Linville Gorge Loop Hike

We took Alex out to the mountains for another long weekend of hiking and camping.  We left early and headed towards Boone then to Spruce Pine and parked along Spear Top Lane, a small gravel road.  There really isn't parking here, but we were able to get completely off the road.  A lady was here feeding a donkey who took an interest in Alex.  We hiked up the road a short ways and got on an overgrown road entering Yellow Mountain State Natural Area.  After crossing a small tributary, we hiked through an open area with nice views.

A lot of wildflowers were blooming in this open area.

Many daisies and black-eyed susans.

We also spotted some milkweed.

A silver-spotted skipper landed on a flower longer enough for a picture.

At the end of the open area, we entered the forest and crossed Justice Creek.  The road (or roads) followed the creek up on river left side now.  There seemed to be a number of intersecting old roads, but we stayed close to the creek.  There was a big snail in the road.

After about a mile, a very steep path led down to a nice cascades.  The path was really overgrown with stinging nettle.

Shortly after, the road ended and an obvious path continued straight on to Cutler Falls.

It was about a 70-foot falls, sliding and cascades.

The rocks around the base were really cool.

We played around a while and got pictures from different angles.  It was tricky to get far enough away to capture the entire thing.

Then we started hiking back.

Next we drove to Kistler Memorial Highway to enter Linville Gorge and parked at the Pine Gap Trailhead.  Pine Gap Trail headed down into the gorge moderately, passing a couple scenic overlooks.

The trail was rocky and somewhat difficult for a dog, but Alex seemed to enjoy the rock scrambling even if he needed some help in a few places.

Pine Gap Trail ended at the intersection with Linville Gorge Trail (#231) and Bynum Bluff Trail.  We went straight on Linville Gorge Trail to follow the river downstream.  In half a mile, there was a nice spot to go out on the river and have lunch.

Not much further, we spotted Brushy Ridge Falls on the river just below a campsite.

Although only about 15 feet high, it was quite scenic and I climbed around on the rocks for a bit to get some pictures.

Some bay forget-me-nots were blooming along the river here.

After some pictures, we continued on Linville Gorge Trail.  It was very rocky with difficult footing in places so the going was slow.

We followed the trail to Babel Tower Trail and went left to rock outcrop with some of the best views in the gorge.

Getting to the top is difficult, so we took turns to let Alex take a rest at the campsite.

The views from here are just stunning with Hawksbill and Table Rock in the distance.

After enjoying the views, we headed up Babel Tower Trail.  It was all uphill back to the road and quite steep in places.  Near the top, there was a break in the trees with a nice view looking back into the gorge.

At the trailhead, Sandy and Alex took a break while I walked the road back.  There was one spot along the road with a nice view.

Back at the car, I drove back to Babel Tower Trailhead to pick them up.

Then we headed to Linville Falls campground to set up camp.  We got tacos to go from Las Arcoiris in Pineloa and went to bed early after a long day.