Linville Falls Foray with an Out-of-town Friend

It's too bad that you can't pick the type of weather you will have when you're on vacation. Sometimes, it's rainy and overcast, which can put a damper on what you originally wanted to do. Although I think that during those times when plans don't work out the way we envision that we make some pretty wonderful discoveries anyhow.

One of my very good friends from back home came for a visit this past week. It's been about 4 years, since she's come up here, so this trip was long overdue! Unfortunately, the mountains didn't welcome her with the most favorable conditions. It rained all day long prior to (as well as the day before) her arrival. I hoped that it wouldn't be like that the entire time she was here, thankfully, it stopped raining on the morning she was heading our way.

While it was still overcast and foggy, at least it wasn't pouring rain. Even though Boone's weather was being uncooperative there were fun things that I could do with my out-of-town friend who was anxious to see some sights. I thought that a waterfall hike was the perfect thing for us to do because of the heavy rains we had recently received. That was the easy part, though. The hard part was figuring out which one we'd visit!

One thing that is a must-do for any friends visiting from out-of-town is to take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, even if the visibility isn't the greatest. That helped me to narrow down which waterfall I would take her to. Linville Falls, which is just off the BRP, seemed to be the best option because it is a rather large waterfall that isn't too far of a drive from Boone. It is probably one of the most popular falls around this area because of how easily accessible it is.

There are many different vantage points from which you can view Linville Falls. They have a main trail that takes you to several overlooks, which are fairly easy to navigate. During this particular visit, though, I wanted us to have an up-close view of the falls. This meant that we had to take the more strenuous Plunge Basin hike. The hike itself was only .7 miles to reach the gorge, but it took some time getting down there with all the rocks and exposed roots littering the trail.

Once we reached the bottom, I expected the waterfall to come into view, but I forgot since my last visit that you can't see it from the end of the trail. In order to get an unobstructed view of the waterfall, you have to do some scrambling around the rocks. It was a little iffy at times, but we ended up making it to a good spot.

I knew that my friend would be in awe over this incredibly beautiful natural wonder, the water was rushing like mad! We attempted to soak it all in the best we could before hiking back out. I attempted to take pictures, but wasn't super successful in doing so, because I accidentally left my fresh batteries in my other bag. Doh! At least, I have something to show for it, even if it's not the best photo.

Good thing I had the Sony WX9 on me, too! I ended up using the point and shoot to take a short video that you asked to see on Facebook. Well, here it is. If you want to view it in HD, click on over to Vimeo.

The hike out wasn't bad at all.
It did require a bit of a climb to get back out of there,
but it was (and my friend agreed) a great hike that was well worth the effort to see such a lovely sight. 

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