Blue Ridge Parkway MST Hikes

Saturday, we took Alex back out to the mountains for a day trip for him to complete the #mst40hike challenge.  We left very early and arrived to the Blue Ridge Parkway before sunrise.  Arriving at E. B. Jeffress Park right around first light, it was too cloudy for much of a sunrise.  But the view from the overlook was nice.

We first got on the Cascades Trail and headed to Cascade Falls.

The first overlook was at the top of the falls and the second was further down.

The water level was low, but it was scenic there was a splash of fall color.  Heading back up, we got on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for Alex to complete the Blue Ridge Escarpment hike.

Although the trail was mostly forested, we got the occasional glimpse through breaks in the trees.

The trail crossed the parkway and continued following it northbound.

We passed through an open meadow at Phillips Gap and then back in the woods.  At the next meadow, there were some milkweed follicles that had popped open to reveal the seeds.

We headed back in the woods for about another a mile.

The trail popped back out on the parkway at Benge Gap, our turnaround point.

 Sandy waited with Alex while I ran back to get the car.

After picking them back up, we made a quick stop at View Betseys Rock Falls.  With the leaves still on the trees, it was difficult to see much of Betseys Rock Falls.

But the view from the overlook was great, even if we couldn't really see the waterfall.

Our next stop was at Basin Cove Overlook in Doughton Park.  We first stopped for a couple pictures from the overlook.

Then we got on the MST heading eastbound.  In about 1.5 miles, we came to View Bluff Mountain overlook.

This spot had some really fantastic fall foliage views.

Continuing on the trail, we could soon see Bluff Mountain.

The trail came out at Alligator Back Overlook, just before climbing up.

With some switchbacks, it wasn't too steep and we took another snack break near the top to enjoy the views.

From this point, the trail headed down to the picnic area through a beautiful open area.

The trail then climbed up a small hill with a lone tree at the top.  I love that tree.

We saw a few banded woolly bears in the grass.

After passing the inn, we came to the turnaround point at the visitor center.  Sandy and Alex waited while I ran back to get the car.

We made one last stop along the parkway at Stone Mountain Overlook.

Nice views from here and the fall foliage was beautiful at the overlook.

After some pictures, we headed to Elkin for dinner at Angry Troll and then made the drive home.

Flat Top Hike

Sunday morning, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Moses Cone Memorial Park, arriving early enough to secure a legal parking spot near the visitor center.

On our last visit, they were doing construction, but it was now complete and Flat Top Manor was looking very nice.

From here, we got on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and hiked under the parkway.

Right past the tunnel, we turned right to get on Flat Top Road.  There were nice views of Grandfather Mountain in the distance.

The trail switchbacked up through a forested section then came out in another open area.

A spur trail led out to the Cone Cemetery, the final resting place of Mr. Cone and his family.

Back on the main trail, it continued through the open area past bales of hay.

The trail started climbing up towards Flat Top and went back into the woods.

Numerous switchbacks made the climb up very reasonable and there were a number of spots with a break in the trees for a nice view.

Soon, we made it to the summit where there is an observation tower.

We took turns so Alex wouldn't have to climb but the views from the top were very nice.  It was rather windy so neither one of us stayed up for very long.

The hike back down was very pleasant.

At the first split, we went left and hiked down to Trout Lake.

One more beautiful scene of fall foliage before we had to leave.

It was a quick hike back to the parking area, which was packed when we got back with plenty of cars illegally parked - a good time to head home.

We stopped in Wilkesboro at Dooleys for a nice late lunch and then made the drive home.

Cragway Fall Foliage Hike

Saturday, we headed back out to the mountains for some more fall foliage.  We headed west towards Boone and got to the Blue Ridge Parkway right around sunrise.  We made a quick stop at Stony Fork Overlook to watch.

We made another stop a short ways further at View Osborne Mountain.

Driving further southbound, we made one more quick stop at Price Lake.

The fall color was just beautiful and there was steam rising off the lake on this chilly morning.

After a couple pictures, we continued on to Boone Fork Parking to hike into Grandfather Mountain State Park.  We took Tanawha Trail to Daniel Boone Scout Trail and started heading up.  The first part isn't too steep and it was pleasantly cold.  In about 1.5 miles, we made it to Flat Rock View and enjoyed the nice views here.

Here we got on Cragway Trail and started heading down.  About half-way down the trail, we came to the fantastic Top Crag View.

The fall color was just about peak and the panoramic views were really phenomenal.

I think this has been the best fall color we've had in several years.

When we first arrived, we had the overlook to ourselves but soon some backpackers showed up so we continued on.

There were a number of other rocky crags along the trail to climb up and enjoy the view, though none could beat Top Crag.

Cragway Trail ended at Nuwati Trail along Boone Fork.  There were some bottle gentians blooming here.

A left turn on Nuwati Trail led just under a mile to Storyteller's Rock and one last beautiful view in the park.

Then we took Nuwati Trail back to Tanawha Trail and the Boone Fork parking area.

It was still early enough so we continued on the parkway.  The traffic was like RTP in rush hour, but at least we could enjoy the views around Lynn Cove Viaduct.  We continued to Linville Falls, where not surprisingly, parking was a mess, but we caught someone leaving and took their spot.  We took Duggers Creek Trail to Linville Gorge Trail and headed out to the Plunge Basin Overlook for a view of Linville Falls.

The lighting wasn't great, but the falls were beautiful surrounded by fall color.  It was rather crowded so we didn't stay long.  On the way back, we stopped at Duggers Creek at a less crowded spot below some scenic little cascades.

A rhododendron had fallen and blocked the view of the waterfall, but the little cascades were very pretty.

After a nice break, we got out of there.

Heading back northbound on the parkway, we made a couple stops along the way.  First we stopped at Camp Creek Overlook.  There is no view here, but the fall foliage was really pretty.

A short fisherman's path led down to Camp Creek.

Our next stop was at Stack Rock Parking Area.  We had to walk a short ways up the road for a very nice view.

In the direction, we could see Grandfather Mountain and the swinging bridge.

Driving on, we made another stop at View Wilson Creek Valley.

Walking up the road to Boulder Field Overlook, we had another view of Grandfather Mountain.

Finally, we made one last stop at Sims Pond Overlook.

From here, we headed to Boone for dinner at Booneshine.  It was very busy and a wait for the restaurant, so we got barbecue and drinks from the food truck and ate outside with Alex.  He made friends with another dog named Gracie.  After dinner, we checked into the Quality Inn and retired for the evening.