Ledge Springs
The Ledge Springs is a two mile loop in Pilot Mountain State Park. Rated as strenuous, the trail features several excellent climbing areas, over 600 stone steps and an accessible overlook, seen above. The Unturned Stone worked on this project for over a year, completing over 10,500 feet of trail rehab and new construction.
Trees stand like sentinels near the beginning of the trail. The fence runs along the trail for several hundred feet, discouraging people from wandering off the trail to the cliff’s edge.
The trail winds along the bottom of the imposing cliffs.
There are several long flights of stone steps that climb the steep terrain.
This stone culvert sits at the base of the Amphitheater, a popular climbing location. During the rainy season, an enormous amount of water weeps out of the ledges. The culvert helps to drain a significant watershed without damaging the trail.
On a stony shelf at the base of the cliff, hikers and climbers have created a small shrine of totems found along the trail.
We quarried most of the stone for the project from the site, but there were places where steps needed to be brought in. We used a winch system and a beefy tripod to fly stones down a steep, impassible ravine. In addition to saving wear and tear on our bodies, the winch system minimizes damage to the environment.