When thinking about Wildlife Management Areas, ‘hunting’ is usually what comes to mind. I know not all WMAs ‘are
created equal’ as far as what's allowed and what isn't, Gene Rush sure has a lot going for itself. The one thing that impresses me the most is
the miles and miles of roads/trails referred to as ‘Firelanes’. Most are old roads but some aren’t, and most are maintained so to be ‘passable’ in an
emergency wildfire situation.
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almost dried up Lick Creek
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All
of them make great routes for hikers and horse riders, these firelanes are easy
to find too. When driving around in Gene
Rush locked gates are everywhere, most have a good parking spot or two near the
gate, park walk around the gate then follow the ‘lane’. We did this once a few years ago, see: 138 Ed Clair Hollow, at that time we didn’t know about the ‘firelane’
designation, we just thought these were old roads. |
at parking/camping area #6
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I
recently found a map of the firelanes at Gene Rush on the AGFC website, by following
the link to ‘Mapper 3.0’ then zoom in for lots of good information. Not just firelanes it also shows designated
campsites, wildlife openings (food plots), ponds and much more. Today I’m going to put ‘boots on the ground’
to see if Mapper 3.0 is legit or just a ‘wish list’ of what is planned for the
future. |
lots of green gates at Gene Rush
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A
little over three miles into Gene Rush after turning east off SR 123, I cross
Lick Creek then pull off the road at a designated campsite and park near the
locked green gate. This is a big
campsite, maybe 3-4 campsites, you could even get a smaller (self-contained) RV
in here without too much trouble. Today
there’s a truck and horse trailer here when I arrive. |
| uphill on FL1501C |
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sycamores along Lick Creek
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Before
heading south on the lane past the gate, I walk down to Lick Creek which is
right there next to the gate. The creek
is mostly dry with some pretty pools here and there, this is good to know since
I’ll be using the dry creek bed later on my return. On the gate are welded numbers at the top
right side, these are firelane number but what I find odd is that the numbers on
the gate don’t include the number for this ‘main lane’ given on Mapper 3.0,
which is 1501C. |
WO1504
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Later
at home and on the internet, I confirm the firelane numbers used on Mapper 3.0
don’t match the numbers on the gate.
This might be an isolated incident and doesn’t mean anything anyway when
you’re out on the trail. I’ll use the
Mapper 3.0 numbers when describing my travels on this and future hikes
at Gene Rush. Also I’m abbreviating numbers:
‘firelane 1501C’ will be listed ‘FL1501C’, same thing for ‘WO1503’ instead of
wildlife opening 1503. |
| at the top near WMA boundary |
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almost to the bottom near Lick Creek
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Now
with that out of the way let’s get back to hiking, not far past the gate is the
first of many ‘wildlife openings’ which look just like a recently cut hay
field, nothing natural looking like a meadow.
This particular field is WO1507, long and narrow only about 1 acre, once
through the ‘field’ the ‘lane’ begins up a long hill. Not real steep but gaining 160 feet or more
elevation as I climb to the ridge above Lick Creek below on my right. |
at Lick Creek crossing
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Nearing
the top the lane levels out before a junction, to my right is FL1505 which
stays down off the ridge and runs parallel to FL1501C. About 400 yards more puts me on the top with
a short spur east to WO1503 which is clearly visible through the bare
woods. Continuing south another 400
yards the low road FL1505 re-joins FL1501C, still on the ridge this lane
begins a gradual turn to the east and enters WO1504 which looks pretty big but
is listed at only 2 acres. |
| FL1501C crossing WO1506 |
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Noah William Davenport - RIP
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At
the northwest corner of the field FL1501C turns back south along the edge of
WO1504, two other lanes head out from this field: FL1503 heads north on the
next ridge and FL1508 goes east near the WMA boundary. I stay on this main lane FL1501C turning west
at the end of the field and start downhill after passing a red sign on a tree
informing ‘road closed’ then the road turns back south and levels out for a
while. |
heading back on FL1501C
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I’m
now following the fence line separating Gene Rush WMA from private property,
across the fence and at the top of a big pasture is a deer stand. After 200 yards along the fence the road
swings around to the west and heads down a long hill, slowly turning to the
north as it loses 160 feet of elevation, at the bottom the road crosses dry Lick
Creek then through the next long narrow field WO1506. |
| end of the lane in WO1505 |
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near the bottom almost to Lick Creek
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Going
north the next 400 yards are above the bank along Lick Creek, the creek bed is
littered with lots of big white rocks and is dry except for occasional
pools. Before it turns to the west is a
steel culvert under the road, then up another long hill with an eventual
elevation gain of over 320 feet. About 400
yards up the hill is another junction, FL1501C continues around to the right, I
turn left on FL1506. |
hiking down dry Lick Creek
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This
lane continues uphill and around to the southwest then finally tops out at the
next intersection where it ends back on FL1501C. Now headed west I only go 400 feet further to
the north edge of WO1501 with a gravesite.
The lone grave with a newer headstone reads: Noah Willian Davenport –
about 100 – died May 20, 1906. FL1501C
goes another third of a mile west to its end at NC 4500, but I turn around here
at Noah’s grave and head up the lane. |
low bluffs along Lick Creek
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Back
at the intersection with FL1506 I’ll stay on FL1501C going northeast another 300
yards to the next junction. I turn north
here on FL1502C but the road ends in just about 700 feet in a hilltop field
WO1505. Mapper 3.0 shows no lane
continuing north past this field, but I was hoping for a faint trail, no such
luck. Down the steep hill to Lick Creek
and on to the gate where I’m parked, is roughly 0.8 miles, on FL1501C back the
way I came is about 2.4 miles. |
more from Lick Creek
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I
pick the under a mile bushwhack, since a loop hike is always more interesting
than a there and back hike. With the
Carver Boondoggles still fresh in my mind, I hope I don’t regret this (see:
205 Boondoggle I and 206 Boondoggle II).
It turns out to be a good choice, for a bushwhack this isn’t bad at all
with very little undergrowth. It is
pretty steep, but I take the hill diagonally to keep from slipping in the loose
rock and dead leaves.
At
the bottom is Lick Creek which for the next 300 yards is my trail, with lots of
big white rocks to maneuver around but also some huge stone slabs that make for
some nice easy progress downstream. At a
couple downed trees in the creek, I get up above the bank and to my surprise
find a very nice trail. About 500 feet
later I’m back on FL1501C with under 300 yards to the parking/camping area. |
couple of pools on Lick Creek
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Well
as for my verdict on Mapper 3.0, every firelane and wildlife opening was
right where I expected them to be, so my whole hearted thumbs up for the
AGFC map app. This entire hike of 3.8
miles and 644 feet of elevation gain was a joy, even the bushwhack was
good. So I’ll be back for more of Gene
Rush’s firelanes and more of Lick Creek. |
almost back
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Gene Rush: Statistics Chart 210 Getting to Camping Area #6 where I
parked today isn’t hard. South of the
Buffalo River/SR123 bridge about a quarter mile is NC 4500 east into Gene Rush
WMA, there is a sign. Go east on NC 4500
about 1.8 miles to a fork, take a left on NC 4260 and continue east for 1.6
more miles, just after crossing Lick Creek turn right (south) into the large
parking/camping area.
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base map before fair use alterations is property of ArcGIS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License
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