Rough Ridge

I took a day to search for God, 

And found Him not; but as I trod, 

By rocky ledge, through woods untamed, 

Just where one scarlet lily flamed, 

I saw His footprint in the sod. 

--William Bliss Carman

Above: Rocky Outcropping on Rough Ridge.

changing beauty

Change can be beautiful, when we are brave enough to evolve with it. 
--Bryant McGill (b.1969) author.

Some more shots from the area of the Blue Ridge Parkway around Grandfather Mountain. Click the panorama below to enlarge.

For more photographs of the Linn Cove Viaduct, click here.

For directions to Rough Ridge Overlook, click here.

autumn's turn

Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. 
--Elizabeth Lawrence  

Take time to watch the leaves turn this weekend or next -- they are at peak in many places around Grandfather Mountain in the high country of North Carolina. This is the view of the Linn Cove Viaduct from Rough Ridge Overlook. It's one of the best places in our area to soak in all the autumny goodness.

For directions and description of the hike to Rough Ridge, click here.

brightened path

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.
--Ben Sweetland, author

an autumn hymn

The groves were God's first temples.
--William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) poet, journalist.

The trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain are nearly at their peak. Get out this week and gawk!  In some places (for instance, around Price Lake) it seems the peak has passed. But as you can see from the photo above (taken Friday from Rough Ridge), there are patches of bright fall color near the Linn Cove Viaduct -- but notice all the green leaves still awaiting their turn. If you do venture out, I recommend going early -- especially on the weekends. This particular section of the parkway gets crazy starting around 11am. Here's a previous post with links to various destinations in the Grandfather Mountain area.

gratitude

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
--E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) American poet. 

My friend Adam crossing a Tanawha Trail bridge leading to the Rough Ridge Overlook (located at Mile 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway).

boldness

What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it;
boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German author and scientist

Above: The view of Linn Cove Viaduct from Rough Ridge Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

burst into flame

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. 
--Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)  German humanitarian, theologian, missionary. 

A view of Rough Ridge and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Buffalo Treks: Elk River Falls, Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway

This post is written especially for Milligan College students who stop and ask me..."Where should we go this weekend?"  With fall break beginning today, I recommend a trip to Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's your best chance to find fall colors at this point in October -- and it's all within 60 miles! Click here for map.

View Larger Map
To get there from Milligan...

1. First Stop Elk River Falls: Head through Elizabethton turn Right on 19E and follow this for 23 miles through the towns of Roan Mountain, TN to Elk Park, NC.  (Note that 19E becomes Rt. 194 in NC.)
2. At Elk Park, turn left onto Old Mill Road (you'll see a sign to Elk River Falls), after a 1/4 mile, turn left again onto Elk River Road, and take this road 4.2 miles to the falls.  It's a short hike down to the falls. Click here for more information and discussion of this majestic waterfall.
3. Next Stop, Grandfather Mountain: Once back out on Rt. 194 in Elk Park, drive 7 miles. At the town of Linville, NC, turn left onto Rt. 181 (you'll find a Subway and Flick Video on this corner) and drive 4.1 miles.
4. You'll come to an intersection where you could turn left on 105 and go to Boone or drive straight, staying on 181, and head towards Grandfather Mountain. Go straight and drive 2 miles to the entrance to Grandfather Mountain. There is a $15 per person entrance fee to get into Grandfather. It's worth it because you can spend an entire day exploring the mountain. Besides the Mile-High Swinging Bridge and the Nature Habitats, there are also some amazing hiking trails there.
5. Final Stop, Rough Ridge Overlook: After Grandfather Mountain Park, continue driving on Rt. 181 for 1 additional mile and you'll reach the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway take the entrance ramp and stop at the stop sign.
6. From here, turn left and drive 2.7 miles, and you'll pass by Stack Rock Overlook (it's okay, but I'd keep going) and then the Visitors Center to Linn Cove Viaduct (There's a gift shop and restrooms there, and also a neat trail that winds around under the viaduct), followed by a couple more overlooks.  I recommend coming back to the viaduct trail if time allows, but our third destination is Rough Ridge Overlook.  The parking area for this will be on your left at Mile #302.8. Rough Ridge offers the best views of the viaduct -- as well as panoramic views of the mountains in every direction. A half mile hike takes you to a wooden platform, but don't stop there, go another half mile and the views keep getting better.  



