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?!

"Land of Boardwalks"

North Carolina
Blue Ridge Parkway
Tanawha Trail - From Rough Ridge parking area to Wilson Creek Overlook
2.9 Miles Round-trip

View Large

In order to preserve the delicate environment yet allow access,
a 200-foot-long elevated boardwalk crosses the landscape.



The rest of the trail, however, takes you through narrow corridors over rocky paths.
Due to the recent rain, most of the trail was slick and required you to
pay close attention to footing in order to avoid slipping.



Once you reach the beginning of the boardwalk,
you gain spectacular 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains.



And along the way, you pass some very lofty rock
outcroppings as you make your way to the top.



I spotted some bright red-orange Mountain Ash.



As well as, an itty bitty ringneck snake.



Reaching the summit of Wilson Creek Overlook,
you can't help but become filled with an unequaled sense of space.

Which got a little smaller when I stumbled into a powwow of guys I donned the smoke squad.
It was quite unusual to find people smoking cigars after a heart-pumping hike.
But after talking with them for a few moments,
I decided they were a harmless bunch just out to enjoy a beautiful day.



The ropes you see in the above two photos are there to keep
people from trampling the plant-life and accelerating the speed of erosion.
When hiking trails it is always important to stay on the designated trails!



Just another way they work to preserve the natural history of the Appalachian mountains.

If you have yet to do so, please take part in helping to preserve
our land's natural history, by taking a pledge.
Taking a pledge doesn't require much from you.
The widget on the right is where you can join me in the fight to end mountain top removal.

REMEMBER

• I am willing to donate one dollar on your behalf to the cause mentioned in the "I Heart Mountains" post once you have pledged.
  
• At the end of this week, I plan to match the pledges.
• And so I know who joined in, please leave a comment stating, I LOVE MOUNTAINS!

Let's go for a Walk.......

I went for a walk on Saturday afternoon while Cody was at work.
I picked a hike that I've done a few times, and wasn't too far from the house.
By the time you reach this fence, you've gone about half way on the two mile hike.
By the time I reached the fence I was huffing and puffing!



When I picked the hike it was based on my thoughts of doing something low impact.
Especially since I've been having trouble with my left heel.
Apparently, I failed to remember any characteristics regarding the trail.
That so called easy hike really gave me a run for my money!
I'm pretty spoiled when hiking with Cody since he carries all my camera gear.
The extra load was wearing on me by the time I reached the gate.
I took the opportunity to rest.



As you can see the path before me opens up to a fairly large field.
Normally, I would take a little break and sit for a moment on the bench beneath those trees you see in the distance.
I had to talk myself into going further because I was surprised to find that I had company.
And I'm not talking other hikers either..........



"COWS!"

I know that they are harmless, but that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge how much bigger they are.
Thankfully I only came across like 15 of them.
I took some time to grab a couple of photos, occasionally I turned my camera to the opposite side of the field.
As I attempted to get some landscape shots I could hear some shuffling behind me.......
I quickly - and in a paranoid fashion - would turn around to find the herd a foot closer!
They were messin' with me.......lemme ask you a question......
Have you ever played "Red light, Green light" with cows before?!
I did, and it was weirding me out!!



Especially "Beastie" here......
The black cows were a lot scarier than the brown ones.



"Bessie" was a lot more approachable.
I wasn't petting them or anything, but I was close enough.....
She let me take a few photos, although you can't really say she was cooperating.
I only got two shots of her face, the other time she was stuffing it with grass.



She had enough fame for one day,
and that's when she started shooing me away!
"Get on outta here!", she mooed.
I listened and kindly continued my hike.......



A part that I forgot about in particular was the uphill climb from the field to the mountain view shown above.
It wasn't too horrible, I made it through.
I had a very fun and sweaty time on my solo hike.
It was nice to get outside.

Once I got to the car, Cody called and we decided to go eat some BBQ because I had a hankerin'!




**Contest Update**
We are currently waiting for two more people to select their magnets.
It's been very interesting so far. I think it's fun!
I'm sorry about the confusion; those rules are somewhat hard to translate.
Once we are done picking magnets a new giveaway will start, and that one will be for even better prizes! Stay tuned :o)

Glen Burney Trail

What we did last Sunday was far different from this Sunday. I sought out a hike from the NC Wildflower Hike book. This happened to be a trail that I had never heard about before. The sad part is, that's it's less than a 10 minute drive from our home, in Blowing Rock, NC. It is also very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, but not directly off the drive like most hikes we've been to frequently.

