Travel & Vacation Guide, North Carolina

by Christine Mayo
Wow! The Fort Fisher State Recreation Park has several hiking trails including The Hermit Trail (.4miles), The Basin Trail (1mile), and The Marsh Trail (.6miles), for a total distance of 1.1 miles.

The price is time, and it’s less than an hour. No appointments necessary, open January thru December, 7 days a week, even on holidays. Young and old will find the trails equally enjoyable and the view is amazing!
The trailhead starts out at the south end of Fort Fisher State Recreation Area Visitor’s Center (maps are available at the center).

Whether you’re apt to take a power walk or a relaxing stroll, this well marked trail covers a diverse terrain with equally entertaining wildlife. Nature is always evolving here. From the groundsel tree and yaupon, an occasional fox or rabbit, to the endangered piping plover that is easily camouflaged in the sand dunes and salt marsh, you are always bound to see something new.

Along the way discover the WWII Bunker that the Fort Fisher Hermit called home over 30 years ago. Here is a picture of the Bunker and a memorial plaque.

Not more than ½ mile further down the trail you’ll reach a wooden observation deck where the view over the estuary reminds you of why you call North Carolina home.

MarkM: Here is a 360º panorama I shot while at the Basin Overlook

by Christine Mayo
Now we’re not talking about any Hermit, but our own locally infamous, philosopher, moutainman, Robert Harrill, The Fort Fisher Hermit. “He made people think” is written on his headstone. Is this why we are so fascinated with his life, or is it the eerie questions surrounding his untimely death?

No matter how you feel you are not alone. With the countless newspaper articles, documentaries, short stories, books, and now a movie, “The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life and Death of Robert E. Harrill”, we can all get an insight to his life.

And if you get a chance, take some time out to follow a hermit’s path along the Fort Fisher area of Kure Beach, through the marshes and to the hermit’s bunker. With a little imagination, everyone can think like a Hermit for a couple hours.
Robert Harrill once explained his popularity in the New Hanover Sun in 1968, “Everybody ought to be a hermit a few minutes to an hour or so every 24 hours, to study, meditate, and commune with their creator…millions of people want to do just what I’m doing, but since it is much easier thought of than done, they subconsciously elect me to represent them, that’s why I’m successful…”.

Purchase the DVD