HIKING THE TRAILS--Trip 2

The beavers hid during our early morning hike of 2.7 miles around Price Lake, but evidence of their whereabouts was everywhere: saplings bent, twigs piled at water's edge and downed trees sharpened to pikes by gnawing teeth. We picked our way carefully through rhododendron tunnels, over the spider-webbed roots that crisscrossed the path and through the oozing muck of black earth and trampled marsh grasses at the lower end of the lake. Two huge piles of twigs and logs dammed the inflow, certain evidence of occupation.

"I'll bet the rangers relocated them here," said Andy. "They would not have wanted beaver dams at the outflow near the campground." The three older couples who cooked breakfast over a pit fire, straightened up their camp site and launched a flat boat onto the lake for fishing would probably agree.
Wilson Creek Valley Overlook at 4,356 feet provided spectacular views of Wilson Creek Valley, but grey skies dulled the perspective. "We're much higher here," said Andy. "That's probably why the leaves are so much more changed."
"That's Linville," said Andy, pointing to a white band of concrete in the distance. "That stretch of road was the last one finished, even though the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway above and below had been completed years earlier."

We stopped in the Visitor Center. Lincove Viaduct, completed September 11, 1987, exactly 52 years to the day after the Blue Ridge Parkway was started, linked the two main sections of scenic roadway. It took years of study so construction of the quarter-mile stretch of highway left the boulder field of Grandfather Mountain undisturbed. We climbed 1,400 feet up to Beacon Heights from the parking area along a rugged, granite-spewed trail. Leaves in the distance painted a rainbow of red and yellow and brown on the green palette. "No way is this .2 mile climb a ten-minute stroll like the sign said," I told Andy as we picked our way over granite slabs and twisted tree roots to the Beacon Heights rock outcroppings for a picture of Grandfather Mountain.
We waited a generous ten minutes for the pilot car around Mile Post 314. It guided us through a whole lot of nonexistent road construction and a short section of grinding and repaving. "I wonder what they do at night," mused Andy. "They must run the pilot car and station people here all night long. There are no lights, so they can't work, and it would be dangerous to just leave it open. The month of October is the busiest month of the year on the Blue Ridge. This really takes poor planning to tear up sections of road now!"

"I can't believe they actually closed 18 miles to make people detour during leaf season," I said. "It just doesn't make economic sense."

Camp Creek Trail needed major renovation. We slid down the mud embankment, ducking under fallen trees and scrambling over rhododendron branches.
Linville Falls Trails kept us moving for more than two hours as we climbed 1.2 miles to Erwin's View, Gorge View and Chimney View. On the way back, Upper Falls offered beautiful photographs of the cascades from every angle. An .8-mile trail on the opposite side of Linville River gave us a totally different perspective of the falling water.

As the breeze picked up, whirlwinds of yellow leaves spun and twisted in the updrafts, as water, framed by pine trees, plunged from the heights. Even Dugger's Creek on the other side of the Visitor Center sheltered its own smaller waterfall, a secluded cascade of 20 or 30 feet. What a magical natural wonderland. No wonder this area competes with Vermont for visitors in the autumn season.

The weathermen were right. It took all morning, but as the cold front settled in, it brought blue skies and bright sun.
We headed back to the Viaduct for a look at Grandfather Mountain silhouetted against blue. The photographs looked beautiful, but as the wind picked up, we felt autumn in the air. Snow is predicted for tonight in the mountains.

Linville River Bridge Trail (.2 mile) featured an unusual stone bridge across the Linville River. The sloping path led through a protected rhododendron and pine forest to the river's edge.
Our last hike of the day, Chestoa View Trail, looped around the top of a peak for .7 mile overlooking Chestoa Valley. Photos didn't do justice to the panorama that stretched for miles before us, and with a bright sky behind us, the hills and trees came out as black silhouettes on a white sky canvas.
A few miles posts later, we had the same results with Mount Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi, at 6,648 feet.
And that's our destination for more hiking tomorrow.