213 Buffalo River Trail section 1 to Walker Mtn. Road

     I tried to get out of the house early this morning hoping to beat the heat, never thought I’d be saying that at the end of December.  Yesterday we hit 86° with lots of new records set for ‘warmest day after Christmas ever’ around the area.  Today is forecast to be more of the same, normally I wouldn’t even think about hiking when the temps are in the eighties but before long we’ll be back to normal in the 30-40° range.

distant views from the BRT

    Driving through Boxley Valley I had hoped to see some elk, I thought mornings were the best time for elk viewing but nothing, and it’s already 60°.  I pull into South Boxley Trailhead having decided to hike from the start of the Buffalo River Trail.  If the BRT had mile markers South Boxley Trailhead would be mile 0, we have hiked south farther upriver from here (see: 6 Hedges Homestead) but the BRT heads north downriver.

root-cellar at South Boxley parking

view north @ South Boxley parking

    The Buffalo River Trail actually starts across Highway 21, I head down the driveway just a short way to the locked gate which the trail goes around on the left side then back to the road and down the gentle bank to Smith Creek which is dry as a bone.  Up the other side is two gates, the right gate is the driveway to the house and the left gate goes into a big field.  The trail goes left around the west end of the field on my right, and Smith Creek on the left.

crossing at Smith Creek
 

    At the northwest corner of the big field a jagged bluff rises to the north, Smith Creek passes under the SR 21 bridge heading west, and the trail turns east following the north side of the field.  Soon there’s an old rock wall next to the trail for maybe a hundred yards then the first fallen tree on the trail obstacle, there will be many more.  About 200 feet is the next forced detour around downed tree #2 then right next to the trail a good sized beech tree with lots of carving.

follow the signage and you can't go wrong

    Past this beech tree the trail starts uphill, it gets pretty steep quick, in the next 800 feet there is a 200 foot elevation gain.  As the grade increases the trail turns to the north and heads up a rocky ridge.  By the time the ascent levels out a little the sweat is pouring off my forehead and back, and it isn’t even hot yet.  Thankfully this is the steepest climb of the day, I’m not quite half way to where the trail ‘tops out’ but at least the rest of the way to the top is closer to what I consider ‘an easy climb’.

looking east across long field

Smith Creek goes west under Hwy. 21

    Before long an old fence line shows up at the west side of the trail then the BRT crosses the dry drainage.  The trail circles around as it continues to climb and eventually cross back to the west side of the dry creek and heads west.  This is the end of the ascent, from here the BRT is mostly flat with short easy ups and downs.  I soon come to fence posts which looks like the corner of a fence line, with a white ‘BRT’ blaze.

BRT heads east below bluffline

first of many tree falls

    As the trail curves back to the north there are a couple more downed tree detours, off to the east through the bare forest are some rocky broken bluffs but the trail doesn’t get very close.  Soon the underbrush with lots of greenbrier gets thick, but the trail is kept fairly clear.  Some areas the BRT is wide enough that I wonder if this may have been a road way back when.  The thick underbrush continues off and on for almost half a mile.

steep climb up rocky ridge

fence posts @ white 'BRT' blaze

    I come to another wooden fence post then under 100 yards further is a little campsite on the trail which looks like it was occupied last night.  I continue north as the trail begins a gentle descent passing through three or four small meadow like areas, the first has great views of the bluffline west above Beech Creek almost two miles away.  After a couple more small meadow areas the trail crosses under a powerline and 100 yards further to the road.

in places the BRT is like an old road

also with lots of fence lines

    This road is NC 8105, the BRT follows the road east uphill about 0.6 miles passing a small house and non-stop purple private property signs.  Where the Buffalo River Trail leaves the road heading north to ‘Ponca 9’ is well marked, I walk up the road 100 feet or so further looking for a parking area but find none.  There are a few wide-spots in the road where parking may be possible, I turn around and head back downhill on the road.

distant views from small meadows

    I pass by the BRT heading south, staying on NC 8105 instead which gets steeper as I go.  The road has a few new culverts along with a couple hairpin curves, after just over half a mile the road ends at SR 21.  Heading south in the grass along the highway I follow the tree line down to a low bluffline heading back to the west.  I keep up close to the bluff trying to stay in the shade avoiding the huge sunny field to the south.

at the edge of an old field

where the BRT joins NC 8105

    A faint old road heads north at the end of the low bluff, I continue west just a few more feet to the Buffalo River.  This is a lovely spot on the river with some boulders scattered around in the water, I go south along the edge of the river but soon head back to the mowed path along the west side of the huge hay field with its big long barn in the middle.  At an opening in the brush and trees I head back over to the Buffalo under a low bluff at a small swimming hole.

next to NC 8105

BRT sect.2 heads north toward Ponce

    Back on the mowed path heading southeast is a big wood post that looks like a sawed-off telephone pole, next to the big post is an obvious trail heading over to the river.  The trail soon evaporates but I stay the course in the woods soon coming to the mouth of dry Smith Creek.  On the south side of the creek I get back in another field keeping near the tree line, I can now plainly see the parked cars at South Boxley Trailhead.

scenic respites on the Buffalo

    Heading to the old buildings behind the trailhead, these are a barn and what I think is a corn-crib with a livestock ramp built on the side.  At the back on the south side of the barn is Whiteley-Edgmon Spring on the old lane that continues west past a gate then into Luallen Field, from here I walk up the lane back to the parking area passing the cable gate at the old road heading up the hill to Whiteley Cemetery.

long barn in big field

    In the end today got just as hot as yesterday, probably too hot to be hiking.  But with the gentle breeze the heat wasn’t really a bother, except for that first steep rocky ridge that got me questioning my decision to go hiking today.  No regrets, I had a great time on a beautiful day in late December, probably my last hike of the year.  Today’s loop hike starting on the BRT then down the road to the Buffalo River was 5.1 miles with an elevation gain of 669 feet.

old buildings behind the trailhead

South Boxley Trailhead: Statistics Chart 213  Easy to get to on paved roads, the well-marked trailhead/parking is at the south end of Boxley Valley on SR 21, just under 7 miles south of the intersection SR 43-SR 74, or about 4.5 miles north of the church in Mossville.