Thanksgiving '24 Travelog #8
Linden, VA - Tue, 26 Nov 2024, 4:30pm

After visiting my niece Mattie and her boyfriend Kai over lunch in Front Royal today we refined our plans for the rest of the day. We already had plans to meet my cousin Matt and his family for dinner 30-45 minutes east, but Mattie needed to leave for work by 1:30 so several hours ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #32
Back in Boone, NC - Sat, 7 Sep 2024. 6pm

The plan for today, our last full day in North Carolina, was simple. We'd enjoy a fun and fulfilling hike at Catawba Falls then two-fer the day with a visit to nearby Mt. Mitchell. At elev. 6,684 feet (2,037 m) it's the highest peak in the eastern US ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #31
Old Fort, NC - Sat, 7 Sep 2024. 1:30pm

Our hike up to Catawba Falls in western North Carolina today was enjoyable. The hike wasn't too bad of a climb, especially with a wide trail the whole way. And the falls were beautiful. For a long time that was the end of the line for most hikers. The brave few knew there was another ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #30
Old Fort, NC - Sat, 7 Sep 2024. 12pmWe got up and got going early today! We were rolling in our car by 8:45am. Partly that's because the hiking trek we'd picked for the day was an hour and 45 minutes away by car and was expected to be crowded by midday on a weekend. Sure enough, the parking lot was nearly full when we ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #28
Back at the hotel in Boone, NC - Fri, 6 Sep 2024. 6pm

The hike to Glen Burney and Glen Marie falls earlier today took more out of us than we expected. Partly that's because all the hiking we did yesterday- starting with Otter Falls, then Waterfall Park, then Upper Creek Falls, then Linville Falls- took a lot out of us. So ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #27
Blowing Rock, NC - Fri, 6 Sep 2024. 2pm

Today we got out of the hotel even earlier than yesterday. Today we were on the road before 10am ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #25
Back in Boone, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 8pm

This evening after leaving Linville Gorge after our hike at Linville Falls we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way back to our hotel in Boone. We had to drive it at least some of the way, as Linville Falls is managed by the National Park Service, as is the parkway itself. The ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #24
Linville, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 7pm

In beginning this hike toward the end of a long day, we hoped we'd get a good view of Linville Falls after the first 1/2 mile of Linville Gorge trail. Alas, it was not to be. The upper viewpoint was directly above the falls. Above the falls is almost never the vista you want for ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #23
Linville, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 5:30pm

After finishing our hike at Upper Creek Falls this afternoon we called an audible and chose to drive to Linville Gorge next. Somehow it wasn't on our itinerary as browsing through AllTrails earlier in the week didn't turn up any obviously rewarding waterfalls trails we could hike. I ( Read more... )

Blue Ridge Trip '24 #22
Jonas Ridge, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 4:30pm

Upper Creek Falls turned out to be more than we expected- both in terms of the size of the main falls and the length/strenuousness of the trail. At the bottom of the big falls we weren't thinking about the latter, though. Yet.


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