Linville Gorge MST Hike

Saturday, we took Alex out to the mountains to complete another #mst40hike in Linville Gorge, the most difficult hike in the book.

We left early and arrived at the Wolf Pit Trailhead before 830 and set off on Shortoff Trail (#235).  The trail climbed steeply up towards Shortoff Mountain, but switchbacks lessened the slope.  Alex still had energy at this point as was hopping up the stone steps.  There were a couple spots with nice views along the trail of fall color but low-lying clouds prevented a view of Lake James.

Soon we came to the intersection with Mountains-to-Sea Trail and continued straight towards Shortoff Mountain.

The top of the mountain is like a plateau, without much of a summit, but numerous fantastic overlooks of the gorge.

Continuing on, Table Rock, the endpoint of our hike, could soon be seen.

I thought Shortoff had some of the nicest views in Linville Gorge.  The fall color wasn't quite peak, but it was still gorgeous.

There was also an unusual pond near the top, very uncommon in the Appalachian Mountains.

The top of Shortoff continued with more overlooks, though the clouds seemed to be rolling in at Table Rock.

Sandy and Alex were only hiking one way so I took off to keep a quick pace.  There were a few more nice views of fall color before the trail descended to Chimneys Gap.

Along the trail I saw some bottle gentians flowering.

From Chimney Gap, the trail climbed very steeply up towards the Chimneys.  Near the top was what looked like a scenic overlook, but it was too cloudy to see much.

Once up at the Chimneys, everything was in the clouds with limited visibility.

I went as far as the parking for Table Rock Picnic Area.  Normally, you can see Table Rock from here, but it was completely shrouded in the clouds.  Since I had a long hike back, I decided not to go up.  Passing back through the Chimneys, there were a few spots with a break in the clouds for a nice view.

As I descended down towards Chimney Gap, I ran into Sandy and Alex, almost up the strenuous part.  We took a break for a few minutes then I took off.  It was quite a long hike back.  The low clouds had cleared and I could see Lake James from Shortoff now.

Then it was a one-mile descent back to the parking and then a very long drive up to Table Rock to pick up Sandy and Alex.

Fall Tanawha Trail Hike

Saturday was a beautiful fall day.  The weather had finally cooled down and the leaves were changing so we took Alex for a day trip to the mountains.  Leaving early we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway, arriving at Deep Gap not long after sunrise.  We made a quick stop at Stoney Fork Overlook for some sunrise photos.

Then we continued on to the Rough Ridge Parking close to Grandfather Mountain to access the Tanawha Trail.  Although we arrived early, it was already crowded at this popular trailhead.  It was just a short ways to Rough Ridge, with fantastic views of Grandfather Mountain and the Linn Cove Viaduct.

It was very windy here however, so we didn't stay long at the overlooks.  But the fall color was really fantastic.

From Rough Ridge, the trail descended, passing the headwaters of Wilson Creek and under Linn Cove Viaduct.  Past here, we crossed below the bridge over Stack Rock Creek.

Near the end, we crossed US-221 and there was beautiful fall foliage along the road.

It was just a short ways further to Beacon Heights.  We went out to the first overlook, but it was very crowded and the sun prevented good pictures.

So we continued on to the main overlook, which was surprisingly less crowded.  And the views here were just amazing.  We took a break here and had lunch enjoying the nice views without the wind of Rough Ridge.

From here, we hiked back.  We spotted a little garter snake just off the trail.

At Rough Ridge, the wind had died down but it was so crowded, we didn't stop.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was kind of a mess, so we took US-221 back towards Blowing Rock, making a quick stop at Green Mountain Falls.  The water level was low but it was still pretty with a splash of fall color, though most of the vegetation around the falls is rhododendon.

From here, we headed towards Blowing Rock.  The traffic got pretty backed up so we got back on the parkway to get back to Deep Gap.  We stopped for dinner at Dooley's in Wilkesboro and then headed home.

White Pines and Harris Lake

Sunday, I headed out to White Pines Nature Preserve for a hike as they had added a few new trails since my last visit.  I parked at the overflow lot and started off on Shiner's Way.  There was a huge violet webcap along the trail.

The trail was a loop with a spur towards the end that led down to a creek at the property line.

Back on the loop portion, I took Rocky Bluffs Trail along some bluffs high above Rocky River.

This trail ended at Schoolkids and I took this down to Rock River.

From here, I hiked all of the rest of the trails as some had changed and been re-routed since I had been here before.

After finishing the hike, I decided to make another short stop on the way home at Harris Lake County Park. I first hiked the combined History/Peninsula Trail out to some of the old homstead ruins.

An old pond was scenic.

I hiked out to the lake and then came back and made a partial loop on Peninsula Trail.  I spotted a great blue heron fishing along the lake shore.

Before leaving, I made a quick loop around the Cypress Pond Trail.

Then I finished up and went home.