Then we continued a short ways to Crabtree Falls Recreation Area and parked at the trailhead next to the closed restaurant. We followed the trail through the campground and then headed down to Crabtree Falls.
The light was shining right on it, so hard to get a good picture, but it's a really beautiful waterfall.
I got some close-up shots to avoid the poor lighting as much as possible.
Since it didn't look like any clouds were coming, we continued on. The trail headed up steeply via switchbacks and then leveled off. There was a nice cascade on Big Crabtree Creek a little ways above the waterfall.
The trail continued following the creek for a while, then headed back to up the campground where we finished the loop.
Continuing south on the parkway, we made a stop at Bald Knob Parking Area (though the sign said Laurel Knob Overlook) for a nice view of Bald Knob Ridge and the Black Mountains.
Then we continued to View Glassmine Falls so Alex could do another hike for #MST40hikes.
From the overlook, we could see Glassmine Falls, but there was no water flowing at all.
Heading westbound on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, we passed through some woods and then along the parkway. In about a mile, we passed through a beautiful heath bald.
The views from here were really beautiful.
There was a nice view of Glassmine Falls, probably better than the overlook.
Passing through this open area, a number of wildflowers were blooming including some beautiful purple fringed orchids.
Soon, we came to Lunch Rock.
Going behind the rock, we could scramble up to the top for fantastic views. We had lunch up here.
Scrambling back down was a little tricky for Alex and he needed some help. Back on the trail, we skirted Bullhead Mountain and then headed back down towards the parkway. There was a really cool tree along the trail.
The hike ended at the View Graybeard Mountain Overlook near Craggy Dome. The 6k peak was in the clouds.
But the views from the overlook were really nice.
This was our turnaround point and we headed back with one more quick stop at the heath balds.
Then we made it back to the car at Glassmine Falls Overlook.
Since we were close by, we made a stop at Craggy Gardens at the trailhead for Craggy Pinnacle. The clouds had rolled in, but we hiked the trail since we were here. There are some great gnarled trees along the trail.
The rhododendron weren't flowering but there were some mountain laurel in bloom.
When we got to the summit, it was in the clouds and there were no views at all.
We went to the lower overlook but just as cloudy so we headed back to the car.
Driving back along the parkway, we stopped at several overlooks. First we made a quick stop at Green Knob Overlook.
Then we stopped at View Mount Mitchell. The Black Mountains were visible but the summits were hidden behind the clouds.
We continued northbound for a ways and made a stop at Deerlick Gap Overlook.
Then we stopped at The Loop Overlook with a view of the Altavista orchard below.
We made one final stop at Bear Den Overlook.
We got off the parkway at the detour and got dinner in Newland then headed back. Before heading to camp, we parked at the visitor center for Linville Falls for a short evening hike. We started down along the Erwins View Trail, crossing the river on a big bridge.
In about a half-mile we went to the Upper Falls Overlook for Linville Falls.
The upper twin drops were looking nice in the evening light.
I got some pictures, while Alex took a break. Glad I got some pictures here.
We next went to Chimney View but the shine was right over the waterfall so no way to get a picture. The view looking downstream into the gorge was nice thought.
We also went to Erwin's View put the sunlight was just as bad, so we headed back.
It was a just a mile back to camp and we built a nice big fire for our last night camping.
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