Moores Knob - Hanging Rock State Park, NC

In between frozen waterfalls I decided to do a quick detour up to Moores Knob, the high point of Hanging Rock State Park and the Sauratown Mountains. It was too sunny to pass up good views on this day, and the waterfalls were not time-consuming. I followed the Moores Wall Loop Trail from Hanging Rock Park Lake, taking the longer approach as I normally prefer. The trail heads west towards Huckleberry Gap following the East Fork of Cascade Creek. I enjoy this route more because it is an actual trail with no steps compared to the other approach. When you reach the gap the rest of the trail is up and up, climbing 900 feet in 1.5 miles along Huckleberry Ridge. It's as good of a workout you'll find for the Piedmont. Moores Knob is 2,579 feet high and is home to an outstanding lookout tower. The 18-foot stone tower was built in 1951 and its open-top has 360-degree views. Hanging Rock rises above the visitors center and the lake to the southwest. Cooks Wall Mountain is the large, double-humped peak due south beyond Huckleberry Ridge. You may be able to see Winston-Salem to the left of the mountain. The two prominent monadnocks due west are Sauratown Mountain and Pilot Mountain. On clear days you may see Mt. Mitchell to the left of Pilot Mountain, and Grandfather Mountain and Elk Knob to the right. The Yadkin Valley separates the Sauratown Mountains from the Blue Ridge Escarpment in the west. The most visible summit is Fisher Peak, with the mountains of Doughton Park and Stone Mountain State Park to the left. (In the video I mistakenly said Fisher Peak was around 4,000 feet, it is 3,580 feet.) The massive hump in the distant northwest is Buffalo Mountain. Due north is Bull Mountain, with Rocky Knob and Rock Castle Gorge on the distant right behind No Business Mountain. I quickly hiked down the stairs, then decided to try the Fishing Path around the north side of the lake. The lake was almost completely frozen, except for one circle near the beach where the sunlight lasts the longest. Make sure to stop at the pier to get the best view of the tower on Moores Knob. Overall it was a really nice, "quick" detour. Hike was 5.3 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Hike location https://goo.gl/maps/gGH25JaW2FBRZiPR9 Hike report https://www.hikingupward.com/NCSP/Moo...