up and back
I wasn't feeling sociable this weekend, so instead of going to either of the parties I was invited to, I rounded up Molly, Boris and Tito for a quick weekend getaway to the mountains. A brief recap and another photo after the cut.
Dawn on the Parkway
Yesterday didn't start out as planned, but ended up fine. The backcountry campsites at Stone Mountain State Park were already taken when we got there, and the campground both sucks and was crowded and noisy to boot, so after a quick hike along the creek to let the dogs stretch their legs, we headed off to seek greener pastures.
We jumped on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed north to our favorite backcountry site in Rockcastle Gorge, about an hour away. We arrived just after dark, and I was amazed and happy to find that we were the only campers there. A quick dinner for man and beasts, a short night hike to wind them down, a little reading to wind me down, then we slept under the stars with the creek singing us a lullaby. Didn't even put up the rainfly.
We woke at dawn today, went on a quick hike up the creek, had breakfast, broke camp and headed north on the BRP again. It was a gorgeous morning for a drive. We stopped at Peaks of Otter and went on a 2-mile loop hike to an old homestead called Johnson Farm, then drove a couple more miles to make it a double-header with a 2-mile loop down about 2000 feet in elevation to Fallingwater Cascades. Didn't take a photo at Johnson Farm worth posting, but here's an artless snapshot of the falls. And I still think "Fallingwater" is a pretty damn uninspired name for it.
Took backroads most of the way back to Durham, and made a cool discovery along the way that I'll post about separately. Arrived home safe with everyone tired but happy.
Dawn on the Parkway
Yesterday didn't start out as planned, but ended up fine. The backcountry campsites at Stone Mountain State Park were already taken when we got there, and the campground both sucks and was crowded and noisy to boot, so after a quick hike along the creek to let the dogs stretch their legs, we headed off to seek greener pastures.
We jumped on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed north to our favorite backcountry site in Rockcastle Gorge, about an hour away. We arrived just after dark, and I was amazed and happy to find that we were the only campers there. A quick dinner for man and beasts, a short night hike to wind them down, a little reading to wind me down, then we slept under the stars with the creek singing us a lullaby. Didn't even put up the rainfly.
We woke at dawn today, went on a quick hike up the creek, had breakfast, broke camp and headed north on the BRP again. It was a gorgeous morning for a drive. We stopped at Peaks of Otter and went on a 2-mile loop hike to an old homestead called Johnson Farm, then drove a couple more miles to make it a double-header with a 2-mile loop down about 2000 feet in elevation to Fallingwater Cascades. Didn't take a photo at Johnson Farm worth posting, but here's an artless snapshot of the falls. And I still think "Fallingwater" is a pretty damn uninspired name for it.
Took backroads most of the way back to Durham, and made a cool discovery along the way that I'll post about separately. Arrived home safe with everyone tired but happy.