The LandTrust for Central North Carolina is hosting a hike Sunday on King Mountain in southern Randolph County, reputed to be the highest peak in the Uwharrie Mountain range.
The moderate hike of 4-6 miles will begin at 2 p.m. and end around 5 p.m. LandTrust staff will lead a motor caravan to the site, leaving from the historic train depot in Salisbury at 1 p.m. or the Eldorado Outpost on N.C. 109 in Montgomery County at 1:30 p.m.
There is no admission for this event. An RSVP is requested.
“King Mountain is not only one of the highest peaks in the Uwharries,” says Jason Walser, executive director of the LandTrust for Central North Carolina, “it is also home to some rare plant communities and some of the cleanest streams in the region.”
He notes LandTrust staff recently discovered on the site a population of the federally endangered Schweinitz sunflower, which hikers may have the opportunity to see.
Walser says the property may also serve as a critical link along an expansion of the Uwharrie Recreation Trail, one of the Uwharrie National Forest’s most popular recreational amenities. The property connects two U.S. Forest Service tracts just north of the existing trail corridor and could eventually be a key link in a 20-mile expansion of the trail.
“The LandTrust has identified expansion of the Uwharrie Recreational Trail as one of its key strategic initiatives,” says Walser. “Although King Mountain is not the only remaining gap, it is a pivotal one and a very real step toward strategically enhancing what the Uwharrie Forest has to offer local residents and tourists. We invite all of our members and friends to come hike this beautiful and strategically important property with us this Sunday.”
To RSVP for the hike or for more information, contact Andrew Waters at the LandTrust, 704-647-0302, or e-mail him at andrew@ landtrustcnc.org.