It was approximately 1.5 miles in and out, at the end, you just turn around and go back out the way you came. It's quite rare to go on a waterfall hike that has 3 different falls, which made this one a real gem. The elevation loss was about 520 feet so it was mild going in, although coming out was another story! It wasn't horrible, but I was on the edge most of the time, ready to pass out, but not quite there yet. Definitely well worth the extra work though.

The Glen Marie Falls was the biggest, even though it doesn't look so in the above photo. I could only get a good shot of the bottom half since the sun was so bright closer to the top. I would like to go back on a foggy day so that I can get the whole thing.


The bottom photo, is of the first fall we passed, and the most unimpressive. Maybe it's nicer after a good rain? The view of this waterfall was somewhat obstructed from trail because of the trees. From up there, a photo wasn't really possible, so we climbed down to th stream below. I took photos while Cody rock hounded.

Before we went on the hike, I was placing my purse in the trunk when I absentmindedly tucked my keys in the purse. It was immediately after I did this that I realized what I had done, I tried to stop Cody from closing the trunk, by yelping "NO!", but it was too late. The doors were also locked, DANG!? What are we going to do? Sitting at the trail head geared up to go on a hike, this mishap could have really put a damper on the days activities. But Cody, being Mr. Cool as a Cucumber, talked me into letting it go, and worrying about it once we were done with the hike. At which time we would call AAA to come jimmy the car. They really are lifesavers! We only had to wait about 30 minutes for them to get there, and about 30 seconds to break into the car.....everything turned out fine :)


*Update: This weekend we spent time on the house. Saturday morning we put a second coat of paint on the walls in the dinning room. Thank goodness it is done now. It looks 100x's better, I'm so happy with the way it turned out. We also mowed the lawn which took a couple hours. I was on the riding lawn mower, and Cody manned the weed eater. It's crazy, but my back is sore from steering, and the bouncing from our bumpy yard. Although it looks so nice when it's all mowed. We are getting ready to be bombarded with copious amount of blackberries soon, the vines are in full bloom right now, I can't wait. We also got the kitchen back in order, cleaned out the fridge, and went grocery shopping. I was craving a steak so we grilled out, and ate dinner in our new and improved dining room. It was great!

Dining Room Table - $0.00 (Handcrafted by Cody)
Chairs - $3.00 each + $5.00 for fabric to reupholster chairs
Paint - $0.00 (A full can that was going to be discarded!)
Total = Swequity (Sweat + Equity)

I hope everyone had a great weekend :o)

High Shoals Falls

1. Upper Falls Bridge, 2. Lower Shoals Falls, 3. High Shoals Falls, 4. Trail Options

(Click on the links above to see photos larger.)


We visited these falls two weekends ago. It was about an hour and a half away in the South Mountain State Park. We only had time to explore this trail to see the falls, but it was the reason we went there in the first place so that was okay. The entire loop was only 2.5 miles in length and the most strenuous part were the millions of steps it took to reach the upper falls. Okay, so it probably wasn't a million, but it was a whole lot! My calves and thighs were burning, but once we reached the the top, it was a piece of cake. Upon reaching the upper portion of the falls we crossed a nifty little bridge, and it was all down hill from there.



This particular fall proved to be extremely difficult to capture, mostly due to the copious amount of visitors crowding the trail. I had to move every time people needed to get by, and then there were those nice people who didn't want to cross in front of the camera. I didn't really want to make them wait, then a line would start forming! The High Shoals Fall was throwing off buckets of mist. I could barely keep my lens dry, and there really weren't any other angles to shoot it from further away. The trail was nothing but stairs closer to the top, so deviating from the trail was not an option. Had their been less people it would have allowed more time to get a better shot, but it's not a perfect world, now is it?!?!



It was an overall great hike, with a beautiful fall. The only issue I have is that I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to just linger. I'm sure there will be a next time. I'm thinking that I would like to go back in the fall?! The books beauty rating was a 7, I thought that this was a pretty grand little waterfall to only get a seven, but maybe it was because of the decks, or the people?! I don't know.......my beauty rating.....hmmmm....maybe 8.5......what's your beauty rating?

Water Under the Bridge

I felt a little like Cinderella today. I didn't want to sit around all day stuffing my face and watching t.v. so I took to cleaning the house. I did about 4 loads of laundry, I cleaned & reorganized the bathroom, and washed the dishes. Now, those don't sound like things that would have taken me 4 1/2 hours, but it did! What bothers me is that I didn't even get to the living room or bedroom so it seems as though I didn't get a whole lot done, even though I was worn out. At times it's a little disheartening once you realize that maintaining and keeping an organized and clean environment takes constant labor. Sometimes it takes too much work, once you're done with one thing there's just something else waiting for your attention. When it suits my mood I let things go, for example if I'm too tired or hurting..............some things can wait until tomorrow. Anyhow, these little things make a big difference overall, the bathroom looks so much better to me now that things are rearranged. We'll see what we can accomplish come tomorrow!