View of Linn Cove Viaduct from Rough Ridge

7. Continue driving on the Parkway and you'll find more to explore....

Boone Fork Parking Area (the entrance point to many trails)
Price Lake (rent a canoe or hike the 2 mile trail that circles the lake)
Moses Cone Estate (miles of great trails)

Hope this helps you have a memorable fall break...have fun!

release your inner eagle

There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.
--Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) American Historian, Poet and Novelist

The Tanawha Trail to Rough Ridge invites visitors to release their inner eagle and soar. If you're visiting the Grandfather Mountain area of the Blue Ridge Parkway, be sure to stop off at the Rough Ridge Overlook (Mile 302.8), take the short, but somewhat steep 1+ mile hike to the top, and enjoy the boardwalks and many thrilling overlooks along the way.

These views are from a rock outcropping at the 'top' of Rough Ridge -- in the photo above you see the Linn Cove Viaduct -- and if you click on the thumbnail photo you can see the boardwalk overlook that visitors first encounter on their way up Rough Ridge as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway down below. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the Tanawha Trail is appropriately named - as the Cherokee word 'Tanawha' means 'great hawk' or 'eagle.'

springtime stanzas

How many stanzas in the springtime breeze?
How plenty the raindrops? As He doth please.
There is no meter and there is no rhyme,
Yet God's poems always read in perfect time.
--Astrid Alauda, "Poems on Nature"

Spring is just now arriving along the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. For those of us in Tennessee, driving 'over the mountain' is like stepping back in time -- an opportunity to see and enjoy a second spring. The High Country is carpeted with springtime's brilliant greens -- which have arrived in perfect time.

Above: A view from Rough Ridge of the Linn Cove Viaduct and Grandfather Mountain. This is one of my favorite hikes found along the Blue Ridge Parkway (Mile 302.8) -- its boardwalks and many rock outcroppings offer breathtaking views. It's part of the Tanawha Trail that stretches for 13 miles from Beacon Heights to Price Lake. With its soaring, majestic views, the trail is appropriately named; 'Tanawha' is the Cherokee word for "great hawk or eagle". For more scenes found along the Blue Ridge Parkway, click here.

BTW, if you're on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of Grandfather Mountain and Mark W. Peacock Photography!

On the edge

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American Novelist

With my insane fear of heights, I'm actually not one to be out on the edge. I'm perfectly content taking in the wide vistas from a safe distance back, thank you very much. :) And actually, in terms of photography, I've found that it's often better to step back to put something in the foreground to help frame and give a sense of depth and perspective to the image. Of course, I'm pretty sure Vonnegut wasn't thinking about hiking when he wrote this!

Above: Unknown photographer at Rough Ridge (taken last fall).

BTW...1,500 of Hugh Morton's photos have been digitized and made available online as part of UNC's Hugh Morton Collection of Photographs and Films. Click here for a discussion of the Collection.

Crossing Over

Here's a photo taken this past fall on the trail leading to the Rough Ridge Overlook (mile 302.8 of the Blue Ridge Parkway) and some quotes to help us ring in the New Year!

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.
--Bill Vaughn

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
--Bill Vaughan

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
--Benjamin Franklin

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.
--John Burroughs


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

walk with love and reverence

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher

Above: Along the Tanawha Trail to Rough Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway Mile 302.8. Tanawha is the Cherokee word for "great hawk or eagle" -- which is fitting. The 13.5 mile trail offers soaring views of the mountains as it meanders alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway from Price Lake (Mile 297) to the Beacon Heights Overlook (Mile 305). Click here for an interactive map of the trail.

