Fall Hike at Raven Rock

Yesterday, Sandy and I spent the day at Raven Rock State Park. We first hiked along the Campbell Creek Loop Trail, following Campbell Creek to Cape Fear River.

We took the short Lanier Falls Trail to the "falls" and stopped for some pictures, then continued back along the Campbell Creek Loop Trail back to the Visitor Center. Then we hiked the Raven Rock Loop Trail, and took a detour along the Fish Traps Trail.

At the Fish Traps, we climbed out onto the rocks for a great view up and down the Cape Fear River.

Then back to the Raven Rock Loop Trail for a quick stop at the overlook, then down to Raven Rock. We had lunch down on the rock and walked around a bit to get good views and pictures.

Then we headed back to the parking lot and headed home. It was cold, but we were able to keep warm by hiking. Now, back to work for us on Halloween.

Short Hike at Stone Mountain

When we woke, a few friends left to hike Grandfather Mountain, but we chose an less strenuous itinerary. We hiked from the campsite along the Boone Fork Trail at at Price Park.

We went out about 2 miles to Hebron Colony, a rock formation along the Boone Fork, also called Hebron Falls.

Sandy and I got engaged here about a year ago and it was great to visit again. Then we headed back and broke camp and left for one more spot.  After leaving Price Lake, we headed to our last destination of the weekend - Stone Mountain State Park. The foliage was past peak in the Boone area, so further east and at lower elevations, we hoped the colors would be better. On the way, we stopped in Blowing Rock to get lunch at Six Pence Pub and also picked up some fresh Pink Lady apples. At the park, we parked at the picnic area, and hiked to the Stone Mountain Loop trail, first going right. We hiked up Stone Mountain and went out on the rock face for some spectacular views.

There were many turkey vultures circling overhead.

On one old tree on the edge of the mountain face, there were at least a dozen vultures waiting as the others scanned the landscape for food.

We turned around and headed back down to stop at Stone Mountain Falls, a 200-foot waterfall (along with the 200 feet of stairs to go down to and up from the base!). Then back to the car to make the trip back to Raleigh. Another great weekend of hiking and fall foliage.

Mountain Hikes in Northwest NC

This weekend Sandy and I and friends headed to the Boone area for more fall foliage. She finally took a weekend off so she could join in the fun. Our first stop was Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. We stopped at the upper overlook for some photo opportunities then headed to the parking lot.

We hiked up the Summit Trail then took the Rhododendron Trail to the Lost Province Trail.

After completing the Lost Province Trail, we headed out to Luther Rock for some great views, then returned along the Rhododendron Trail to the summit of Mount Jefferson.

We then headed back to the car and on to the next destination - Elk Knob State Park. Elk Knob is one of NC's newest state parks and is still in a state of development and doesn't have the amenities of other parks. There is only one trail here, the Summit Trail, so we headed up. While hiking along a north-facing slope of the mountain, we even saw un-melted snow along the trail. The trail is moderate to strenuous due to elevation gain, but there are many switchbacks to reduce the slope. Previously, only an old dirt road led to the summit - a shorter distance, but much steeper without the switchbacks.

At the top, we had lunch at the summit and enjoyed the great views of the surrounding Appalachian Mountains.  There was a south and north view and we got views from both.

Then we headed down and drove to Julian Price Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We quickly set up camp at Price Park then headed to Linville Falls for a short hike before dark. We took the difficult trail to Linville Gorge.

At the bottom, we had to climb over rocks to get up close to the falls and took a few pictures, before heading back before dark.

We had been here previously, but had taken the upper, less difficult trails for a view of the falls. This trail was more difficult, but provided a great up-close view of the powerful waterfalls. Then back to the campsite for a campfire to stay warm. The overnight low was 30°F!

Great Smoky Mountains - Cataloochee

Sunday morning, we broke camp, but before heading back to Raleigh, we stopped in the Cataloochee area. There were wild turkeys and elk along the side of the road.

After some pictures of the wildlife, we parked and hiked along the Caldwell Fork Trail. This trail is relatively flat, a relief after a strenuous hike the day before. However, it follows the creek with numerous footbridge crossings and was quite scenic. About two miles in, a footbridge was out. We were able to cross, but turned back anyway for time's sake, and headed back to Raleigh after a great weekend.

Mount Cammerer Hike

Saturday morning we work, had breakfast, and got ready for a busy day of hiking. We started at the Big Creek Ranger Station and hiked up the Chestnut Branch Trail to the Appalachian Trail. Traveling west on the AT, we passed a few scenic overlooks, before taking the Mount Cammerer trail up to the peak.

There was an old lookout tower at the summit and we rested and had lunch here and took photos of the spectacular views of fall foliage.

After an hour, we hiked back down the mountain and back to camp.

The total length was about 12 miles with 3500 feet of elevation gain! We headed into Tennessee for dinner before calling it a night.

Mouse Creek Falls

Friday morning, we drove up to Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a weekend of hiking, camping, and fall foliage. We took I-40 just into Tennessee and got off and entered the Big Creek section of the park. After setting up camp, we hiked up the Big Creek trail to Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek Falls. Midnight Hole is a two small cascades that fall into a pool that acts as a swimming hole.

It was a little too cold to take a dip, so we headed further up the trail to Mouse Creek Falls for photos of the beautiful cascade.

It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to the campsite for the evening.

Cass Scenic Railroad

We left Spruce Knob/Seneca Rocks and headed to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to catch the 12 o'clock train up to Bald Knob.

After going through two switchbacks, the train stopped at Whitaker Station for a short break then headed back up the mountain.

We stopped at Bald Knob for about a half hour and took in the scenic views of the surrounding mountains, then the train headed back down.

It was a very enjoyable train ride with wonderful views.

The weather was fantastic and I think we had the perfect weekend for this trip.

My only complaint about the train ride is the coal smoke. The steam engines are originals from when Cass was a mill town, and the coal-powered engines produced a lot of smoke.

The engine pushes the train uphill, so the smoke was downwind of the train going up, but the opposite going down, so there was a lot of smoke and embers, particularly on the way down. My eyes are still a little red and I've been coughing up ash since I've been back. If I rode the train again, I think I would try to get a seat in the last car, furthest away from the engines.

Fall Foliage in West Virginia

This weekend, we headed up to West Virginia to see the fall foliage. We first stopped at Reddish Knob along the West Virginia/Virginia border and took some pictures at the overlook, then continued on. Our first stop was Seneca Rocks in Spruce Knob/Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area.

We climbed up to the rocks for a quick lunch and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

The rocks themselves were quite impressive as well.

Then we headed to North Fork Trail. I bailed about half way through the hike, because it was getting dark and I can't see well in the dark. After we regrouped, we headed to Spruce Knob Lake campground and set up camp. In the morning we headed up to Spruce Knob, the highest point in WV, and walked the short trail around the mountain top for more wonderful views of fall colors in the surrounding mountains.