Overview: On November 16, 2008, my husband and I took a beautiful autumn hike on Hattaway Mountain in Morrow Mountain State Park. The park is home to numerous trails exploring the ancient Uwharrie Mountain range, a small natural history museum, and the historic homestead of Dr. Francis Kron. For those interested, the home will be open Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm for the next three weekends (December 6/7, 13/14, and 20/21). Morrow Mountain State Park is located south of Greensboro, NC in Stanley County. Click online for additional directions.
History, Ecology, and Personal Observations: Our journey along the strenuous 2-mile Hattaway Mountain Trail (see the park trail map) began on the west side of the park’s large swimming pool. The trail wound its way up a gradual incline through mature woods before reaching the Hattaway Mountain loop. Hattaway Mountain is one of four peaks in Morrow Mountain State Park that remind us of the former grandeur of the Uwharrie Mountains, the oldest mountain range in the eastern United States. Although the mountain peaks in the park do not quite attain 1,000 feet in elevation today, the Uwharries once towered some 20,000 feet above sea level and were formed roughly 500 million years ago when the North American and African tectonic plates collided.
Early on, the Hattaway Mountain Trail drew us into a quiet, leaf-littered corridor of upland forest (View of the Hattaway Mountain Trail, Morrow Mountain State Park, November 16, 2008). Higher up, the woods opened into the kind of long view that makes you stop mid-step and look out over the rolling landscape with a small, private sense of awe (View from the top of Hattaway Mountain, Morrow Mountain State Park, November 16, 2008).
The Hattaway Mountain Trail hosts some of the park’s most beautiful upland forest and scenic autumn vistas. Tree enthusiasts will be greeted by towering chestnut oaks (Quercus prinus) and hickories (Carya spp.), while those looking for a quiet fall or winter hike will be impressed by the sweeping views and relative privacy of this often overlooked trail. While Mark and I hiked this trail, we didn’t meet anyone else.
Along the way, small details kept pulling my attention back down from the big geologic story—like a post oak leaf (Quercus stellata) on the trail, a simple, satisfying reminder of where we were standing and what kind of forest we were moving through (Post oak leaf on Hattaway Mountain Trail, Morrow Mountain State Park, November 16, 2008). Even the lichens felt luminous against the late-season palette, bright and intricate on the rocks and bark, as if the mountain was quietly lit from within (Lichen on Hattaway Mountain, Morrow Mountain State Park, November 16, 2008).
Sense of Place 