BREAKING WIND
Bob
and I resumed our quest for snow last weekend.
We felt like we had a good chance, since forecasts called for a
significant storm on Saturday. We
planned our hike for Sunday, after the storm.
We decided to get an early start, so we’d make it home in time for the
super bowl.
Given
the time constraints, we looked for a destination close to home. We knew the snow would be confined to the
higher elevations though, so we decided to head towards Blowing Rock. There are many hiking opportunities off the
Parkway near town, and the chance of snow there seemed good.
We
were heading up the mountain from Lenior when we saw the first flakes coming
down. We were discussing the warm soup
we’d be eating for lunch, when Bob’s wife called. He’d left his thermos full of soup sitting on the kitchen
counter. He eventually recovered
emotionally from this disappointment.
We stopped at the Subway in Blowing Rock, which was actually open at
9AM. A cold sandwich wasn’t much of a
substitute for warm soup on a cold winter day, but it would be better than no
lunch at all.
We
drove on to the trailhead on Flannery Fork Road near Trout Lake. A fine layer of snow covered the road, but
we had no trouble getting there. We
parked where the Mountains to Sea Trail crosses the road and gathered our
gear. It was a cold day, and the snow
was still falling. It was almost a
relief to start up the trail.
The
trail is almost a road. It is hard
packed gravel, like most of the old carriage roads in Cone Park. The snow cushioned the trail a little
though. Despite the raw conditions, we
actually passed someone running less than a ½ mile from the trailhead.
Conditions
really weren’t that bad until we left the shelter of the woods. We reached a meadow, and turned onto the
trail to Flat Top Mountain. Once in the
meadow, we were exposed to the biting wind.
The wind was brutal to the point of causing pain. My face was stinging after only a minute or
two of hiking in the open. A brief
stretch of forest gave us some reprieve, but it didn’t last long. We quickly emerged into another meadow, and
passed around the side of a hill. It
had been bad earlier, but now it was much, much worse. I tried to huddle behind Bob and let him
break the wind, but it didn’t help.
Eventually we turned around, and walked backwards into the wind. This protected our faces, but didn’t do much
for our pace. At one point, the wind
snatched Bob’s hat off his head and sent it flying across the meadow. Briefly I considered retreating to the car.
We
finally made it into the woods, and conditions improved immediately. From there, it was an unusually easy hike
along the ridge. The ascent was barely
noticeable, and almost not steep enough for us to generate warmth. After another mile or so, we reached the
observation tower on the summit. Low
clouds and the continuing snowstorm eliminated all views, but the base of the
tower did provide a pleasant place for a brief lunch.
We
had already hiked 3 ½ miles in an hour and half. The return hike was even faster, as the wind was usually behind
us. We finished our 7-mile hike at
1pm. We were well ahead of schedule,
and 1pm was way too early to head home.
Since we had a couple of hours to kill, we decided to do another short
hike before heading home.
We
drove through downtown Blowing Rock and parked near a small pond to begin the
trail to Glenn Burney Falls. There was
very little snow on the ground here, even though we were at an elevation that
is only slightly lower than Cone Park.
The trail follows New Year’s Creek for a mile and a half, passing Glen
Burney Falls and Glen Marie Falls along the way. Both are pleasant cascades that are worth seeing if you’re in the
area and are looking for a short hike.
We
headed downstream, crossing the creek on stepping stones. We passed below some homes, before a series
of short switchbacks returned us to the creek.
We walked by a few more impressive homes on the far side of the creek before
disappearing deep into the gorge. A
footbridge brought us back across the creek, and we continued the descent past
some pretty cascades. A short distance
later, we reached a picnic area at the brink of Glen Burney Falls. There is a fenced overlook here, with a nice
view along the steep waterslide of the falls.
We
returned to the trail, and descended steeply to a fork. We took the right fork first, and followed
it to the base of Glen Burney Falls. We
then returned to the junction, and continued downstream past Glen Marie
Falls. We reached trail’s end at the
base of the falls. The base provides a
nice vantage point, but the heavy foliage made photography difficult.
We
hiked out quickly, and found the ascent more demanding than our earlier hike to
Flat Top Mountain. We returned to the
car at 3pm to find the snow gone and the sun shining. Our brief foray in the snow was over, and it was time to head
home for the last football game of the year.
We could only hope that it wouldn’t be the last hike in the snow for the
year. It seems unlikely though, as
winter seems to be just starting.
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