The first thing we had to do after setting up camp was to take a trip into Asheville, an hour's drive away to get Clif some new hiking boots. His bit the dust our first day out hiking, and his sneakers weren't cutting it on the trails. We did stop at Craggy Gardens Visitor Center along the Blue Ridge to gather information. Clif of course took pictures while I did that.
The Craggy Pinnacle which we would tackle the next day.
It was such a beautiful evening that we decided to go to one of the nearby overlooks after dinner to watch the sunset. It was magnificent. It was amazing to see the sky change colors as the hour ticked by. It was truly God's spectacular light show.
The evening at camp was interesting to say the least. The bubbly park volunteer who was so excited that Area C was now open for business must not have realized the bathroom facility had NO LIGHTS. At dusk when I used the restroom, I was greeted by a friendly little mouse who popped up out from the floor drain by the toilet I was using...not once, but twice. When I got up in the middle of the night to use the facility, I went in the men's room with Clif. I did't want any creatures crawling on my feet in the dark!!!! The next morning, park rangers were there trying to figure out the problem with the lights and fixed it. The mouse on the other hand, they would have to let the Wildlife Commission take care of that because under no circumstances should wildlife be killed if possible. This includes, yes, mice. I hardly thought of them as wildlife!
Ready for a new day's hike.
We got up early July 11 and headed to Mount Mitchell State Park first. Clif has always wanted to hike the mountain, not just drive up to the summit and walk to the overlook. We parked at the lowest ranger station and hiked just over 5 miles round trip to the summit and back. It was marked strenuous, but the ranger assured us it is only because of the ascent not ropes, ladders, and rock faces to contend with. I asked about how long it would take (weather is always on my mind when doing more than a couple miles). The average time for hiking is 45 minutes per mile. I told the park ranger with as much as Clif and I stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenery, we'd better plan on an hour per mile. With that in mind, we left at 10:00, and should be back by 3, taking our lunch with us. I will tell you, it was definitely strenuous. The incline was not what us flatlanders are used to no matter how much you train on the stairmaster and the 15 incline on the treadmill!
We went up the Old Mitchell Trail and returned via The Camp Alice Trail to the Commissary Trail.
So far so good, just your typical rocks and roots along the path. I loved how the trail was surrounded by Fraser Fir Trees. It was like Christmas in July! I had to get a picture of THE perfect Christmas tree in my opinion.
So as we tootled along, we come to this. I looked at Clif and said, "I thought they said there weren't any ropes." We didn't need to use it on the way down, but we could see how one would benefit using it on the way up. (Yes, this trail was uphill both ways!)
Many times I'd be just striding along only to stop and see Clif way off in the distance. He isn't as fast as he used to be. I can remember our early hiking days. I would just catch up to them and then he and the boys would be off! It was kind of nice being the one able to stop and take a breather every now and again.
We entered into an eerie area of downed trees. The moss covering them was so green. I have never seen such a bright green moss before!
Clif's camera did a much better job picking up the true color of the greens in this area.
We finally made it to the summit. Wow! They upgraded it since that last time we'd been there. It reminded us of a mini Clingman's Dome in Smoky Mountain National Park!
Fraser Firs were everywhere. It was great to see the recovery from when the beetles and acid rains destroyed them in the 90's.
Clif in front of Mt. Craig.
This was the temperature at noon. How refreshing.
The park has a nice picnic area. We picked a spot with a nice view.
Well, the distant view. I didn't care for all the downed and dead trees. But how exciting to see new growth filling in. :)
You could see the weather shifting. Down the mountain we went. I was glad we saved the easier trail for the return because we made good time.
We passed an unexpected stream.
I am happy to say that with all we did, including eating lunch, we did our 5+ miles in 4 and 1/4 hours. Much less time than we expected! :)
It was still early enough in the day to get in a tad bit more hiking. We decided to tackle the Craggy Pinnacle. This was an easy hike for us. The view was wonderful, only I was uneasy due to thunder echoing through the mountains. I could see bad weather coming in from the west. I told Clif, "the minute we see lightning, I'm out of here." We were only there 10 minutes before Clif saw a strike. It didn't take me long to get back to the parking area. Clif told me, "it's amazing how fast you can move when you need to!"
Craggy Meadows across the way, revealing the roof of a shelter.
Storms brewing.
We headed back to camp looking for a place that might have ice. Finding ice in the area for the cooler isn't convenient. We continued north on the BR to head back toward Spruce Pine. Once onto another highway, low and behold a Walmart! We didn't have to drive all the way into town! When we came out, we were greeted with a rainbow!
Throughout the day, it rained on and off. It continued into the evening . As we passed an overlook, I told Clif to stop at the next pull off. The sun setting within the rain clouds was pretty. He stopped for me.
It had been suggested to us by the park volunteer that the best time to view the Crabtree Falls located within the campground property is in the morning. She also suggested taking our hiking sticks because it is rather slippery with all the rain they'd been having. We followed that suggestion. So before we packed up to leave for our next destination, we ventured out for an invigorating 2.5 mile hike.
It was by far the prettiest of all the falls we saw on our trip. We were glad we did the entire loop trail. Most people just go down to the falls and return the same way they went down. Although there was an extremely strenuous section on the back side of the falls coming out for a short distance, the scenery we saw thereafter was worth the effort.
As we were breaking camp we could hear rain coming. I didn't know Clif and I could break camp so quickly! We were done in 10 minutes. Luckily our gear didn't get too wet.
We snagged a picture of Mt. Mitchell one last time before leaving the area. We were glad to have hiked the day prior. There was much more cloud cover this day.
Mount Mitchell is the peak just to the right of the peak with the towers.
On our way to Mt. Pisgah area south of Asheville, we made one last stop. We didn't get to finish our hiking in Craggy Gardens area due to the lightning.
This is the shelter we saw from the pinnacle.
We went through the meadow to see the view. We weren't that impressed.
But I did enjoy seeing all the wildflowers.
Too bad the blueberries were ripe. They were plentiful!
We hiked further down the trail to see a gazebo in the woods. That seemed intriguing.
Rather than hike all the way to the picnic grounds, I told Clif I'd rather drive. In hindsight, it would have been easier to hike....probably. You would have thought that when you made the turn off the parkway it would have been right there. No! You drove another, I don't know, 1-2 miles?, to get there! We eventually made it. Enjoyed a nice lunch, but had to be vigilant. The squirrels were a bit aggressive in trying to get our food. One was the lookout and would call out to the others.
After we left and looked back, several squirrels were on and around the table scouring for any scraps.
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