Uwharrie National Forest

Feb. 5, 2025

I visited the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness area of this forest. The plan was for a 6.8 mile loop to Birkhead mountain but it started raining when I was about 2 miles into the hike. I turned around because I did not have proper rain gear along. The forest is a mixed pine and oak with holly trees mixed in. The most interesting part of this hike was the chunks of quartz that were scattered near the trail, especially along the top of the ridgeline. I was glad I turned around as the fog settled in as I was coming down the trail. The forest was already silent, so the fog made it rather creepy. I did not see any wildlife the entire hike, not even a bird or squirrel.