Linville Falls and Gorge, Linville, NC {J. Commons Photography ~ Linville Falls}

First, I am apologize for being a little behind on posting!  Other obligations needed my attention.

Now, on to the fun stuff!  I've started using an app called AllTrails to track my hikes and search for new spots to explore.  There's an overview of the area, a rating of easy, moderate, or hard, photos added by other users, and reviews by users.  Information usually includes a short description, topography, sites along the trail, and distance.  I have found that the reviews by users are a little better in accurately describing the trail opposed to the description at the top.  Two weeks ago, Deanna and I set out to explore Linville Falls in Pisgah National Forest off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was described as a moderate trail with some inclines and five overlooks of the falls.  (More on the accuracy of this statement in a little while.)

We found the parking lot, though were unable to locate the Visitor's Center that was supposed to be at the parking lot.  The trail head was easy enough to find and we started out.  The beginning of the trail was practically straight down.  Great for the beginning, not so great knowing we would have to come back up this at the end of our hike.  We continued our descent about a half mile to find a fork in the path. To the left the Visitor's Center (a ha!) and to the right the falls.  Of course, we chose the falls!  This first overlook took us to the Upper Linville Falls.

There was a really cool observation area fenced off along the rock.  It was pretty neat to be walking across the large rock formation.

The water flowed from this pool to a drop off that we could hear, but not see from this location.  We climbed back out from this overlook and continued off to the next one.  More incline up the side of the mountain!  Another half mile up we came to our next overlook - there was a pretty steep climb down to the overlook off of the path.  There were two separate overlooks at this spot and they were breathtaking!

In this picture you can see a bit of the upper falls in the background.

Obligatory selfie with Deanna's phone!

Looking out over the gorge.

We continued on further up to the top of the mountain, I couldn't wait to start coming back down!  There was a small set of steep stairs up to the last overlook on this side of the gorge.  I thought the last overlook was breathtaking, but this one beat all!  I can only imagine how beautiful it probably is with the leaf change.

We backtracked down the mountain all the way to the fork in the path and continued to the Visitor's Center.  We checked out the center and decided to come back to purchase our patches and stickers and then headed out the next trail that led to another overlook and the gorge.  Along the trail we found this fiery fungus growing on a tree.

The first part of the trail to the overlook was hilly and bumpy with roots and we were beginning to tire.  It was also still wet from the rain the day before.  We turned to climb down to the overlook and it was a steep set of rock stairs.  We were kind of laughing about the absurdity of this path and how it seemed to be getting harder and harder and maybe shouldn't have been defined as "moderate." The rock steps were very wet, and unfortunately, Deanna slipped at the bottom and landed on her butt.  Thankfully, she was okay minus a scraped elbow and hand, but we were extremely cautious after that.  We made it the rest of the way to the overlook safely.  

From this angle we could better see the birds flying into and off of the rock ledges.  There were dozens of, what I am calling, Rock Pigeons.  

After this overlook we continued along the trail to the gorge.  The trail became a steeper and steeper descent and we were questioning our decision to continue.  We "passed through" these stones for our own little "Outlander" moment.  We didn't find Jamie Fraser.

(From Deanna's Phone)

Deanna was in front of me and when she reached the point of the photo below she just started laughing!  I followed suit when I saw the sight.  This picture does not do it justice, but these were the steepest steps I have ever seen in my life!  I just kept thinking, "what are we doing?!"

The trail continued to get rockier and steeper and even included some very large boulders we had to traverse. Several times we found ourselves climbing down the rocks backwards!  We passed another set of hikers coming back up the trail and asked how much further we had to go.  They said we were over halfway and that it was completely worth it!  The woman laughed and said, "It definitely earns its difficult rating, doesn't it?" Wait. What? Difficult? I don't remember reading that, but it explained a lot!  We continued on.  Sadly, we don't have any photos from this ridiculous section of the trail.  I put my camera up for fear of dropping it or falling myself.  It was definitely a smart move. We finally made it to the gorge floor and and it was totally worth it!  The entire time we had been hiking the overlook I kept wishing we could get to the bottom of the fall.  Well, I got my wish!

