Places to Hike in North Carolina
Hope you have your hiking shoes on today, because I'm going to take you on a couple of recent hikes that I have done with Mr.thisandthat. I'll wait if you need to go put your shoes on!
As you can see from the first image, this hike was in the Pisgah National Forest. We started at the Big East Fork Trail head and then headed down off the trail to our destination; the Big East Fork Pigeon River.
There weren't a lot of miles on this hike, but there was a whole lot of beautiful scenery! The Pigeon River has rushing water over huge boulders surrounded by lots of trees and shrubs.
The sound of the rushing water was both soothing and relaxing.
I'm not a long distance hiker like my husband, so when we hike together we usually go for shorter distances and really pretty views. This hike definitely fit those requirements for me!
The Mr. was in his element snapping photos.
And I was in my element sitting on a rock enjoying the beauty that surrounded me! It was a happy day on this river hike. Now....are you ready to go up high? Follow me onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and we'll get you up into the high country.
We're going to head up to Craggy Gardens area on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a hike we just did this past Friday.
We took a friend along on this hike. This is "Sophie" the exchange teacher from China who has been teaching Chinese at my husband's High School this past year. She heads back to China in a few days and had not had the opportunity to hike while she has been here.
She was excited to see the mountains and it was fun for us to see her reaction to the scenery. She really enjoyed the hike!
Craggy Gardens area is known for its beautiful rhododendron blooms. Sophie was unfamiliar with this flower and learned about it on the trail.
It was rainy and there was distant thunder on the way up, but we still managed to get some pretty good views. Sophie told the Mr. that, "Debbie hikes slow." Tell me something I don't already know! She then told him that I must hike slow so I can "go all day." That is definitely not me! I'm like the tortoise from "The Tortoise and the Hare." Slow and steady wins the race when I hike....but, I don't typically go all day! I'm always at the back of the pack, though. Oh well....
We had a good time together. Here's Mr.thisandthat and I at the top.
And, of course, we had to take a "selfie" at the top! For reference, the trail we were on is not the main trail that goes to the top of Craggy Pinnacle, but rather a side trail that begins at the lower visitor center. It still gets you up high with beautiful scenery and balds at the top. There is also a covered shelter about mid-way up the trail that is a pretty site. We went past this to the top of the bald.
*Hope you had fun hiking with me today! Do you like to hike? Where do you go? I'm more of a "walker" than a "hiker" but I do enjoy when we are in the beauty of nature. And, it's always more fun with a friend, so thanks for going with me today! Hope you'll leave a comment. Let me know what you are up to this summer. Your comments make my day! And, please remember to recommend debbiethisandthat.com to others!
Until Next Time,
Debbie
2 comments:
This was such a fun post Debbie! I loved seeing the scenery and wrote down the names of these places for when I'm back in NC. I love hiking, but am not fast either. I think beautiful scenery can be a good excuse to stop along the way because you HAVE to have pictures, right? Your post inspires me to get outside on the trails around here before the days start getting too short again! There is a national park close to where I live with a hike and bike trail (that I've used a lot over the years), and side trails off of that. Some are challenging and make you feel good at the end that you've done it! But the Blue Ridge Mountains are something special. We used to camp there when I was a teenager and my dad was a hiker. When he said we were hiking, we were hiking!! We saw some gorgeous scenery, and I think I'd appreciate it even more now. You live in a gorgeous area, and it's great you could show Sophie all the beauty before she heads back to China. Thank you for inspiring me to make the most of the summer and get out on the trails more often than I do!
It's good to know I'm not the only slow hiker in the world, Karen! Sounds like you had some great hikes with your family growing up. I never hiked until I met my husband and it was sort of a "requirement." Ha! Hope you can visit these places someday.
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