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Meet Croatan. As one of only four National Forests in North Carolina (the others are all in the western half of the state), and the only true coastal forest east of the Mississippi, she's got a lot to prove. But Croatan knows how to impress: with white sand beaches, stands of towering pines, wildlife both rare and common, marshes, river-swimming opportunities and a twenty-one-mile trail that bisects the forest to give the hardcore day hiker or dedicated overnighter a sweet taste of all that is coastal North Carolina.
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Croatan
Poetic!
Pretty nice. I think I've hit all the Western forests more than once but I've never been to the Eastern half of NC. Guess I need to plan a trip.
I live in NC but have never been to Croatan. I'll be looking for a chance to go there now, probably in cooler, bug free weather. And I'll be sharing this article w/ friends too!
Glad to see another hammocker as well! If you are not aware, there is a growing hammocking web site, hammockforums.net, that is made up mostly of backpackers, most of which are interested in lightweight packs.
A number of them are members of Backpackinglight.com., and several live close enough to Croatan that it may very well be a doable trip for them as well. Thanks. …Tim
nice to see the return of the photo essay, great story Bayley.
Well done!
Great report-Did the trail about 2 winters ago.Water caching is easy with the many road crossings. Never saw any water I would use except in a pinch. One 2 mile section of sand road walking. Lots of boardwalking, 3 shelters. Great place to go when the weather is nasty in the mountains.
!
Lovely description and photos. Never knew this trail existed so close. And part of the MST trail!
How was water availability in early summer? Did you carry all your water or treat, re post above?
This is a great article, it really gives me a good idea of what the trail is like. The photos are stunning! Hope to see more from Ms. Lawrence soon. North Carolina looks lovely; I'll have to get out there sometime!
Great descriptions, although the photography was even better. I really got a sense of how it would be to hike that trail.
Next time I am in N.C…
Great stuff here Bayley. Looks like a peaceful place for some daytrippin'. Better yet, it's not too far away (from Columbia, SC). I think I'll work it into a weekend in the near future. Not to spoil the trip with gear, but I've got to know what Patagonia pack you're using. Thanks for the trip report and perfect photos!
Bayley,
Nice article on another area I've never been to before. It'd be great to see some photos of your campsite since we don't get many hammock trip reporst here since Carol has assumed other responsibilities. But since you dodn't mention a much gear maybe ytou didn't camp.
Tom
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