Rainy Hike at Graveyard Fields

Sunday morning, we woke up to more rain, though it was light, but the river was getting higher.

We got breakfast then headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to Black Balsam Road and parked at the trailhead for Art Loeb and Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  As we started hiking, the rain got harder and harder.  Alex had difficulty on the slippery bridges over the headwaters of Yellowstone Prong.  When we reached Graveyard Ridge Trail, we decided to call it quits and take a shortcut back.  Crossing Yellowstone Prong at Skinny Dip Falls would be impossible.  We took Graveyard Ridge Trail and Connector to return to the Graveyard Fields parking lot and walked the parkway back to the car.  We'll have to return in lower water for Alex to complete this hike.

From here, we drove down the mountain to Mills River Brewing and had dinner and drinks here.  There were many dogs here and Alex made a few new friends.  There was a short break in the rain during the evening and we were able to build a fire, but soon it started again and rained relentlessly for the rest of the evening.