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.
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