Carl Sandburg Hike

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel, enjoyed a relaxed breakfast, and drove to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock before heading home.

We parked at the hiker lot and followed the gravel road toward Connemara Farm, passing several historic farm buildings along the way.

We soon reached the beautiful main house, where the views from the porch were stunning, though the house itself wasn't open yet.

Instead, we set out on the Memminger Trail, a mostly level loop that winds around Little Glassy Mountain.

About halfway through, we branched off onto the Glassy Mountain Trail (also known as Big Glassy).

The path climbed steadily but pleasantly to the summit of Big Glassy Mountain at 2,783 feet. The rock outcropping near the top offered fantastic panoramic views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond.

We looped back down, completing the trail near the charming goat pastures.

The farm is home to descendants of the prize-winning dairy goats raised by Sandburg's wife.

By then, the house was open, so we stopped by the visitor center for a passport stamp and let Harper pick out some fun finger puppets.

Before leaving, we took a quick detour on the short Little Glassy Mountain Trail, though it didn't offer any notable views.

The path led us back to the gravel road, and we returned to our car.

On the drive home, we exited the highway near Charlotte Airport and made a short stop at the intersection of Crescent River Road and River District Drive. There, we visited Big Pete with the Big Feet, one of Danish artist Thomas Dambo's impressive recycled-wood trolls.

The massive sculpture was incredibly cool, but the area was quite crowded, so we didn't linger.

Finally, we stopped in Mebane for a delicious dinner at Bright Penny Brewing, wrapping up a perfect day of history, hiking, and whimsical art.

Arboretum Trolls

On Saturday, we took Harper and Amaroq to Asheville for a delightful troll-hunting adventure at the North Carolina Arboretum's Trolls: A Field Study exhibit by Thomas Dambo.

We arrived in the morning and kicked off our quest with Lilnut, the net-wielding troll right near the parking area. 

She nearly snagged Amaroq as he curiously sniffed around her.

Just a bit further along the lot stood Boge, looking like he was ready to grab hold of something (or someone!).

We wandered down the garden paths next, where Kirse greeted us mid-handstand.

There was a fun natural playground nearby, but the chilly weather kept Harper from playing too long. Continuing on the Natural Garden Trail, we soon spotted Poppy (or Poppi), who was armed with a fishing net and a handful of old cell phones, clearly fascinated by human gadgets.

Up in the meadow, Hasse had us laughing with her upside-down pose, peering between her legs.

We looped back onto the trail and passed Birch with his hiking stick.

At the end, we descend to the serene Willow Pond

Across, Anja was busy counting her collection of rocks.

From there, we climbed up toward the visitor center. Just outside stood Wilde, sketching a human figure on his phone with great concentration.

We pressed on through the gardens to find the final few: Bignut, who triumphantly caught Amaroq in his net.

Valle, peacefully napping in the garden.

Taks, ever the explorer, was searching intently with his net in hand.

Last but not least was Larke, sporting a dumpster on her head— a quirky reminder of human habits! With all twelve trolls checked off our list, we enjoyed a short hike along the Carolina Mountain Trail.

It wound down, following Wolf Branch to Bent Creek Road, then connected to the Bent Creek Forest area.

Instead of sticking to the road, we took the Creekside Trail.

Running parallel to the road, there were prettier views of the creek.

From there, we detoured onto the Ethnobotany Trail and through the Native Azalea Garden - I can only imagine how stunning it must be in spring when the azaleas are in full bloom. 

We looped back up via Running Cedar Road.

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden isn't dog-friendly, so we took turns exploring it.

After that, we headed out and stopped for a tasty dinner at Ecusta Brewing in Brevard before checking into the cozy Sunset Motel for the night. What a wonderful, whimsical day - highly recommend it for families, dogs included!

Lake James Fonta Flora Trail

Sunday morning, we woke to the gentle patter of light rain - warm enough overnight to have melted away thoughts of snow. By the time I’d broken down camp, the shower had already passed, leaving the air fresh and the skies clearing. We pulled into the Lake James Visitor Center and set off on the Fonta Flora Trail.

 

The path dropped from the parking lot on smooth pavement to a pretty picnic shelter perched right at the water’s edge.

From there, the South Wimba Trail peeled off to the west, but we crossed the graceful arc of Cove Bridge and continued on the main Fonta Flora route.

Once across the bridge, the trail turned to welcomingly wild - soft dirt and pine needles winding north along the Longarm Peninsula.

The lake shimmered in the soft morning light, mist still rising in delicate wisps from the coves.

We hiked an easy six miles out and back, soaking in the quiet beauty, and made it back to the car just before noon.

Amaroq polished off his lunch in the backseat, and with full bellies and happy legs, we pointed the car toward home.

MST Pinnacle Hike

On Saturday, we woke up to a crisp but bone-chilling morning and drove into Marion for a warm breakfast before heading to the Kistler Memorial Highway along the western rim of Linville Gorge. We parked at the Overmountain Victory Trailhead and started hiking up the forest road, which doubles as the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST).

Less than a mile in, we reached the Pinnacle Trailhead and got off the road to hike out to its namesake - a striking rocky summit with sweeping views of Shortoff Mountain and the deep gorge below.

The views from up here were spectacular.

From The Pinnacle, the trail plunged steeply downward - an alternate, but still punishing, route to Daffodil Flats.

It wasn’t much easier than the notorious Pinch-In Trail.  After about a mile of relentless descent, the grade finally eased where the Leadmine Trail split off.

We stayed on the MST, climbed over one last steep little knob (steep but rewarded with another great look at Shortoff), and soon arrived at the far bank of the Linville River.

A few anglers were casting on the opposite side; we decided not to ford the cold water and turned around here.

The climb back up to The Pinnacle was brutal, seemingly vertical in places, but the frigid air kept us from overheating. We reached the car, ate a quick lunch in the sunshine, then continued along the Overmountain Victory Trail (still following the MST markers).

About a mile later the trail crossed Dobson Knob Road. Since the Victory Trail was closed beyond that point, we followed the road—and the MST blazes—for another half mile or so before heading back to the car.

On the way home we stopped at Fonta Flora Brewery again for a post-hike beer, then back to Lake James State Park.

Parking at the mountain bike trailhead, we did an easy 3-mile double-loop stroll on the Upper and Lower Tindo loop trails to stretch our legs.

It was a beautiful evening, but light was fading.

Back at camp that evening, I built another roaring fire to ward off the cold as we settled in for one more chilly night in the gorge.