From the desk of the acting Park SuperintendentFrom the desk of the acting Park SuperintendentFrom the desk of the acting Park SuperintendentFrom the desk of the acting Park Superintendent

Join park rangers, botanists, and other environmental educators from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00

p.m. for our annual Stewardship Day Festival. Admission is free—booths will be located

alongside the Rocky Broad River in Chimney Rock Village. Come join in the fun!

Chimney Rock RegisterChimney Rock Register Winter 2013 / Volume 4, Issue 1 Published by Chimney Rock State Park, NC Division of Parks and Recreation

stewardship day FESTIVAL– April 20

Rumbling in the Gorge

The residents of Hickory Nut Gorge have reported hearing rumbling noises echoing through-

out the gorge as early as 1874. Rumbling Bald got its name because of roaring and crash-

ing sounds which, on rare occasions, seem to originate in or on it. It was variously de-

scribed as an explosion, an earthquake and a volcanic eruption. Rumblings of this magni-

tude have not been heard for years… till now.

On November 14, 2012 at approxi-

mately 9:00 p.m., during a rain storm,

the residents of Chimney Rock Village

reported hearing a loud rumbling noise.

The next day rangers patrolling the park

found the cause of this loud roaring and

crashing sound.

A 2,000-ton rock slab had fallen 340 feet

from an overhanging rock ledge above

the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, shattering

and continuing down the side of the

cliff’s face. The impact of the rock ruptured the ground’s surface on a ledge, causing the

ground to slide. It also splintered trees and dislodged more boulders, some of which went

airborne and sheared off 10-inch diameter trees. Boulders as large as 10 tons continued to

roll, bounce and fly down slope where they impacted the Hickory Nut Falls Trail. Some boul-

ders came to rest 200 feet below the trail. (Continued on Page 2)

Rumbling in the Gorge Continued from page 1

This path of destruction took out a 230-foot bridge located ½ mile down the Hickory Nut Falls

Trail and left 3,000 cubic yards of loose unstable deposits of rocks, boulders, soil, broken trees,

and stumps that remain approximately 200 feet above the trail. The potential of these deposits

to fall onto the already damaged cliff face

and trail is the primary safety concern at

this time. The trail remains closed.

Erosion is a natural process which formed

Hickory Nut Gorge and some of its most

prominent features, like the Chimney at

Chimney Rock State Park. Erosion oc-

curs when soil and rock are removed from

the Earth's surface by wind or water and

then transported and deposited in other

locations.

More significantly, however, the potential

exists for sporadic rockslide events of various sizes to further erode the gorge and impact the

Hickory Nut Falls Trail. High winds could dislodge loose boulders propped against damaged or

downed trees. Very rapid movement of a large debris slide could occur in response to an envi-

ronmental trigger, such as heavy or prolonged rainfall. These movements could be sudden,

rapid and without warning, as rock slope failures are very difficult to predict.

Chimney Rock State Park is in the process of determining how to make this trail safe so that we

can proceed with cleanup and repair. Experts from the North Carolina Geological Survey and

the North Carolina Department of Transportation have travelled to the park and examined the

rock slide event. Currently more data is being collected to determine the next course of action.

It is the goal of North Carolina State Parks to conserve and protect the natural beauty of ecologi-

cal features and to provide safe outdoor recreational opportunities. This can be a difficult task

that requires time and planning. Likewise, it will take time and planning to repair the Hickory Nut

Falls Trail. During its closure, please continue to cautiously enjoy the park and the natural

beauty that lie within by hiking some of our other trails, like the new East Side Trail at the Rum-

bling Bald Climbing Access off Boys Camp Road. This trail is one mile (round trip) and leads to

the east boulder fields and the base of Rumbling Bald Mountain. Here you can see previous

acts of erosion, evident from the large boulders that came rumbling down in

1874 and are still there today.

See you in the woods!

James LedgerwoodJames LedgerwoodJames LedgerwoodJames Ledgerwood

Ranger’s Report

On December 1, 2012 rangers at Chimney

Rock State Park hosted a trail work day at

the Rumbling Bald Climbing Access area off

Boys Camp Road in Lake Lure. The park

acquired the climbing area in 2008, but it

has long been used by the public for climb-

ing, bouldering, and hiking. The park began

stewardship of this land by creating a new

parking area and trailhead, and this stew-

ardship continues today as state park staff

works alongside local volunteer groups to

complete a new trail to the base of Rum-

bling Bald Mountain.

