A winter hike along Upper Barton's Creek

The afternoon of January 15th was beautiful here in central North Carolina. We took advantage of the sunshine and 70°F warmth and decided to explore the beautiful creek that flows behind our house. I took many pictures during our hike and will share some of the highlights here. I will be displaying the pictures (click to enlarge) in roughly the order we encountered each scene, starting with a view of the creek while we were making our way down to it and ending with a view of a small waterfall about half a mile upstream.

Upper Barton's Creek looking west (upstream)

The next view is looking east (downstream) and was taken while I was standing in the creek. Amazing that I remembered to bring the camera and wear my boots! This is almost directly behind the house, which isn't visible because it's at the top of the bluff on the right. The dark, reflective surface of the creek in combination with lichen and moss encrusted boulders and rugged terrain clothed in mature hardwood trees make this one of my favorite views on our property.

Bluff and boulders along Upper Barton's Creek

The scale changes dramatically in the next view. About 50 feet upstream the creek flows around a cluster of large rocks. When not flooded the tops of these rocks are exposed and the lee sides are covered with a luxurious growth of liverworts. I have no idea what species these are, but I really like their blue-green color and snake-skin texture.

Liverworts

The next view is of an unusually shaped, multi-trunked sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) growing on the banks of the creek. The kids thought it looked like a giant squid, maybe you agree?

Multi-trunked sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

The next three views are of trees with exposed roots clinging to the creek banks. In the first view it's hard to tell which way is up because the tree emerges and continues sideways before turning. I am not sure what species are in the first two views, but the last is an American beech (Fagus grandifolia), which was featured in a recent post.

Creekside tree, which way is up?
Creekside tree with exposed roots and moss
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) hugging the bank

Here's a view of the small waterfall that was our intended destination. We continued hiking further upstream and found more pretty scenery and some exceptionally large boulders. I would have liked to have taken more pictures, but the camera's battery was running low.

Small waterfall on Upper Barton's Creek

I hope you enjoyed your virtual hike!