Linville Gorge Memorial Hike

Saturday was our first hike since we had to say good-bye to Alex and wanted to do his favorite hike.  Leaving early, we headed up to the Wolf Pit Trailhead at Linville Gorge.  I heard rumors the road was going to close to the public, but didn't see any indication.  We headed up along the Shortoff Mountain Trail.

The mountain laurel were really popping all along the trail.

Other pretty wildflowers like goat rue were flowering as well.

Some fly agaric mushrooms were popping out of the ground.

It was humid heading up, especially carrying Harper, but after a mile or soon, we made it up to the top.

It was much cooler up here and the clouds were clearing, so we started getting some great views of the gorge.

We took a short break at a rocky overlook and Sandy spotted an orange-patched smoky moth.

We also spotted a eastern turkeybeard flowering.

At high elevation, there was a lot of sandmyrtle flowering around the open areas at the top of Shortoff.

We also saw some interesting bristly locust.

It had small pink flowers and seed pods covered in red bristles.

There were also a few rhododendron blooming up here.

We stopped at the campsite along the trail before it turns east.

I think this spot has some of the very best views in all of Linville Gorge and Alex really loved the hike up here.

We hung out up here for a while then made the hike back.

We were pretty hungry by the time we got back down so stopped at Fonta Flora Brewing Whippoorwill Farm for pizza from the food truck and drinks.  Then we headed over to Lake James State Park to get in a quick hike before the rain.

More mountain laurel was blooming along Paddy's Creek Trail.  At the end, we got on Overmountain Victory Trail, but it soon looked like it was going to rain.

Fortunately, it didn't really start until we got back to the car.

From here, we headed to Spruce Pine and checked into Pine Valley Motel.  I noted a trailhead right across the street so I went on a short exploration.  A small trailhead for Overmountain Victory Trail was just off Carters Ridge Road.  The trail led about a quarter-mile along Grassy Creek.  At the end, stairs led down to the creek at the base of a small waterfall.

It wasn't big and there was a tree fallen down the middle, but it made a nice spot to turn around.

It started raining lightly, so I didn't stay long.

Back at the hotel, we took showers and went to bed.

Shortoff Hike in Linville Gorge

For the holiday weekend, we took Alex and Harper out to the mountains.  Alex wanted to take his little sister to his favorite spot for a hike, so we first went to the Wolf Pit Trailhead for Linville Gorge.  Shortoff Trail heads up the mountain from here.  Alex really enjoys the rocky steps climbing up the mountain.  Near the top, it meets up with MST and has really great views.

We hiked as far as the campsite with stunning views of Table Rock and the gorge.  There was a group camping here, so we just got a couple pictures and let Harper get her first views of Linville Gorge.

It was really windy up here, so we couldn't stay long anyway.

Once we started heading down the mountain, the wind died down.

Heading back down to NC-126, we made a stop at Fonta Flora County Park.

The Fonta Flora State Trail runs along the shore of Lake James through the park.

After a mile or so, the trail opened up and had really nice views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

There was a bench along here where we stopped for a break and then turned around.

We had worked up quite an appetite by this point and headed into Las Salsas for some delicious fajitas.  We hadn't eaten here in a while and I was glad the food was still delicious and portions huge.  Then we headed to Lenoir to check into the hotel for the evening. 

Shortoff Mountain

Saturday, we took Alex out to the mountains for a long weekend of camping.  We left early and arrived at the Wolf Pit Trailhead for Linville Gorge before 9, but the parking area was already nearly full.  I was surprised it was so crowded in February, but it was nice weather, albeit a little cold.  Linville Gorge is Alex's favorite place to hike, especially on a cold day.  We set off on the trail and headed up though not too steeply.  There was a little bit of ice on the trail.  After meeting up with Mountains-to-Sea Trail, we started getting some nice views and there were a lot of icicles up here.

With full sun and rising temperatures, the icicles were melting quickly.  Continuing on, we started to get views of the gorge as the trail turned north.

There were great views of Table Rock in the distance.

We went to the last good viewpoint and had a break here.  I think this is one of the best views around and shows the depth of the gorge along with the cool rock formations below the Chimneys.

We had a snack up here and then started making our way back.  There were some more nice icicles to see but I don't think they'll be there much longer.

On the way down, I ran into two backpackers who weren't sure where they were going to camp.  I suggested the spot where we had taken a break as one of the best campsites around and it was still open as of when we left.

There were some nice views of Lake James on the hike down.  I also talked to a guy from Marion about the history of Duke Tobacco and cigarettes.

It was still too early to check in to camp, so we headed up NC-181 to the trailhead for Upper Creek Falls.  We started on the upper section of the trail and descended to the top of the waterfall.  With the water way up, crossing the creek was difficult.  Two other people with dogs managed to get across, but Alex didn't want to, so Sandy took him back to the car.  I waded across to see the waterfall, but the light was poor, too bad since the water level was so high.

I then headed down to the lower crossing, which was even more difficult.  The two guys with dogs gave up and headed back the other way.  I was able to get across and took the switchbacks back up the car.

From here, we went to Carbon City Grill for dinner and then to Lake James to set up camp for the night.  It got rather chilly once the sunset, but we made a nice fire.  Even Alex slept with a blanket to stay warm.

Cathedral Falls

Sunday, we checked out and started heading towards Raleigh.  In Marion, we got off the interstate and headed to Linville Gorge.  Parking at Conley Cove Trailhead along Kistler Memorial Highway, we hiked down Conley Cove Trail (#229).

The trail descended steeply to the gorge through a break in the cliffs with many switchbacks.  Near the bottom, we found an area with a lot of red trillium blooming.

There were some hepatica here as well.

At the end of the trail, we turned left on Linville Gorge Trail (#231) and went about a half-mile to a scramble path down to the river where Cathedral Falls was flowing in from the other side.

It was a really pretty waterfall and flowing well.

We had lunch down here and then made the hike back up.

Back at the car, we made the drive home.

Daffodil Flats

Sandy had Sunday off, so we took Alex out for a hike at his favorite place - Linville Gorge.  We left early and got to the Pinch In Trailhead just before 8.  Pinch In Trail descended steeply down to the gorge.  The trail is open due to recent fires, but it was too cloudy for a view on the way down.  When we reached the river, we took a short break here.

Then we got on Linville Gorge Trail heading south.  It was early in the season, but we spotted a couple bloodroot flowering.

In about 1.5 miles from Pinch In Trail, we arrived at Daffodil Flats.

An old homesite from before the gorge was a wilderness, the only thing left is the field of daffodils that bloom year after year.  Despite the challenging hike, it is very popular and there were numerous other groups coming and going.

We had lunch down here, then started making our way back.  The climb back up Pinch In Trail was brutally steep, but the clouds had cleared so numerous opportunities for a break.

Near the top, there was a big rock to climb on for fantastic views of Linville Gorge.

We slowly made our way back to the parking area.  It was really hot for Alex.

Driving out on Kistler Memorial Highway, there were cars parked up and down the road at all the access points for Daffodil Flats.  This sure has become a popular spot.