Hiking: H.O.S.T. - HIstoric Occaneechee Speedway Trail, Hillsborough, North Carolina

Cheryl on the path to the Speedway Trace, with Prisma filter

• Dates we visited: January 11, 2020
  
• Total miles walked: 1.8
• Type of trail: Foot trail, compacted gravel
• Conveniences: Parking lot. 
• Best features of trail: Not crowded, nicely maintained, historic site. It also connects to the MST and the Hillsborough Riverwalk, so it's a good base for a longer walk or run. 
• Worst features of trail: No bathrooms or water fountains. There's a fine line between historic relics and junk that's been rusting for fifty years. You'll either find some of the rusting cars on display beside the track charming or eyesores. 
• Wildlife spotted: None on this trip, but deer and owls are pretty common
• Vegetation: Mostly pine and cedar 

The  year I was born racecars were still zooming around the dirt track at Occaneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina.  A stretch of ground over half a mile long was utterly devoid of trees, devoted entirely to the celebration of fast cars careening as fast as they could go around a big oval track. 

Today, the Speedway looks like this: 

They stopped running races in 1968 and the land returned to nature. Today, a trust manages the land and preserves the historic site. Walking from the parking lot down to the track and once around isn't a very long walk. Depending on meanderings and detours, you might get two miles out of the walk. Take every side trail that stays inside the site and you might get three miles. However, part of the Mountain to Sea Trail passes through this area, and you can connect to it for much longer walks or hikes. 

MST blaze

The nice thing about the HOST, for us, is that it's a hometown trail. It's easy to get to, never crowded, and a flat, well-maintained surface. Back when we ran, it was the perfect place to train for 5ks. One drawback for us that's probably a bonus for runners is that bikes are prohibited, so unlike some greenways  you really don't need to be looking over your shoulder if you're a runner. 

We kind of take it for granted since we've walked it so often, but the HOST is a walk that invites introspection. Seeing how much nature has reclaimed a formerly barren area within a span shorter than my lifetime cheers me up as I contemplate the resilience of nature. Conversely, it humbles me, as I realize how quickly nature can erase traces of civilization. Of course, not everything has vanished. The stands where fans watched the races are rather sturdy ruins. When I first moved to Hillsborough, they were covered in vines and brush, but even cleared out they look ancient. 

Cheryl and I walked this on a rather damp day in January. We didn't see any wildlife, but it's not rare to come here and spot deer and other wildlife. We've seen owls here many times. There are wildflowers through most of the warmer months. One nice thing about walking in winter is the undergrowth has died off, so you get a nice view into the thick stands of pines and cedars. Lichens and moss are abundant. It's easy to feel as if your walking through some fairytale forest instead of among the decayed remains of a previous era. 

There are several other great walking destinations in Hillsborough, but if you visit and only have time for one, the HOST is the easy choice. Maybe we'll see you there! 

Biking the Tammany Trace Trail, Louisiana

Bayou Lacombe Bridge, photo taken by a Tammany Trace Trail ranger

• Dates we visited: January 1 & 2, 2020
  
• Total miles biked: 61
• Type of trail: Rail trail, paved
• Conveniences: Bathrooms, water fountains, parking, stores & restaurants right off trail
• Best features of trail: Good trailheads, great trail towns, trail in good repair, patrolled by rangers, very long, very flat, very straight
• Worst features of trail: Very long, very flat, very straight, minimal signage with few mile markers, some busy road crossing with no signal lights
• Wildlife spotted: Herons, egrets, deer, turtles. Not spotted but heard continuously, chirping frogs
• Vegetation: Mostly pine, but plenty of wild flowers and lots of swamp land with vines and lily pads.

We kicked off our year with a trip to New Orleans to sell our books and crafts at Wizard World Comicon. We were excited to see a long rail trail just north of the city on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain, running from the town of Covington to Slidell, Louisiana, just shy of 30 miles long. We arrived on a New Years Day in the afternoon, checked in to our hotel, and immediately drove to the Covington Trail Head.

Covington was quite charming, with a blue grass band playing at a gazebo at the trailhead, but we couldn't linger. Making use of a few final hours of daylight and with storms heading our way, we set off hoping to make the next town over, Abita Springs.

