“The turn of the tide of success”
Part 1
Looking for a nice hike in the countryside, we found a description for Kings Mountain National Military Park on the web. Not really knowing too much of the history of the area it sounded like the way to get in some outdoor time as well as a history lesson. We drove about thirty minutes down beautiful country roads to arrive at the turnoff to the entrance to Kings Mountain State Park, then proceded on the same road another mile or so to the National Monument. Just an FYI, the State Park charges a fee to park, the National Monument does not. We also wanted to start a hike from a trail that led off from the Visitor Center of the Monument. When we arrived there were three large school buses in the parking lot and hundreds of middle-school-age children running around the area. Have to admit, our first thoughts were, “maybe this isn’t the day for a hike”, but we parked and got our gear on and as I went to use the restroom and check out the small museum, Bob looked at the map he had downloaded on All Trails before we left the house. We use this program quite a bit and have learned over the years to not rely on there being cell service where we are going. Bob is great about researching the area ahead of time and downloading ALL the trails we might want to explore. The other program he uses for bike trails is Trail Forks, and while it shows hiking trails - it is only if bikes are allowed also, and they weren’t at this trail. Both programs are free for the basics but we have the paid edition of All Trails because we tend to hike where there is no reliable cell service and like to have the maps downloaded to our phones. It has saved us more than once from taking a wrong turn and adding miles to our journey back to the jeep.
Gear on - we set off for the backcountry trail that will take us along Clarks Creek to Lake Crawford. An out-and-back trail, not loop, the app tells us it will be about a 7-8 mile trail depending on side trips, which we are pretty famous for. As we looked for the trailhead marker we were surrounded by rambunctious kids and I have to say the voice inside my head was saying “this is not going to be the quiet hike through the Carolina hills that I had anticipated”, but it was QUICKLY silenced by the other voice in my head (the one that really matters) that was saying “Isn’t it great that these kids are outside here in nature enjoying this beautiful fall day”! Well, we didn’t get very far down the backcountry trail when we realized that the kids were taking the 1.5-mile Battlefield trail and then having a picnic. Both my voices were now happy.
The trail started off on a black spongy surface that Bob thought was made out of recycled tires. Not what we are accustomed to, and I thought “my gosh this must have been expensive” when we realized that we were on the Battleground Trail, which is handicapped accessible and not part of the backcountry. Quick change of direction - you can see now how we always end up with more miles on the route than anticipated, and we are on the right trail to the lake. The first mile or so was mostly downhill, but not a very steep grade and then we started walking along the creekbed. Acorns underfoot, oak and maple leafs crunching with every step, the trail was a mixture of hardpacked Carolina red soil and loose gravel. The sun was peeping in and out and every once and awhile there would be a small gust of wind - just enough to rustle more leaves from the trees and I watched as they gently fell to the ground and mixed with the thick layering that was already there. We have missed the prime fall color for this area by a few weeks. Most all of the oaks and maples have either turned brown or dropped their leaves. But every mile or so we would take a turn and there would be a lone ash tree or small grove of trees in splendid vivid yellow. The sound of the creek babbling was the only other noise we heard, not a bird song or person to be seen for the first few miles. We crossed over into the State Park at one point - we noticed that the trail markers changed from the shiny blue “hiker” ones to just a small blue dot on the trees ahead. The markers came in handy at times, as the fallen leaves had completely covered the trail. Eventually, we made it to the lake, passing only one other set of hikers. We found a nice little place to sit on the dike that held Lake Crawford back and had a snack before the return hike. Just as beautiful and peaceful going back, we passed the same couple - they were doing the reverse of what we were. It was a soothing day, spent in a different type of forest than we are used to hiking. I would put this on our monthly list if we lived in the area.
Part 2
When we hiked the park a week or so ago, we kept talking about bringing Bob’s brother and sister-in-law back to see it after they flew in for Thanksgiving weekend. It worked out that we had a nice sunny day after they arrived so we journeyed back up to the mountain. Ralph and Carol live in Miami, and other than a few short trips out of state for Ralph, and a year he spent with us in Arizona, he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to travel. Carol, however, has traveled extensively around the world - but not very much of her time, if any, has been spent in the rolling hills of the Carolina’s. We wanted to show them a little of the countryside and do some historical research also. We started in the museum and watched a short film (40) minutes about the Battle of King’s Mountain and the Revolutionary War, and then set off on the 1.5-mile loop of the Battlefield Trail. It was once again a nice and slightly breezy day, but almost all the vivid yellow leaves of just a week before were now gone. Fall is leaving, and winter is not far behind. The trail is made up of a spongy black material suitable for all hiking abilities and there were quite a few offshoots to locations of burials. As we walked along the path Bob filled Ralph in on some family history that Sara has been researching. It seems that their ancestors were from this area, and fought alongside some of the patriots that we had just learned about in the film.
Nature may have erased all the signs of the battle, but every step up the hill brought us closer to the past. As we got to the top where the main battle had taken place, we all just stopped to pause and reflect on the history that had transpired on this hallowed piece of ground.
Battle of Kings Mountain
Kings Mountain National Military Park