The Bridge to Rough Ridge

There are many beautiful bridges found along the thirteen mile Tanawha Trail which parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway, stretching from the Beacon Heights Overlook to Price Lake. This one is found at Mile 302.8 of the Parkway on the short trail (0.3 miles) to the spectacular views of Rough Ridge Overlook. Perhaps the best known of these graceful arched bridges is Boone Fork Bridge a few miles to the north on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile 300.

I cannot look away...

Just when I think I'm ready to move on to new and exciting fall destinations...I find myself drawn back to the Blue Ridge Parkway retracing my steps from the last two weeks. Wow, am I glad I returned! The Blue Ridge is putting on quite a loud show right now! I didn't go up on Grandfather Mountain yesterday, but instead got this familiar viaduct shot and then went up to Rough Ridge. Luckily I was there before it became a zoo on the parkway. To get to the spot where the above photo was taken, you can either park at the end of the parking lot at the Linn Cove Viaduct visitor's center (Mile #304.3) and hike the amazing trail that weaves under the viaduct (everyone should do this at some point -- you're appreciation for this structure will grow with each step) or take the easy way and park at the Yonahlossee Overlook (mile #303.9 ) and walk beside the parkway for a short distance, cross over right before you get to the viaduct, and look for a short, little path leading up to some large rocks (most likely covered with photographers this time of year).

What you don't want to do is what everyone was doing today: Stopping on the side of parkway to get your shot. I actually saw one nutcase stop in the middle of the viaduct (yeah, no blind corners or distracted drivers there!), leave his car door open and then walk across a lane of traffic to take his masterpiece.

After the viaduct, I went on to the Rough Ridge Overlook (Mile #302.8). (Here's a previous photo and description). Above is a view of the lower portion of Rough Ridge with the parkway to the right. If you look closely at the upper left of this photo, you'll see that there's a wooden platform. The view from there is amazing -- and it's really a fairly short hike from the parking area to get to that point (a moderate climb, but not too bad - no more than 1/2 mile). Rough Ridge offers the best views of the viaduct -- as well as panoramic views of the mountains in every direction.

After you get to the wooden platform described above, continue climbing and you'll be rewarded with even more breathtaking views. Both trails, the Rough Ridge Trail and the Viaduct Access Trail are parts of the amazing 13.5 mile Tanawha Trail, which runs from Beacon Heights to Price Lake.

Links to nearby points of interest:
Grandfather Mountain
Flat Rock Overlook
Beacon Heights Overlook
Linn Cove Viaduct
Rough Ridge Overlook
Price Lake
Moses Cone Estate
Bass Lake

Rough Ridge Overlook

One of the most best overlooks I've found on the Blue Ridge Parkway is at mile #302.8 just north of the Linn Cove Viaduct and Grandfather Mountain. It's one of those overlooks that's easy to drive by, because you can't immediately see anything but a parking area. But take the short, moderately steep 1/2 mile trail, and you'll be rewarded with magnificent views of the viaduct, Grandfather Mountain and layers of mountain ridges to the south and east. After you get to the wooden platform seen above, continue climbing another half mile and you'll be rewarded with even more breathtaking views. The trail can be slick and muddy after a rain - wear old shoes. Because of the narrowness of the path, pets are not allowed.

The trail to the lookout is part of the 13.5 mile Tanawha Trail which parallels the parkway and leads to Price Lake (Mile 297) to the north and Beacon Heights (Mile 305) to the south. Tanawha is the Cherokee word for "great hawk or eagle" -- which if fitting given the soaring views of the mountains it offers. Click here for an interactive map of the trail.


Above is a beautiful bridge found on the trail to Rough Ridge, one of many along the Tanawha Trail. Perhaps the best known of these graceful arched bridges is Boone Fork Bridge a few miles to the north on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile 300.