it snows, bundle up, drink a warm beverage around a hot fire and enjoy conversation with the people around you. If there are severe storms rolling through, seek immediate shelter!

I’m now 30-years-old and my husband and I love camping and do it often (hence, the start of this blog). The time spent in the woods, around the bonfire or on a beach are moments where people really connect. Like KOA’s blog describes, camping helps with stress reduction, relationship building, unplugging and much more.

My story starts here and it continues.