HELL YEAH I WANT SOME PIE

Last weekend, we were treated to some of the finest fall colors I’ve seen in years. This was quite a surprise, as I’d expected the foliage to be disappointing, due to the ongoing drought.

We spent the entire weekend in the Boone area. On Saturday afternoon, we endured a rather unpleasant football game. That’s the only complaint you’ll get out of me though. After seeing my Mountaineers win national championships the last two years, and beat Michigan, I guess I can accept the occasional loss. On the upside, the tailgating was great.

That night, we drove over to the Price Park campground, where we’d claimed a site early that morning. At the campground, we headed over to the RV area. There we found Myron and Dorcas, who had just returned to North Carolina from a 6-week trip to Minnesota, New York, New England, West Virginia, and a variety of other places. They hadn’t quite made it all the way home, but weren’t in any hurry. In fact, they had decided to delay their return for two more days, as they planned on staying at Price Park until Monday.

We hung out around the campfire for awhile, as it was surprisingly chilly after a warm fall. That evening, we discussed our plans for Sunday. I thought we’d do one of my favorite hikes in the Wilson Creek area. It’s a 6-mile loop hike that combines great views from Little Lost Cove Cliffs, a long stretch of trail along a beautiful mountain stream, and North Harper Creek Falls. Best of all, the route would take us through a wild apple orchard, which frequently has ripe (and extremely tasty) apples at this time of year.

We slept in a bit the next morning, before warming up with a breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns. We broke camp at 10AM, and met Myron and Dorcas over at Price Lake. There we enjoyed some lovely fall colors and a classic view of Grandfather Mountain.

From there, we took the Parkway towards Linville. This was the best route to the North Harper Creek trailhead, despite the heavy traffic. As we drove, we were dazzled by the brilliant fall colors. On several occasions, it was hard to resist the urge to pull off on the side of the road. The best colors were along the slopes of Grandfather Mountain, around the 5000’ elevation level. By the time we reached the Linn Cove Viaduct, I was having second-thoughts about our plans.

We stopped at the Viaduct Visitors Center to discuss our options. The fall colors were so incredible, I suggested a change in plans. Myron and Dorcas were flexible, so we decided to hike part of the Tanawha Trail. I figured the colors would be fantastic along Rough Ridge, so Christy, Saucony, Myron, Dorcas, and I headed that way.

We joined a parade of people on the trail to the viaduct. At the viaduct, we passed under the bridge and ascended the hillside above the road. For a time, we left the crowds behind. I knew that would only be temporary though. I expected the Rough Ridge area to be completely overrun.

After another mile or so, we passed a side trail out to the Parkway. Just beyond, we reached a bridge over Wilson Creek. Here we found new signs, announcing that pets are not allowed on the section of trail over Rough Ridge.

This was inconvenient, since we had Saucony with us. I was pissed off, simply because there hadn’t been any signs or other information to this effect back at the trailhead or the Visitors Center. If we’d known that this stretch of trail is off limits to pets, we would’ve planned accordingly. Initially I decided to ignore the signs, but after a few minutes, I had second thoughts. We had a group discussion, and I decided to take Saucony back to the car. From there, I’d relocate to the Rough Ridge parking area. That way, everyone else could continue the hike and finish up at the car, without having to backtrack.

I headed back quickly, but stopped briefly at an overlook we’d missed on the way out. The trail to it is unmarked, but it’s worth looking for. The overlook provides a fine view of the viaduct, with Table Rock and Hawksbill looming in the distance. From here, the fall foliage was particularly attractive.

I returned to the car and drove to the Rough Ridge trailhead. The parking lot was overflowing, so I improvised a spot (along with dozens of other cars) along the side of the road. I left Saucony there, but lowered the windows all the way, due to the warm, sunny day.

I hurried up to Rough Ridge, dodging hikers and tourists along the way. I only saw four people with dogs, but one of them was being carried, so maybe that doesn’t count. Several openings in the canopy provided fantastic views of Grandfather Mountain, the peaks and valleys of the Wilson Creek area, and more incredible fall color. It seemed like the entire mountainside was painted in red, orange, purple, and gold. The occasional stand of spruce added dark green to the mix, providing a lovely contrast.

At the highest point on Rough Ridge, I found Christy, Myron, and Dorcas relaxing on a prominent rock outcrop. I joined them there for a late lunch, and more great views.

We hung out for awhile, before parting ways. Myron and Dorcas decided to hike back to the Visitors Center. Meanwhile, Christy and I headed back down to our car.

From there, we followed the Parkway through even heavier traffic towards Linville. Although we’d changed plans, Christy still wanted to harvest some apples. It was still fairly early, and the hike to the apple orchard is short, so we decided to swing by there on the way home.

We reached the orchard after a short walk. Unfortunately, there were no apples to be found. Either they had already been picked, or the drought had ruined this year’s crop.

We hiked on to Little Lost Cove Cliffs, where we enjoyed fantastic views of Lost Cove and Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather Mountain was a brilliant red, but the valleys below were still completely green. The colors at the lower elevations are probably still a week or two away.

We hung out on the cliffs for awhile before heading down. Then we headed back to Charlotte, where Christy made me stop at the grocery store. She was determined to bake an apple pie, and we needed apples.

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