The Southern Appalachians just feel more ... peaceful. There's something about this picture, which could be anywhere within 250 miles of the Smokies, that says tranquility.
That's all it takes: a barely audible creek or an interesting rock formation is enough to get us to lace up our boots, grab the backpack and water bottles, and head out into the forest.
Mind you, there are plenty of interesting sights in the North Carolina mountains. Check out these two shots from Craggy Gardens, which is 5,500 feet up, off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The haunting wind-blown vegetation looks straight out of the old Magic Kingdom's "Snow White Adventures" ride (and underrated C-ticket, but I digress).
Our hiking pastime is even better when you know you are one of the first people to enjoy a new trail. While driving to Asheville, NC from Lake Lure in 2014 we noticed the opening of a new hiking option, the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trailhead. If you want a little bit of everything (cabin ruins, rock formations, views of the gorge, small waterfalls) with some moderate elevation, then we recommend this trail off Alt-74 near Gerton, NC. Avoid a similarly-named trail near Black Mountain, NC that has *no* parking.
Also opening in 2014 was the Buffalo Creek Park trail, next to the Rumbling Bald resort in Lake Lure (I know, I know, it should be Bison Creek). Good moderate-to-strenuous hike without many views if the trees have leaves. We have done this 3 mile hike in August with only one small bottle of water and arrived at the car drenched and grumpy. You know those Snickers commercials about not being oneself when hungry (hangry?). Well, you're also not yourself when you're dehydrated. Don't be that hiker. We recently did the trail again in mid-October, with plenty of water, and it was much more enjoyable. Word of warning: the trail is shared between hikers and mountain-bikers, FSM bless them. Make sure you go the proper way on your day. Oh, and some of parts of the "trail" look more like a motorbike track, as shown:
Our favorite place to hike in Western North Carolina has become Chimney Rock State Park. Yes, it's a busy and popular destination. Yes, it costs money to get in (which is why we have an Annual Pass). But you can't beat Chimney Rock for spectacular views of the Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. Here's the view of the rock from street-level (actually from the Hickory Nut Brewery).
You have to drive up the hillside to get into the Park, and with only one or two rangers handling admissions you could be stuck waiting in your car for a while if you arrive significantly after 9 AM. There are two parking areas and the small upper area fills up quickly. Get the hint you should visit early in the day? From the upper parking area you can take a fairly level 25 minute hike to their 400 foot waterfall.
However, the star of the park is the namesake rock, and in order to fully experience it you must climb nearly 500 stairs to the top. If you don't feel up to that "Stairmaster from Hades" experience, you can go only a third of the way to Vista Rock, which still has impressive views. There are more than 500 stairs since you can go up to Chimney Rock one of two ways: go by Vista Rock (recommended) or decide you want to go by the Grotto and the Subway, for a more "natural" experience for a small part of the journey. Very small. Very dusty. Very cramped. This cramped:
We're going to keep climbing higher. Another 350+ more steps to Exclamation point so we can look down on Chimney Rock.
Both routes eventually connect and offer you a chance to take a small side quest to Pulpit Rock. This photo is taken from there:
If you keep climbing you will eventually reach your goal (but still nowhere near the top of the valley). Don't let the desolate photo fool you, usually there are dozens of folks enjoying the view from Chimney Rock.
We're going to keep climbing higher. Another 350+ more steps to Exclamation point so we can look down on Chimney Rock.
Nice view, eh? From here we could continue for another mile on the newly-opened Skyline trail, which takes one to the top of the waterfall shown earlier. But I was getting tired so I'll leave the Skyline trail for another day. Maybe when they fix the elevator in the park that allows folks to skip the stairs. Since I don't want the park rangers to carry me out in one of these:
2017-10-14 update: Yikes! We jinxed Chimney Rock! On their site they are now stating
Park Closed Until Further Notice Due to Collapsed Retaining Wall
2018-07-01 update: The Parking lot had been fixed and you could drive up as late as May 2018. But heavy rains ruined the lot again and now, even though the Park *is* open, everyone must take the shuttle bus up to where you can begin hiking. The good news is THE elevator to Chimney Rock is working again. That can you save you about 500 steps. We cheated and used it so we could then hike the 1.5 mile Skyline Trail. Here is the payoff at the end -- the top of the Chimney Rock waterfall:
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