Rich Mountain Hike

Saturday, we headed to cooler weather in the mountains for Amaroq's fourth birthday.  Parts of the parkway are still closed, so we had to drive to Boone and take the alternate route to Moses Cone Memorial Park, where the carriage roads are stroller friendly.  Parking along Shulls Mill Road, we took the spur up to Rich Mountain Road in an open field.

Following the road up Rich Mountain, we passed the Mountains-to-Sea Trail as the road circled around the summit.

As it looped around, there was another open area where we could see the top despite the clouds.

The circles became tighter as we approached the summit.

A short rocky path led up to another open area at the top, where Amaroq had a snack and Harper ran around for a bit.

After a break, we started heading down.  There were some Indian pipe along the trail.

Harper was very interested in some of the cows we saw grazing along the trail, but threw a temper-tantrum when we didn't let her pet them.  We spotted some more summer wildflowers along the trail on the hike down towards Trout Lake.

Yellow false fox-glove had really pretty flowers.

Near Trout Lake, the arrowwood was producing bright red berries.

We continued around Trout Lake and headed to the Manor House before finishing our hike.

On the way home, we stopped at Booneshine for a late lunch.

Sharp Top Hike

Sunday morning, we headed back to Peaks of Otter and parked at the Sharp Top Trailhead.  It was chilly to start out, but probably a good thing as carrying Harper up the steep trail was challenging.  We hiked up slowly but surely and soon made it to the top.

The shelter made a nice place to take Harper out to play around while we took turns getting pictures.

I collapsed my hiking pole down and let her play with that trying to walk around.

After a break, we headed back down and started making our way home.

James River Hikes

Saturday, we took Amaroq and Harper up to Virginia for some early fall foliage.  Our first stop was at Natural Bridge State Park.  Descending the stairs to the contact station, we passed along Cascade Falls, but there wasn't much water today.

After paying admission, we hiked under Natural Bridge.

Cedar Creek Trail went under the bridge and followed the creek upstream.

A short spur went out to the creek at Hemlock Island.

Just past this was a low water bridge with a nice view of the early fall color reflecting off the creek.

We then crossed the bridge over to the Saltpeter Cave, but there were quite a few people here.

The Lost River was next along the trail.

Cedar Creek Trail ended in about a mile at an overlook for Lace Falls.

We took a break here and then headed back.

Next, we drove to the James River Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

First, we got on Canal Lock Trail that crossed the river under the parkway on a pedestrian bridge.

On the other side was an open area with Battery Creek Lock exhibit.

The 19th century lock raised and lowered boats navigating the canal.

On the way back, we took the Trail of Trees.

This short loop trail passed an overlook with great views of James River Water Gap.  Then we got on Otter Creek Trail.

In about a mile, we came to Otter Lake.

Going around the lake, we got back on Otter Creek Trail and continued upstream.  Lower Otter Creek Overlook was another half-mile up the trail.

In about another mile or so, the trail crossed under the parkway and another road and a side path led to View Terrapin Hill.

It was about another mile to Otter Creek Campground and then we turned around.  We went the other way around the lake on the way back.

We finished our hike back at the car.

From here, we continued driving the parkway southbound.  We first made a stop at View Arnold Valley that had great views from a boulder pile.

There was another View Arnold Valley just another 0.1 miles up the road.

We made another stop at Onion Mountain Overlook.

Then we continued to Peaks of Otter and drove to Bedford and had barbecue and drinks at Beales.

Return to Catawba Falls

Saturday, we left to take Harper for a week in the Smoky Mountains for her first birthday.  We left early and stopped on the way near Old Fort at the trailhead for Catawba Falls.  The area was closed for several years as the Forest Service was making improvements for safety and accessibility and had reopened at the beginning of the summer.  This would be our first visit since reopening.  Arriving at 8, it was raining lightly and there were only a few cars in the parking lot - a good thing we arrived early.  After getting Harper in her backpack, we set off on the Catawba Falls River Trail that mostly followed the old trail.

Soon, we came to a bridge at the ruins of an old hydroelectric building.

It used to be a rock hop across the river, but the bridge has been here for a few years.  The trail followed the river upstream with a moderate incline.  In about a mile, the trail passed Lower Catawba Falls.

Before the new trail, there was a scramble path down to the base, but that was no longer possible with the trail reroute.

We could see the upper portion of the waterfall from here, but the lower section with the small cave was not visible.  The only way down would be to backtrack to a point to get in the river and creek walk up, but weren't going to do that with a baby.  I did a quick loop on the short wildflower trail and then we continued on.

The stairs began shortly before we reached Catawba Falls and we could get out at the base.

The water level was a little low, but the waterfall was pretty in the light drizzle.

Although visible from the base, the stairs weren't as much of an eyesore as I expected.

Then we began the steep climb up the steps.  Several landings provided a view of the upper sections of the falls.

Carrying Harper, I took a few breaks to enjoy the view and catch my breath.  The old path to reach the upper falls was still visible beneath the steps.

The final part of the climb was up an observation tower that had nice views, especially from the top.

It was just a short ways further to Upper Catawba Falls.

The new viewing deck provided a nice view and we scrambled on the rocks for more pictures.

On the hike back, we took Catawba Ridge Trail to make a loop and avoid going down all those steps.  It was a bit more uphill and then started heading down.

Overall, I think they did a nice job in building the new trails and stairs.  I would prefer the wilderness experience but the area was so popular and so many incidents that something had to be done.  The parking lot was full when we got back, even with the rain, so glad we arrived early.

It was getting to be around lunch time, so we drove to Asheville and fajitas at Orales.  It was still a little early to check in, so we made a stop at the Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  While Harper and Sandy browsed, I went for a hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail heading south/westbound.

There were some wildflowers blooming along the roadside and in open areas, but most were non-native.

I hiked just past the tunnel under I-40 and turned around.

On the hike back, a very large black bear popped out on the trail in front of me.  He turned and ran immediately but we sure was a big boy.  Sandy and Harper were about finished up and we took off.

We drove west to Bryson City and stopped at the visitor center to get a parking pass and then checked into our little cabin.