The climb back up was hard and found us using all fours to climb over some of the rocks, but we made it!  We rested in the Visitor's Center for a minute and started on our way back to the car.  That last hill about killed me, but I was so happy that I did it!!  Turns out, the overlooks were rated moderate, but the hike down to the gorge was listed as difficult.  This was the first difficult rated trail we have completed. It was hard work, but not impossible.  We have come a long way this year in our hiking endurance and capabilities!

Hike distance ~ almost 7.5 miles!  Hike time ~ a little over 3 hours!

Appalachian Trail ~Laurel Fork Falls ~ Dennis Cove, Hampton, TN {J. Commons Photography ~ Dennis Cove}

After our shortened Labor Day hike we drove out to the Dennis Cove trail head to find it and see what we were in store for.  The hubby had warned me about ever going up there on my own because of a lot of criminal activity around the campground area, so this was my first drive out there.  The road climbed high up the mountain with lots of switchbacks and some amazing views overlooking Hampton.

These photos looking over Hampton are from Labor Day, but it was the same view Monday, too!

After our trip up there I did some research on Dennis Cove and learned that there were waterfalls and several creek crossings.  I was so excited!  Deanna and I were super excited to head out on this trail.  When we arrived there were two cars in the parking lot.  Near one car was a man in camo carrying a fishing pole.  No concern.  Near the other car there was another man in camo with a rifle slung over his shoulder.  Seriously.  A rifle.  It's National Forest land, I can't imagine hunting is allowed.  We evaluated the situation for a few minutes while we gathered our stuff.  I was more than a little relieved when two other people joined him and they got in their car and left!

The beginning of the trail was wide and flat and very easy walking.  I was a little disappointed to find that foot bridges had been built over the creeks, but they were cute.  There has been little rain over the last few weeks, so the creek crossings weren't much anyway.

I really enjoyed being around the creek and hearing the water along most of our hike.

Sasquatch? Bear paw?  Or just a rock that has been moved?

I loved how the pine needles were casting a shadow on this rock.

 Although I was disappointed about the creek crossings, I loved this bridge! This was the first view of it as we came around a corner.

The fly fisher is kind of hard to see, but he is in the middle of the picture on the left bank.

Up to the bridge had been a fairly flat, easy hike.  This is what awaited us on the other side and it was only the beginning!

Light at the end of the tunnel.

I really want to know what this green sequin fell off of and why was it on a hike?!

The trail appeared to continue on straight ahead, but there were several markings pointing us down the hill to the falls.

A view about halfway down to the falls.

It was hard to capture in a photo what this part of the hike was really like.  It was mostly steep stone-like steps.  Some were loose.  Did I mention I had rolled my ankle a few days earlier?  This was so difficult!  I was so glad I made it all the way down with out hurting myself more.  But I was not looking forward to the climb back up. (Deanna was actually checking her voicemail in this photo!)

The pay-off.  Totally worth having to climb back up those rocks! Laurel Fork Falls.

I did not want to leave the falls, I couldn't stop taking pictures!  Also, I didn't want to climb the rocks!  But climb the rocks I did!!!!  I am slowly getting myself in shape and I have asthma. I had to stop several times and let my heart rate come down, but I made it.

Animal of the hike - a little frog.  Or toad.  I don't know the difference!

This was the most difficult hike we have completed to date.  I know there is no way I could have done this hike last year or even at the beginning of this year.  But I did it and I am so proud of myself!!  And we are even planning to return to the falls after some rain to see them fuller.  Hike distance - 5.4 miles.  Time 2 hours 25 minutes (that includes the at least 20 minutes we spent at the waterfall!)

Appalachian Trail ~ Watauga Dam Area, Elizabethton, TN {J. Commons Photography ~ Watauga Dam}

This is how we do Labor Day!  I really want to do the part of the AT that crosses the Watauga Dam.  Deanna and I set out to tackle this part of the trail, but we didn't quite make it.  Deanna's back had been bothering her over the weekend and we planned to take it slow and easy.  Unfortunately, this part of the trail had lots of ups and downs and the downs were very hard on her back.  So we turned back towards the visitor center area to check out the other side of the trail.

