Author: Jake Brunton

It took a long time, but I finally hit the trail with my pack on the Uwharrie Trail to Dutchman’s Creek Trail loop back on September 20th, 2025. This is a 5 hour estimate, 11.4mi trail loop, so for someone who has only went and done one other backpacking trip prior, this was definitely a large undertaking (and I did not undertake it all in the end).

The hike began around 11:25 AM EST at the Uwharrie Trailhead. I tend to plan for backpacking hikes when the weather is colder, so if I had still been in West Virginia at this time, it would have been manageable. However, I was not in West Virginia, we were obviously in North Carolina, and as such the weather in late September was nice and toasty.

My pack was lighter, as I had learned my lesson (like every newbie backpacker) from my first trip on the Glade Creek Trail back in WV (post coming soon). Or, at least, equipment-wise, it was lighter. Overall, I had filled my 3 liter bladder with water, and this was a problem, but also a smart move in retrospect.

The Uwharrie Trail begins relatively easy and flat, with some small ups and downs to trek through, and mostly forested. Which was nice, as the weather harbored clear skies and a bright, hot sun. About ten minutes in, I had to stop and take my pack off as I forgotten to apply bug spray. It seemed annoying then, but that was the smallest inconvenience of this trip…

About 30 minutes in, I had found my first of many dried-up creek crossings. This spot wasn’t really ideal for a camp, but a fire ring was there alongside a nice log for a quick break. I obliged the log, as I could see the first elevation trek was coming up.

At this time, I received a call from my friend, which was interesting. I would find out later that, at least for AT&T, a large portion of this trail had a very small slither of 5G access. So, if you wanna get outside or bring your doom-scrolling kids with you, this might be the trail!

Anyways, the first climb did hit me a little bit, but I luckily had a bottle of water and my bladder full and ready as well. This was actually a really cool spot to climb, because there was a super nice campsite at the top in an opening of trees with a clear view of the sky.

I took a good rest here for about 15 minutes, eating some crackers before heading back out. I also noticed several couples come through, which was another thing of note on this trail: it was relatively populated!

The pictures stopped there until hours into the first leg I’m afraid. The Uwharrie Trail north-bound is a series of pretty steep incline-declines after this first stop, and between the elevated heart rate and the heat, it was a killer time.

About 3 miles in, I arrived at the base of what is Dennis Mountain. It was a gradual incline that became a sharp incline at the last few minutes to the peak, so I had sat on the start for a good while, conservatively pouring what little water I had left in my bottle on my head to stay somewhat cool. I was passed by a pair of hikers here who I would encounter for a brief time later. At this point, I had been tapping into my water reserve from the bladder and was worried with the lack of water I had seen on the trail so far.

There were some very – and I mean VERY – shallow, stagnant puddles here and there, but that was it.

I took one nice picture of the trail after I had passed the peak of Dennis Mountain. Which, sadly, has NO views whatsoever when the trees are still lush and green. Maybe try the hike in Autumn or Winter and you can probably see…something.

There was a crossroads sign where I considered hanging a trail East-bound to cut the loop in half, because when I considered hiking about 5 of 11 miles on the first day, it seemed it would be easy work. It was not. I was running on about 50% here, but I basically hit myself with a “don’t be a pussy” and continued the Uwharrie trail leg.

The next hour and a half of this leg was possibly my least favorite. It was a long decline from Dennis Mountain, which usually isn’t a problem, but I am a newbie and had on some boots that were just a little tight in the toes, and they were sore at this point so bracing myself downwards the whole time was pure torture.

Around 3.9 miles in, the descent ends and the trail plateaus into a simple forest path again, which was a nice respite for me. Except for the fact that the creek was still completely dried up. I was out here – at about 40% now – as other people much more fitter than me were JOGGING these fucking inclines. Insane respect. I took one more 20 minute break here, bracing myself for the last incline of the day, which was about a little over 320 feet elevation gain. Nothing terrible, but when you’re hot, tired, and can only have little sips of water, it’s a nightmare.

I began the final incline of the day, trying to push myself a little more because I wanted to get to the end of this leg. By the way, when I say “leg,” I mean finishing where the Uwharrie intersects with the Dutchman’s Creek trail. Basically, 5 miles into the loop.

Anyways, halfway up the incline, I ran into the pair that passed me at Dennis Mountain. They were two young men taking a break, drenched in sweat – much like myself – taking a water break. I wouldn’t cast myself as completely socially anxious, I just never quite know how to open conversations with strangers. But, at this time, I felt like we both shared the worry of lack of water. I had stopped and asked if they were handling the trail fine and their opinion on the lack of water.