The old trail route leading to the base of the

climbing area consisted of old logging roads

and had become washed out by rain, caus-

ing very deep gullies. A new reroute of the

trail was flagged out by park

staff to a more sustainable

grade and also to provide ac-

cess for emergency personnel.

Next, the NC Division of Parks

and Recreation contracted with

YRU Contracting Inc., a profes-

sional trail building company, to

do the initial rough cut of the trail

and to fix the existing eroded

areas. (Continued on Page 4)

Did you know?

Did you know that woodchucks, like Grady the Groundhog, are one of the few true hibernators

here in the North Carolina winter? Groundhogs and bats are the two mammals here at Chim-

ney Rock that enter the deep sleep (torpor) of hibernation and greatly reduce their metabolic

rates. Grady’s heart rate can drop from his normal 100 beats/minute down to only 4 beats per

minute, and his breathing slows to one breath every 3-4 minutes! Now that is what we call

slowing down for the season. Groundhogs increase their weight in the fall around 30% more

than normal, but they will have lost up to 50% of their total weight when they wake in the

warmer spring. So tread lightly out there, and don’t wake Grady.

Ranger’s report

Continued from page 3

Most recently, local volunteers groups, such

as the Carolina Climbers Collation, Friends

of Chimney Rock State Park, and the Caro-

lina Mountain Club, all came out to volunteer

their time to manicure the newly constructed

trail back to a more natural looking state.

The volunteers’ specific tasks and responsi-

bilities included cutting all exposed roots on

trail and side slopes, raking side slopes to

cover roots and create a more natural looking

slope, and removing anything from the trail

tread that would be a tripping hazard. Volun-

teers used a variety of tools including rakes,

axes, loppers, wheelbarrows, and ropes to

complete their tasks along areas with steep

banks.

For more information on how to volunteer call

828-625-1823.

In keeping with our division’s

mission of conservation, this

quarterly newsletter will

only be distributed elec-tronically.

A Naturally Wonderful

Moment

Being hypnotized by the formation of icicles at

Devil’s Head, one drop at a time.

www.ncparks.gov

Chimney Rock State Park Phone: 828-625-1823

PO Box 220 Fax: 828-625-4039

Chimney Rock NC 28720 chimney.rock@ncparks.net

Epic year for volunteers

A big thanks goes out to our volunteers who worked a total of 488 hours in 2012! From

mapping with a GPS unit to clearing the new trail with axes and rakes, our volunteers have

helped enormously with our mission to conserve the park’s natural resources and provide

recreational opportunities to the public. The many generous volunteers are listed below.

Map Trails on GPS Andi Cochran

Anthony Love

Map Invasive Species on GPS Sue Brown

Ed Mayer

Treat Hemlocks for Adelgids Cary Anderson

Debbie Anderson

Boulder Area Rehabilitation Morgan Blaisdell

Laura Boggess

Sandy Boyd

William Goodson

Elizabeth Jackson

Jon Jones

Jon Lane

Adam Tripp

Trail Litter Pickup The Webb Family

Rumbling Bald Climbing Area Trail Workday on December 1

Sadie Adams

John Averette

Laura Boggess

Peter Broering

Nathan Brown

Melissa Buehler

Mary Caldwell

Thomas Caldwell

Loren Carty

Cole Casserly

Leigha Dickens

Brad Dorough

Chris Dorrity

Jamie Ervin

Jon Estep

Jim Fisher

Brian Foley

Kayah Gaydish

William Giles

Justin Gillespie

William Goodson

Russell Hobart

Phil Hoffman

Jim Horton

Julie Hwang

Jon Jones

Jon Lane

Jason Kratzer

Daryl Macinnes

Cassin Mullenix

Todd Mullenix

Shannon Millsaps

Ben Newton

Ken Pitts

Mike Reardon

Heather Richardson

Pascal Robert

Robert Semple

Caleb Smith

Tony Tang

Adam Tripp

Stuart Turner

Adam Walters

Julie Wiggins

More volunteers will be needed in 2013, so if you would like to be a part of

one of the important projects mentioned above or a new project, contact

Ranger Tyson Phillips for more details.