View of the Watauga Dam from the overlook.

Butterfly around the visitor center. I have a thing for butterflies!

Impressive spider web that Deanna walked right under without even noticing!

Loved this perfectly shaped mushroom.  I may not like to eat them, but I love to take their pictures!

Turns out this side of the path was all up hill.  Completely up hill!  It was tiring, but I was so worried about Deanna coming back down the hill and screwing her back up more.  At one point a large branch broke off a tree and crashed to the ground.  In my attempt to get Deanna to not go any further, I said, "That was God.  God says, 'Get your a** back down here!"  We laughed, but she still didn't stop.  I finally convinced her to turn around and head back and save this trek for a better day.

Stone steps.  Little did we know, these were just a preview for the following week's hike!

We saw several signs posted about bear activity in the area.  I am not sure how I will react if I ever see a bear on a hike.  I think far off distance would be okay, but up close and personal, no thanks!

We definitely cut our hike short today because of Deanna's back, but we did manage to clock in a little over 3 miles.

Appalachian Trail ~ Cross Mountain, Shady Valley, TN {J. Commons Photography ~ Cross Mountain, Shady Valley}

Several years ago, I drove out to Johnson County to check out a spot where the Appalachian Trail meanders through a cow* field.  I didn't walk very far into the field, but I was definitely intrigued.  Today, my sole sister Deanna and I headed out there.

Trail head at Cross Mountain, just past the Johnson County line.

After figuring out my own way to open the special gate (I couldn't seem to do it following the directions) we made our way into the field.  Neither of us have ever hiked through a cow field and we weren't really sure what to expect.  We were both delighted to find that there were actually cows in the field with us!  There were only two and the big guy with the horns was, thankfully, on the other side of the fence!

Cow fields have nice, wide walking paths!

The white blaze of the AT.

The moment I realized there were actually cows in our field and I squeed with joy!

Cool barn.  This photo feels a little "Dorothy in Kansas" to me.

LOVE this truck in the field!  Before wandering out to the front of the truck, that little black cow was trying to figure out how to get in the back!

Peek-a-bull!

 "I don't know where this road is going to lead. . ."

"All I know is where we've been. . ."

If you have never visited Shady Valley, I am here to tell you, "It's beautiful!"

The field is dotted with these purple flowers/weeds and they are butterfly magnets.

I love, love, LOVE how you can see the flower shadow through the butterfly's wings!  So cool!

Headed to the trees.

But first - this happened!  As I already stated, the AT goes through a cow field.  It appeared as if the AT continued to the next field, but you had to cross a muddy spot.  Well, I went first and, as you can see, sunk halfway up to my knees into the quicksandish mud!  I struggled to get back out with my shoes still on my feet and after some maneuvering did manage. And the stench. Oh my word, the stench!  After I was back on solid ground we laughed and laughed and laughed!  We tried to go around the outside of it, but the barbed fence didn't allow us anyway through.  We had just decided to turn around when some thru hikers showed up.  They commented that we must have been having a good time because they could hear our laughter.  Trying to be friendly, we informed them of the sinking mud issue.  As we turned to leave, it dawned on me that there was a fence structure that lead into the forest that was, in fact, the correct way to continue along the AT!  You can see in this collage below that Deanna put together my lovely, muddy shoes, the offending mud, and the hikers behind me past the fence climb.  We laughed harder and harder and realized we need an AT for Dummies book!  And I am sure those thru hikers will laugh about us all the way to Roanoke!

(From Deanna's iPhone)

Oh, look!  The way we should have gone!

We did climb the fence and head into the forest.  We were on a bit of a time crunch today, so we went about a half mile in and then turned back towards the car.

Me taking a picture of Deanna taking a picture of this cute little fall-like leaf.  Yes, that's a selfie stick.  Stop judging us. 

Thistles!

More butterfly hunting.

 Thistles.  Butterfly.  Old truck.  Love.

This little one was closer to the fence, but it was a bit startled by me and kept walking further away and then turning back to see where I was.

Another great day.  Another great hike.  Today's trip on the AT covered 3.22 miles and burned a lot of calories with laughter. :)

*No cows were harmed in the making of this adventure1