I rated my top 10 favorite hikes, but I left a few out that could have been in there too, and I thought would mention them, mostly through pictures.
The Appalachian trail at Roan Mountain is one of my favorite spots, especially since I don't have to hike very far to get the complete experience. Of course, the trail being the AT, I could hike as long as I want. Parking at Carver Gap is very difficult though, especially on weekends. June is a popular month there because the rhododendron are in full bloom.
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| Roan Mountain in the Fall |
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| The early autumn view from Roan Mountain |
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| After a summer thunderstorm |
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| Crossing the road very early in the morning. |
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| Roan Mountain in the summertime. |
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| I left my home in Charlotte at 5am to try to be there for the sunrise, but I was too late. |
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| Early Morning. |
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| Reflections. |
How many times have I been to Crowders Mountain? How many times did I compare trails to it? And yet, it did not make my top 10.
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| On top of Crowders Mt. in the summer. |
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| Crowders Mountain is a rock climber's favorite. |
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| In addition to many trails, there is a truck route to the top, where a cell tower resides. |
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| These stairs. I think there are 133 of them. Every time I went hiking there, someone was repeatedly going up and down the stairs. OR - they were going all the way down the mountain to the parking lot, and going back up the whole thing. |
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| Crowders in the wintertime is less crowded, but still popular. |
I also spent a day in Joshua Tree National Park once. It was only April, but it was already so damn hot. The wildflowers were pretty though:
And last, but certainly not least, the few hikes I got in with this little dude were awesome:
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| Brycen, at age 2. |
Ahhh! Love this! I was missing your hiking posts and this makes me so happy. I'm think of making a list of localish hikes that I was to complete this year - some inspiration for the ever frustrating "what should we do this weekend?" question. More hiking!
ReplyDeleteDo it! I love lists - and with your awesome handwriting a list would look amazing on the fridge. I wrote out a list of dinner ideas about 6 months ago because we were sick of wondering "what should we plan for dinners this week?" The list has become handy. I started to make a list of movies I want to see too, but it got overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteI saw something on Facebook about 5 great Mountain Balds in NC and GA, and Max Patch and Roan were not even mentioned. I had never even heard of these balds, but I wish I had gotten them in when I could. There is one, however, that people can drive nearly to the top of. Lame, except for people like me!!
I've been pondering what my favorite hikes have been, too, ever since you wrote this series!
DeleteI have been inspired to write up some lists as well. Maybe it will prevent me from doing everything so last minute (not likely).
ReplyDeleteRachel - one of these days we should collaborate on a travel-guide-graphic-novel-photo-travel-ogue for the dc area to include weekend excursions and off-the-beaten track kind of places. I feel like there are SO many cool places and so many more our mutual googlesearch brains could uncover. Plus you're a local and I'm an outsider so that will give the book (s) a good dynamic.
We could also do a "choose your own adventure" type guide. For example choose Rachel or Me as your guide leads the reader down different paths based on our own preferences. R would represent cabins and lodges, vegan food, and day hikes and I would represent cheeseburgers (cheeseburgers, cheeseburgers), backpacking, and more rustic get ups. In the middle of the venn diagram we'd have art, good food, outdoorsy stuff, kitsch sights, etc. Maybe this only sounds cool in my head? Too much energy this morning.
DeleteLove these ideas, Veronika! I'm in!
DeleteKaren, I have thoroughly enjoyed your "Top Ten" posts and photo's. How amazing those experiences!
ReplyDelete