Abita Springs has really embraced the trail. They have a big gazebo, playground, restaurants, and a museum right beside the trail. There are a few big road crossings, but the locals stopped when they saw us rather than blowing by. We biked a few more miles, but, with darkness coming on, had to turn back around mile six. 

That night we ate at The Chimes Restaurant in Covington. We were nervous about a wait when we saw all the cars in the parking lot, but the place is huge and we were seated instantly. Food, beer, and service were great. Behind the restaurant there's a boardwalk down to the river. There are kayaks and paddleboards for rent, but it was a bit cold and too dark to inquire about these. The Spanish moss in the trees by the river give the place a wild and swampy feel. 

The next day, rain and thunderstorms were forecast all day. Looking at radar, we were right on the edge of a huge cell stretching all the way to Texas. But, we had raincoats and this was our one shot at this trail, so we bundled up and headed out anyway. 

This time we used the trailhead in Mandeville. It's a converted train station, plenty of parking, and in the summer there's a splash pad. There are restaurants next to the trailhead, including Old Rail Brewing that had a bike rack fashioned from old rails and spikes.  

With the forecast looking like the storm would stay a few miles north for at least an hour, we set off for Slidell. This section of the trail is the flattest, straightest trail we've ever encountered. It's pretty much just a direct line to Slidell. It runs through Fountainebleau State Park and is mostly lined with tall pines. This can make the ride a little monotonous, but it's broken up with patches of bayou and the occasional live oak draped with Spanish moss. 

Amazing vanishing point!

Lacombe Bayou from the drawbridge

Our luck continued to hold. The rain stayed just out of range, and by Slidell we had to shed our rain coats. Relative humidity was pretty close to 100%. Temps were in the high 60s by this time, but it felt like it was in the 80s. Fortunately, Slidell has another nice trailhead and there's a convenience store right next to it where we could get ice for our water bottles. 

We headed back to Mandeville, had lunch at Old Rail, then headed north back toward Abita Springs. We stopped at a park centered around an old caboose, yet another great trailhead with water, bathrooms, and parking. 

One of the few trail logos not completely sun bleached. 

Once we reached the point we'd biked to the night before, we turned back. The area where we turned back contained the trail's worst stretch, the crossing at highway 59. This is in a blind curve with no crossing light and cars whizzing past. Fortunately, there are signs up indicating that a tunnel will be built under this road later this year, which will leave this very close to a perfect trail. 

But wait! There's more! Back in Mandeville, we headed off trail and biked the half mile or so to the waterfront of Lake Pontchartrain. The mile long park there had bike paths and numerous giant live oaks. The weather was turning ominous, or we might have visited one of the lakeside restaurants and had a drink as we watched the sunset over the lake. Plus, at this point, after biking close to 50 miles in steamy conditions we were a mess. So, we loaded up our bikes, headed back to our hotel to clean up, then went back to Abita Springs to eat at Abita Brewing, which is also right beside the trail. Seriously, if you like both beer and bikes, the Tammany Trace Trail gives you a lot of a options.

Cheryl's Final Thoughts about the Trail

I loved the charming towns and friendly people we encountered. The one improvement they need is updated signage. There are no mile markers, and while there are numerous maps along the trail that show you distances between trail heads and roads, they are almost all washed out and faded to illegibility. We kept trying to photograph the trail logo, but the only non-faded one we encountered was at the trailhead with the caboose. 

James' Final Thoughts About the Trail 

We bike a lot of trails and were really impressed with how the towns this trail runs through have embraced it and cater to people wanting to ride it. We are already planning a return trip and keeping our fingers crossed for better weather. Winter is probably the best season to make this ride. Given how steamy it was in January, I can only imagine what it would be like to try to tackle this trail in August. 

Introduction

We're James and Cheryl Maxey. We spend as much time as possible outdoors biking, hiking, and kayaking. This blog will record our thoughts and images from the various greenways, blue ways, and foot trails we explore. We hope to provide practical and useful information about the pros and cons of any given destination, to encourage other adventure seekers.

There's a lot of living to be done outside your living room! Hope to see you out there!