Milepost 418.8

One of my favorite hikes on the planet is the trail system at Graveyard Fields, located at Milepost 418.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway on North Carolina.  (The spooky name originates with either the gravestone-like grass-and-vine covered humps of fallen trees in the spruce forrest that covered the area 100 years ago, or with the graveyard-feel created by the charred stumps of those trees when they fell victim to arson in the 1920s, depending on which source you want to believe.)  We hiked there as a family several years ago, I went back once with my son, and last Thursday I used the lure of the hike to get me through the seven-hour drive down to western North Carolina.

When I arrived, I was surprised to discover the parking lot jammed with cars.  Not so unusual, I read later.  While the vista spread before me -- 

-- looks mostly like a hiker's paradise, people in the know are aware of the sun-laden rocks and small pool located at the bottom of the path, less than a half-mile away.  Thursday was almost toasty for the mountains and, as I reached the trail divide, I could see people baking in the warmth and hear them sqealing in the icy mountain water. 

After a few minutes of observation, I turned and headed away from Second Falls and out on the longer trail toward Upper Falls.  The first portion of the hike is probably my favorite; I love to wade in the wide and shallow river:

As the trail moves up toward the falls, the smooth path gives way to roots and rocks:

I had forgotten how treacherous it could become -- eventually, the path is nothing but a pile of small boulders and large, twisted roots, moving up something of an incline.  I have noticed that one of the websites says that the hike is 200 feet up (and you have to go up, down, and up again once you get started, so it's really 200 feet times two) -- and that, combinedwith the terrain, would explain why it took me more than two hours to complete my daily three miles.

Time spent at Upper Falls is worth the trek, though:

I love to just sit and relax at the bottom (which is really the middle).  The rocks are slick, so care is required, especially if you have to drive another 700 miles in the next two days and can't afford a sprained ankle or worse, but few people make it all the way up, so it's a good spot to enjoy the wilderness in isolation.

I made it back without mishap and, since I had to back track a bit on the Parkway to reach my exit, I spent some time looking at another favorite site, Looking Glass Rock:

One of my sons has told me that he climbed a portion of the face during summer camp when he was in middle school; if that's true, I'm glad I didn't know about it until the end of the summer.  Apparently there's a trail that you can hike to the top, and I'd be willing to take that on that some year.  Hanging from bare cliffs by a series of ropes is not my idea of a fun time in the out-of-doors.

Eventually I dragged myself away and drove down and off the Pisgah Ridge to the small town of Brevard, where a hot bath and and a nice meal awaited me.  I had more plans for hiking the next morning, and then I would finally get to pick my daughter up from her camp job and -- I hoped -- see my son.

Walked: 3 miles.