We
begin our hike today at the South Boxley Trailhead off Highway 21. First, we head up the
fairly steep hill to visit Whiteley Cemetery.
Not a big cemetery its 'occupants' are mainly Whiteley and Edgmon family members
with about twenty visible graves. Then
it’s back down past the spring with a pipe extending out for easy bucket
filling.
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(taken 2/25/19)
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We continue on, into Luallen
Field passing some sort of pen possibly for feral hogs. Farther on we come to a gauging station on the
Buffalo River that measures water flow and river level. From there we work our
way around a deep gully then follow the Buffalo upstream.
After about 300 yards the riverbank becomes
quite steep and slippery with dead leaves and loose rock. The other side of the
river looks inviting with a much gentler slope at the bank. But since the
Buffalo is running full, bank to bank, fast and cold, we know better than to
attempt crossing the river.
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Whiteley Cemetery
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At this point we turn around and decide to try again
another day. On the way back not far from where we turn around, we find a nice but
small campsite in the woods. Further north we stay on the ‘road’ between the
river and Luallen Field which is pretty and very easy hiking. Back at the car we vow to return, next time
we’ll stick to the trail and hopefully make it to Hedges Homestead (see: 6 Hedges Homestead). Today’s
boondoggle was about 3.1 miles
round-trip with maybe 75 feet of elevation gain.
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