Sunday, October 29, 2006

 

Linville Wilderness

Our recent trip to the NC Mountains contains three sections. The first weekend was spent near the Linville Gorge Wilderness. Next, we spent several days at the Chimney Rock - Lake Lure Area. The final weekend found us near Franklin, NC at the mouth of the Cullasaja Gorge.
This post will deal with the Linville Gorge Wilderness. The next two posts will deal with Chimney Rock - Lake Lure and Cullasaja Gorge respectively.


On the eastern rim of the Linville Gorge, the two most outstanding landmarks are Table Rock Mountain on the left and Hawksbill Mountain on the right. This pic. was taken from NC-181. The road from NC-181 to the Table Rock trailhead is approximately 13 miles of gravel with many switchbacks. It can be negotiated with most automobiles. The trail up Table Rock is approx. 0.8 mi.

The hike up the Table Rock was a pleasant one. The pic. to the right shows Angie enjoying the beautiful view.

To me, the most impressive view from the top of Table rock was the view looking right up the Linville Gorge. This is a true wilderness area. There are no roads into the gorge and it is accessable only by walking. It is a wilderness area to be respected. If you go down into the gorge, the only way out is a very strenuous hike UP! If you get into any kind of trouble down there, you are in deep soup!

I'm not sure, but I think that the view is looking south from Table Rock and I think that Shortoff Mountain is in the distance.

I was impressed by the rugged rock formations and the vivid fall colors in this view from the Table Rock Trail.

When we got back to the parking lot, Angie said, "Look back over your shoulder!" I couldn't resist just one more pic. of the beautiful rock formations.


# posted by Bob @ 10/29/2006 08:36:00 PM 0 comments

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