It was obvious they didn’t really want to talk to a bald, lone man on the trail (and fair enough), and the exchange ended with a quick “you could use a puddle if you must.” I then found out they were looping further beyond the trail than my plan, said my farewells and kept going.

I was DYING.

I was right at the precipice of this incline, when I took a seat in the lush grass on the side of Wood Run Road (which would be my savior the next morning). I sat there, physically exhausted, my bladder at about 2 liters now, and quite parched. I got up and continued a little further, however, because the intersection was near…

The intersection!

A pre-made campsite with plenty of firewood was right on the intersection I had planned to stop for the day. Thank GOD.

I had failed to mention that, one good thing about this trail is besides the water scarcity, it is quite backpacker friendly because it is absolutely littered with cleared out campsites for people. Some small, some large enough for 3 to 5 tents! This place was awesome, as the forest cleared pretty nicely here, and my GPS device received consistent service AND I somehow had consistent 5G (1 bar, but it worked!)

It was nearly 6 o’clock when I had gotten my tent set up, and a fire started. The fire was a stupid idea. I have this complex where, if I am camping outdoors, even though I have my portable stove and gas with me, I feel like I have to have a campfire going. Learn from me: if it is warm and you have other means to cook, do not start a fire. At least, not if you have limited water…

Anywho, there was also a sizeable log placed by the fire ring. Of which I sat on for several hours, having a nice conversation with my close mate Brandon. The idea of not having to use my feet anymore that day was a massive comfort. I boiled some of my water to eat a very mediocre freeze-dried chicken and dumplings meal, followed by some mango sticky rice for dessert.

I know freeze-dried food for camping gets a bad rap, but the sweet stuff is actually pretty good!

I also noticed some marks in a tree, which I thought may have been bear claw marks but I decided this was probably someone just hitting it with an axe (cope?)

I took one selfie for good measure, and it was about 7 PM now.

One thing I still haven’t pulled off (to be fair, at this point I have only done two overnight trips) is to fall asleep and get good sleep in a sensible manner.

I got into my tent around 8PM and sat there watching some YouTube videos. Earlier, when I first sat down, I felt like I could fall asleep immediately. Now that I was actually laying down and the sun was nearly gone, my nighttime anxiety of being in the woods kicked in. I get so much adrenaline for every little sound that I have a hard time falling asleep.

This night was no exception.

Firstly, it was still pretty damn hot by 9PM. It finally started to get nice and cool around 11PM, but I am a freak and could not just fall asleep no matter the exhaustion.

Not to mention the fire!

I had used some of the water from my bladder to extinguish it. I did not do a good job, because come around 9:30, I see an orange glow outside – it started right back up again from small embers. So, I scrambled out of my tent, poured a little more of my water reserves on it and went back. I probably had about 32 ounces of water left. Around 11:30PM, the fire kicked up again. I contemplated letting it try to die out on its own, but I decided against it (also, always extinguish your fire when no one will be around to watch it!!!)

Thus, a little frustrated, I scrambled out of my tent again, scared a creature or cryptid might come scoop me up, and used the little remaining water I had to douse it some and then stomped it out. It took effort, but this worked (luckily).

I lay back down, and did not fall asleep until about 4AM.

7AM.

I wake up, tired as all hell, and scramble to get my equipment packed up. I opened AllTrails and looked at the map, and decided that Wood Run Road would be my trail back. The initial idea was to camp out, then do the remaining 5/6 miles of the loop to the car. I had one backup 12oz bottle of water with me. That was not happening.

So, I started on the Dutchman’s Creek trail – as originally planned – but then, when it intersected with Wood Run Road, I took the road the rest of the way back. This turned what would have been a 3.5 hour hike into a 1.5 hour hike back to the car. And sure, it wasn’t glamorous – it was a gravel road in the forest – but I did get some quaint morning views:

I got back to the car, brushed my teeth and immediately headed to the nearest gas station for some water. I followed that up with a stop in Albemarle where I scarfed a Baconator down for some much needed calories.

Overall, the Uwharrie Dutchman’s Creek loop is indeed a challenging one. You need to make sure you’re packed light, but also that you have plenty of water. The creek’s are going to remain dry unless the area gets decent rainfall prior to your arrival.

If you’re backpacking with a companion and can share the water load, this is a great loop for you. It is a serene forest walk with some challenging inclines that you can get out of the way first, and has plenty of cleared campsites ideal for parties of people.

If you are alone and tend to make dumb decisions (like myself), I don’t think I would recommend it.

This loop gets a 2.5/5 from me for individual hiking, and a 3/5 overall.