Rainy Day on Blue Ridge Parkway

Sunday morning, we woke up to a light drizzle.  We hiked to the car and drove to West Jefferson to get breakfast and then headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Driving northbound, we soon came to Doughton Park.  As we passed Bluff Mountain, there were a couple of beautiful ephemeral waterfalls crashing down below the road and down the mountain, eventually flowing into Meadow Creek.

I hopped out of the car and walked along the stone wall to see the impressive drops that only existed because it was so rainy.

Continuing on, we made a stop at Brinegar Cabin.  It was closed but looked pretty in the fog.

And we wouldn't be getting any long distance views today.  Continuing on, we made a stop at Devil's Garden Overlook.

Although cloudy, the views were very pretty.

Fall color along the parkway was really popping.

We continued a little further to Bullhead Mountain Overlook, which also had cloudy views.

A little further, we made a stop near Horse Cove Branch.  There's a waterfall along the creek here, but it was too cloudy to see anything at all.  We could definitely hear it in the high water even if it wasn't visible.  Our next stop was at Cumberland Knob Recreation Area.  We waited for a few minutes for the rain to subside then set out on Gully Creek Trail.  It descended very steeply to its namesake at the base of Gully Creek Waterfall.

It's a small waterfall, but scenic in high water.

So high, in fact, that the creek crossing immediately downstream would have been a wade.  With the rain picking back up, we decided to just head back.  Up at the top, I made a quick run to Cumberland Knob, but not much of a view here.

Then we hiked back to the parking lot.

From here, we continued north on the parkway into Virginia.  We drove about 10 miles or so to Piedmont Overlook.

Too cloudy for much of a view down to the Piedmont but the parkway was pretty in the fog.

From here, we turned back and headed back into North Carolina.  We made a quick stop at Little Glade Mill Pond.

A short trail led around the small pond and the fall color here was really beautiful.

Further down the parkway, we made another stop at the seasonal waterfalls flowing down Bluff Mountain.

It was a really spectacular sight and very rare I suspect.  From here, we headed back to New River State Park.  The rain had finally died down, so we took Alex for a hike down the River Run Trail.  The water level of the river was really up.  The trail passed by the Stump Family Home Site.

The trail then climbed back up and ended at Hickory Trail, which led back towards camp to make a loop.

The fall color was really beautiful, even with the cloudy views.

We made it back to camp just before sunset.

Everything was too wet to bother with a fire and the rain started back after dark, so we just went to bed.

Gragg Prong Waterfalls

Saturday, we headed out for very wet long weekend in the mountains.  Leaving early, we headed towards Boone and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway heading southbound.  We made a quick stop at Thunder Hill Overlook to let Alex out got some great views from here.

Soon the clouds would roll in and no more views.  Then we continued past Grandfather Mountain to Roseboro Road down into the Wilson Creek area of Pisgah National Forest.  After the road changed to FR-981, we parked past the bridge over Gragg Prong.  From here, we got on Lost Cove Trail (#262) and followed Gragg Prong downstream.  In about 0.7 miles, where the trail crossed a small drainage, we followed a side path down to the base of Upper Gragg Prong Falls.

There was a huge rock jutting into the creek at the base of the waterfall.

I climbed around a little on the rocks to view the waterfalls, but it was very slippery in the rain.

Continuing on the trail, we soon came to Middle Gragg Prong Falls.

I scrambled down a little ways, but it was very wet to move around on the rocks.

Just a short ways further down the trail, we came out at the pool at the base of the lowest drop.

It was just a little ways further to Gragg Prong Falls, the lowest waterfall on the creek.

It was starting to downpour by this time, so we didn't spend much time here and started making our way back.  Near Upper Gragg Prong Falls, we found another path leading down for a view of the waterfall.

Then we made the hike back to the car.

From here, we headed back to Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at the trailhead for Beacon Heights.

At a break in the rain, we ran out to the overlook.  It was mostly cloudy views, but the colors on Grandfather Mountain were beautiful.

From here, we headed into Blowing Rock and got barbecue take-out from Woodlands and drove back to Thunder Hill Overlook.  It was way too cloudy for any views, but a decent spot to eat our dinner.  After eating, we headed to New River State Park, our home for the weekend.

We were camping at the primitive campsites and had to hike a short ways to our spot.  The park had some wagons so we could cover our stuff with a tarp, a very nice amenity.  The bathhouse was really nice for a primitive campsite too.  After getting our tent set up, the rain lightened up and we drove up to the Dogwood Trailhead parking.

There was a picnic shelter to have a snack and then hike the short trail to the overlook.

Then we headed back to camp and made a small campfire.  Not long after dark, the rain returned and continued throughout the night.

Alex's Last Stamp

Sunday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out.  We first made a stop at Riverview Falls on a tributary of New River.

It was looking good in the high water but no icicles as I had hoped.  Then we headed to New River State Park for Alex's last passport stamp.

We took Hickory Trail down to the river at the canoe launch.  Nice views of the river here and it was really flowing.

We followed Riverside Trail as it followed the river downstream.

As the trail departed from the river, it passed the Stump Family home site.

The house had burned down, but the chimney, root cellar and springhouse remained.

After this point, the trail got steep and headed away from the river.

Eventually, it connected back up with Hickory Trail.  We finished up the loop back to the car.

From here, we headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and parked at Basin Cove Overlook at the south end of Doughton Park.  From here, we hiked the Mountains-to-Sea Trail southbound, heading into the woods and descending behind the National Park Service office.

In about a mile, it came out at a gravel road and then crossed the parkway.  There were a bunch of icicles along the trail here.

One was particularly interesting.  In another mile, the trail crossed the parkway again and began following a gravel road.

We hiked the road for about another mile and then headed back.  The last part of the hike was uphill to the Blue Ridge Parkway but not too bad.

I got some pictures from Basin Cove Overlook.

Then we started making our way back to Boone.

Driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we made a stop at View Betseys Rock Falls.

With the leaves off the trees and the high water, this waterfall was looking really good.

It's really high!  From here, we headed into Boone and got Alex an ice cream cone to celebrate finishing the passport.

Then we got Chinese for dinner to eat at the room and started getting packed up.