*To Cody's defense, he had to work today......
**This photo was taken on our snow day this past Thursday when we took a walk on the Greenway Trail. The post processing makes it a whole lot more interesting, believe me....

Cleanliness is next to impossible. ~Author Unknown

Snow Days Feel Like Saturdays

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.

~John Muir



Yesterday was an adventure! When we went to bed on Tuesday night, it was cold, but no sign of snow. By the time we woke up in the morning the ground was blanketed with snow and a thin layer of ice. Cody and I got to stay home since freezing rain was involved making the overall conditions unfavorable for operating a vehicle. We were happy to sit home, and play with the kittens, who by the way woke up us bright and early around 5am attacking our feet as we rustled them around under the covers. Those little buggers were way to alert, it was cute. We decided later in the afternoon to go for a walk on the Greenway Trail near the house to get some snow photos. The photo above was actually taken last weekend, I only wished the sky was that bright and blue yesterday! Outfitted with our hats, jackets, and snow boots we headed out, hiking in the snow is a lot more tiring than you would think. By the time we had walked halfway, I was tired, and didn't really want to walk home just yet. Cody had the idea to go to the Applcart covered bus stop and see when the next one was due. We had to wait about 30 min or so, in the meantime we played Scrabble on Cody's cell phone. The bus came, this was my first time ever really taking public transportation so it was interesting. We got off at Earthfare starved, so we went to their deli area and grabbed a sandwich and chips, ate, then asked the girl about the next bus, according to her it was going to be like 45 minutes! It was dark, I was ready to go home, but I didn't get upset, I rolled with the punches, haha. We ran over to the main area where the buses park and wait in between routes, and luckily the one we needed to be on hadn't left yet!!! Thankfully there were some really helpful folks on the bus who assisted us with the stops and where we would be best getting off at in relation to our house. We had to walk a little ways back to the house, but it was okay, I was just happy we were finally heading that way, it was as Cody kept reminding me "An Adventure!".

Dog Days

*This photo is also featured on the {366} Photographic Blog for day #12 of my continuous series. I have made some updates and I am almost current.*

On Saturday, Cody and I went to the Humane Society to walk a couple dogs currently waiting for their forever homes. Both of these dogs are Schnauzers, the one on the left is named Buddahka (?!), and the one on the right, her name was Zero. They practically walked us the entire time! They were very sweet dogs, especially once they were no longer going warp speed. There were a lot of other people out walking their dogs on the Greenway Trail as well, as they should have been since it was a gorgeous day. It was nice not driving anywhere for a change, staying close to home, but still getting some exercise. Test driving dogs for our own purposes was far less satisfying than walking the dogs because they enjoyed it so darn much. It also helped to stave off my desire to get a dog of my own. I'm not fully ready to accept that responsibility. We'll just go walk them instead.......

Tunnel Bridge

There aren't enough days in the weekend.
~Rod Schmidt


Saturday I went for a hike while Cody was at work. It reminded me of "old times" hiking along the trail alone. When I first moved up here it was extremely hard to find another person who shared in my enthusiasm to go hiking, so normally I went alone. I don't necessarily miss those days, having a partner is so much more fun. I can however do it when necessary. I hiked down to Trout Lake which was frozen over. The confused ducks were hanging out near the middle standing on one leg while quacking uncontrollably. A group of people had their 'herd' of dogs out there (without leashes) who were terrorizing the poor little ducks.
Thankfully there were no fatalities.............

Pure White Path

The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

~Author Unknown

*Compared to yesterday, today was gorgeous but frigid. I took a short stroll this afternoon mainly to escape the office. I am realizing that this is something that needs to happen more often. I felt somewhat refreshed when I got back, which enabled me to get some extra tasks done. The rest of the day went by a whole lot faster since it was broken up. It's been so long since I had taken the time to leave the office for lunch much less go for a walk and take some pictures, it was great fun!

Flat Rock

This trail is located off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain. Being just a short trail is was easy enough to take our time wandering through the woods. Once we reached the overlook of course we lingered for a while until someone approached. On a day this clear you can see for miles and miles. I definitely

enjoyed the short hike, it was nice to finally get
back out after spending the last few weeks doing
& thinking of nothing but the move!