Craggy Gardens MST Hike

Saturday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at camp then followed the detour to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway heading south.  We made a stop at Three Knobs Overlook for a nice morning view of the Black Mountains.

Then we continued a short ways to Crabtree Falls Recreation Area and parked at the trailhead next to the closed restaurant.  We followed the trail through the campground and then headed down to Crabtree Falls.

The light was shining right on it, so hard to get a good picture, but it's a really beautiful waterfall.

I got some close-up shots to avoid the poor lighting as much as possible.

Since it didn't look like any clouds were coming, we continued on.  The trail headed up steeply via switchbacks and then leveled off.  There was a nice cascade on Big Crabtree Creek a little ways above the waterfall.

The trail continued following the creek for a while, then headed back to up the campground where we finished the loop.

Continuing south on the parkway, we made a stop at Bald Knob Parking Area (though the sign said Laurel Knob Overlook) for a nice view of Bald Knob Ridge and the Black Mountains.

Then we continued to View Glassmine Falls so Alex could do another hike for #MST40hikes.

From the overlook, we could see Glassmine Falls, but there was no water flowing at all.

Heading westbound on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, we passed through some woods and then along the parkway.  In about a mile, we passed through a beautiful heath bald.

The views from here were really beautiful.

There was a nice view of Glassmine Falls, probably better than the overlook.

Passing through this open area, a number of wildflowers were blooming including some beautiful purple fringed orchids.

Soon, we came to Lunch Rock.

Going behind the rock, we could scramble up to the top for fantastic views.  We had lunch up here.

Scrambling back down was a little tricky for Alex and he needed some help.  Back on the trail, we skirted Bullhead Mountain and then headed back down towards the parkway.  There was a really cool tree along the trail.

The hike ended at the View Graybeard Mountain Overlook near Craggy Dome.  The 6k peak was in the clouds.

But the views from the overlook were really nice.

This was our turnaround point and we headed back with one more quick stop at the heath balds.

Then we made it back to the car at Glassmine Falls Overlook.

Since we were close by, we made a stop at Craggy Gardens at the trailhead for Craggy Pinnacle.  The clouds had rolled in, but we hiked the trail since we were here.  There are some great gnarled trees along the trail.

The rhododendron weren't flowering but there were some mountain laurel in bloom.

When we got to the summit, it was in the clouds and there were no views at all.

We went to the lower overlook but just as cloudy so we headed back to the car.

Driving back along the parkway, we stopped at several overlooks.  First we made a quick stop at Green Knob Overlook.

Then we stopped at View Mount Mitchell.  The Black Mountains were visible but the summits were hidden behind the clouds.

We continued northbound for a ways and made a stop at Deerlick Gap Overlook.

Then we stopped at The Loop Overlook with a view of the Altavista orchard below.

We made one final stop at Bear Den Overlook.

We got off the parkway at the detour and got dinner in Newland then headed back.  Before heading to camp, we parked at the visitor center for Linville Falls for a short evening hike.  We started down along the Erwins View Trail, crossing the river on a big bridge.

In about a half-mile we went to the Upper Falls Overlook for Linville Falls.

The upper twin drops were looking nice in the evening light.

I got some pictures, while Alex took a break.  Glad I got some pictures here.

We next went to Chimney View but the shine was right over the waterfall so no way to get a picture.  The view looking downstream into the gorge was nice thought.

We also went to Erwin's View put the sunlight was just as bad, so we headed back.

It was a just a mile back to camp and we built a nice big fire for our last night camping.

Craggy Gardens Rhododendron

This past Saturday, I headed to the Craggy Gardens area of Blue Ridge Parkway for some hiking and to see the rhododendron blooms. For Memorial Day, Sandy and I had gone to Roan Mountain, perhaps the best place to see rhododendron blooms, but it was too early back in May. So this was a great opportunity to see the beautiful rhododendron flowers. I met Justine and the others in Chapel Hill and we drove out towards Asheville. On the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was 15 miles or so to the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area. Our plan was to hike the Snowball Trail (#170) into the Big Ivy area of Pisgah National Forest. We stopped at the picnic parking area, but then drove back down to the trailhead by the gated Stoney Fork Road. We hiked a short ways on MST, then turned right to follow the yellow-blazed Snowball Trail. Initially, the trail headed straight up the side of Snowball Mountain. Fortunately, it was a little chilly at this high elevation and there was a nice breeze to keep us cool for the hike up the mountain. The summit of Snowball Mountain is forested, so not much in the way of views. We then continued down the other side and headed up the next mountain – Hawkbill Rock.

It was a bit of a scramble up to the top and then a side path led to an overlook with great views of the valley below. We had a quick snack break and then continued on. Eventually, we went down from Hawkbill Rock to Snowball Gap and then back up Little Snowball Mountain. There was an interesting mushroom growing along the side of the trail, but I'm not sure what it was.

The trail skirts around the summit of Little Snowball and continues on to a false summit where the fire tower used to stand. Along this area, we saw some beautiful flame azalea blooming.

At the end of the trail, was a small open area where the lookout tower used to stand. This tower was slated for demolition, but a concerned citizen bought the tower, dismantled it, brought it down the mountain and reconstructed the tower. Now all that remains are some cement structures where the tower once stood.

These blocks made a nice seat to eat lunch. And there were a lot of daisies and other wildflowers blooming at the spot.

After lunch, we made our way back. I quickly ran up to the summit of Little Snowball Mountain to make sure there was nothing else here – there wasn’t, just a very overgrown campsite. Then we made our way back towards the cars.

It was mostly uphill on the way back, except for the last stretch coming down from Snowball Mountain. On one part of the trail, a mother bird flew out of her nest right next to the trail. It wasn't hidden very well. I got a quick picture of her babies and then continued on.

Back at the cars, Justine and the others were camping and heading further west. I had to be back to Raleigh for Fathers’ Day, but wasn’t quite ready to leave the mountains yet. I stopped at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, planning to hike along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for a bit. The views here were very nice looking into the valley below.

High above, I could see Craggy Pinnacle towering above. It looks very scenic, so I drove a little further to the View Craggy Dome parking area. From here, I made the short hike up to Craggy Pinnacle. It’s a popular trail and many other people were on the trail and overlooks. The beautiful Catawba rhododendron were blooming all over the mountain.

A few trees were here, very gnarled and twisted from the harsh conditions at this high elevation.

Although it’s uphill, it's an easy gradual slope and I stopped several times for pictures, including a lovely tunnel of mountain laurel.

I first went to the upper overlook at the summit of the mountain. With 360° views, this is one of the most scenic places on the parkway.

Just past Craggy Gardens, I could see Snowball Mountain, Hawkbill Rock, and Little Snowball Mountain and figured out where we had hiked earlier.

In the other direction, I could see the might Black Mountains towering in the distance. I then headed down to the lower overlook, which had nice views as well, but not as spectacular as the upper overlook.

After that, I started heading back to the car. From across the parking lot, I could see Craggy Dome towering above at more than 6000 feet high.

After a couple more pictures, I started making my way home.