Headed Down South via the Blue Ridge Parkway

After nearly an entire week of rain, we were rewarded with the most glorious weather. That is precisely why I wanted to make the most of our weekend. I didn't make a fuss about planning anything specifically, but I knew that I wanted to see a waterfall after such heavy rainfall. And even though I knew the beautiful bright blue skies wouldn't be the best for taking waterfall photos, I didn't care.

On a whim, we headed down south. Having no real destination in mind allowed us to take the long and sometimes painfully slow way. The pace barely matters since you get to witness the most breathtaking views while riding along The Blue Ridge Parkway. I felt like it had been too long since we white-knuckled our way down those winding roads.

Our drive ended at the peak of the Blue Ridge Parkway on top of Mount Pisgah. A perfect place to end up since you can find various free camping within the Pisgah National Forest boundaries. However, I didn't wish to forgo the luxury of a bathroom this time, so we set up shop in the national park service campground. It only set us back $16!

Spoiling ourselves even further, we made the tough choice of eating at the Pisgah Inn's restaurant. We almost chose not to have dinner there because of confusion with the menu prices. They only had their pricey specials posted on an LCD screen while the "real" menu was posted on a bulletin board 10 feet away near the bathroom!? We accidentally discovered it while lingering around the waiting area. I was trying to get Cody to talk me into justifying the expense. He's good at that when he wants something :) I was glad we got to eat there. The view was to die for and the food wasn't too bad either. Before making our way back to the campgrounds we took a short drive to find an ideal spot to catch the sunset. It was a splendid way to end the day.

Wanna see the landmarks we visited on Sunday?
If so, I invite you to come back this Friday for a field trip!

Hunt Fish Falls

Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Wilson Creek Area
Lost Cove Trail

Here is a more detailed shot of the waterfall from the overnight hike we did last weekend.
In the other post, I only shared the overview of the swimming hole.

I took this photo around 7:00am on Sunday morning.

I don't usually wake up that early, but in the woods I do.
Sleeping above the rushing falls lulled me to sleep.
Hiking and/or being near water definitely calms me.
Sleeping right next to it serves double duty.

I wouldn't say that I had a wonderful night's sleep.
Because I woke up several times throughout the night.
I was trying to find a more comfortable position.
Even so, I still awakened feeling refreshed.

This photo of the falls was taken in the late afternoon on Saturday.
The lighting was very different from the above shot.
One, early morning, and one, late afternoon.



I felt uneasy stumbling around the slick rock with my camera and tripod.
I took my time though and made certain that I had sure footing before taking a step.
The last thing I would want to do was take a tumble!

This was the small waterfall off to the side of Hunt Fish Falls.



It seems as though it is normally overlooked
compared to the main attraction,
but I thought it was lovely.
I think the recent rain had something to do with it.

I had to pull off some fancy maneuvers to get these photos.
I found myself laying on my stomach, sprawled out across the rock.
Thankfully, no one but Cody was around to see this!




I can't wait to see more waterfalls this autumn season.
We'll definitely be out and about as much as possible.
This weekend, we didn't do anything exciting, just watched a ton of movies.
So until we have some new and interesting stuff to show you, I hope you enjoyed
a close up of Hunt Fish Falls.

• To read a little more about the backpacking trip, click here.

• To see an overview of Hunt Fish Falls, click here.

Backpacking in Lost Cove

Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Wilson Creek Area
Lost Cove Trail
7.5 Miles

Click to Enlarge Map

Instead of a weekend camping trip, we opted to go on an overnight hike.
Normally, 7.5 miles is something that can easily be done in one day,
however, we decided to stretch it out a little further so we could take our time.

The entire outing was planned by Cody--he did an awesome job!
On top of that, he carried our gear, and navigated our way through most of the hike.
Some portions of the trail weren't marked very well and required some orienteering skills.


and the GPS helped too....


Thanks for being the mule, Cody :)




The major challenge we had to overcome during this hike were the creek crossing dotting the trail.
Our second day of hiking there came a point when we
stopped worrying about taking our shoes off and hiked with water logged feet!



I called this an overnight hike because we camped in the middle of our trek.
Leaving Boone midmorning, we drove out to Lost Cove--45 minutes from town.
Upon reaching the trail head, I was a little surprised to see a caravan of vehicles.
I soon realized that this particular trail was very popular due to the watering holes.
We passed the first waterfall entirely since it was way overcrowded.
Continuing on, we reached a second waterfall, which was equally popular.
Although, this one was a lot more picturesque.

I didn't spend a whole lot of time trying to take photos of the falls because
there were too many people running, splashing, and jumping around.
Instead, I took a nap in the tent which was right above the falls.
Later, after everyone was gone, I made my way over to take a few photos.



In the evening we cooked some soup on the camp stove, and passed out early.
We chose not to bring any games since this wasn't car camping and weight mattered.
Early to bed meant that we were early to rise, albeit only early enough to catch a mere
glimpse of the blazing orange sunrise; I couldn't get moving fast enough!

I have some more photos to share, so be sure to check back in :o)


I'm wondering, when is the last time any of you have been on a camping/backpacking trip?!