Friday, February 24, 2012

Topsail Treasures

The trail system at Topsail will keep you delightfully busy for two weeks.

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The Campbell Lake Bike Trail is a paved, very easy and enjoyable 3 miles that takes you to unpaved walking trails of varied length.

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The Deer Track Trail, although only 1.5 miles, is a butt-kicker.

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Please stay off the dunes or this guy will get mad.

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Deep, soft sand makes the going tough. The payoff is beach access, some coastal birds and total solitude.

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Park rangers patrol the paths, probably checking on geezers who underestimate the intensity of the hike.

 

The brackish freshwater ponds are rare and lovely.

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There are loads of jewel-like Sundews along the lake edges. Tiny explosions of carnivorous delight. Trod carefully!

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Beware of snakes, alligators and bear. There were virtually no bugs at this time of the year, but it’s probably pretty bad when things warm up.

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The Deer Track Trail is wonderful. Tomorrow we’ll hike the Morris and Old Growth Trails.

 

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Beauregard just experienced his first severe downpour. No leaks to report! Yay.

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Still haven’t unpacked the big camera.

If it’s sunny (as predicted) tomorrow we’ll head back to the Sundews with a camera that works better than my busted P&S.

1 comment:

Erin said...

Those carnivorous sundews look lovely. A sandy trail can be a real butt-kicker ... we found that out at Chincoteague; good exercise. Despite the snakes, this park is now officially on our 'recommended list'.