A weekend of Solo-backpacking in Linville Gorge

Here's to the beginning of a great adventure, cataloguing my adventures! I get very caught up in planning, going, and doing adventures that I neglect to record them. I'll start of with my most recent trip two weekends ago.

It was a solo backpacking trip in Linville Gorge where I planned to hike in 7 miles to the cliffs of Shortoff Mountain and then back out again.. Getting there is always a Journey in it self(Ho ho, notice my clever wordplay). No matter the time that I leave to go Adventuring, whether it be from Milledgeville or any where for that matter, I always end up rolling into my campsite after dark, around 12. Which is exactly how it happened, but I did take a great shot of some nearby houses and lighting.

A surprisingly exposed turn...

A quick note on "my" camera. This was taken with a Canon Rebel T1i, that my sister and her husband let me borrow for a little while. 5.4 aperture I think, a 20 second exposure, and ISO at 1600 is what got me this shot. At least to the best of my memory. 

So, got it very late that evening to the Little Table Rock parking area, set up my tent, despite the raging winds that fought me at every turn, and slept peacefully, happy to be back in the woods. I forced my self to wake up early the next day to take a few pictures of the sunrise. Part of the view from the top of The Chimneys. 

If you didn't know, the Chimneys is actually a climbing hotspot offering some great top ropes. Climbed there a few times and it's a great place to take friends and beginners who have never climbed before. Short hike in, great views, and great routes. For the more advanced climbers, there is Table Rock and the Amphitheater, both of which I've heard great stories about from those that have climbed them, but have never actually climbed them myself.

After grabbing some more shots, I hustled back to break down camp and have a quick oatmeal breakfast. Packed up and headed off. I was taking a section of the Mountains to the Sea trail and it's right around seven miles from the parking area. The trail is pretty well maintained and if you only want a short hike it's an easy two to three miles to another great view of both Table Rock and The Chimneys. It will be a distinct clearing, but be warned anything past that is WICKED, LONG, GRUELING DOWNHILL. Apologies for the caps, but I want to make sure it's understood that the next section of trail is very very hard. Long downhill that includes big step downs and log hurdles. Definitely the hardest part of the trail.

How dreamy...

So after enduring the burning in the front of my thighs for so long I thought my skin would be ripe for Bar-B-Que any minute now, I discovered I had taken a wrong turn and started to descend into Linvill Gorge rather than head towards Shortoff. I spent nearly two and a half hours analyzing my map, walking this way then walking back again before I ran into some fellow hikers that pointed me in the right direction. I was ready to just drop my pack at the nearest campsite and call it a day. Shortoff nothing, the camera bag that I will never again take on the trail was beginning to do a bit more than bug me and I was ready for a nice long sit down. The one thing that kept pushing me onwards was that I knew there would be some incredible campsites once I made it to Shortoff, so I pressed on.

My hard work paid off as I stayed at the most incredible campsite I've ever been to. I was something like ten feet from the edge of a sheer 100 foot dropoff. This was it. What I'd hiked for.      So worth it.

 I made lunch with a packet of food that I'd actually found of the trail. Someone had left quite a few provisions lying in a pile in the middle of the trail, I grabbed up a small packet of oxygenized beans and veggies to add to my rice. A bit unethical, but there wasn't any one else on the mountain whose it could have been. I checked.

 After that delicious incredibly satisfying meal, I laid down to read and enjoy the view I had made for myself. All was well until a few dark clouds rolled in. I didn't think much of it, but threw my rain fly on made dinner of rice and laid back into my sleeping bag for more reading. I did jump out to grab a picture of the sunset, and when I say jump I mean I couldn't be out in the wind for more than a few minutes before my hands couldn't operate the camera. Pretty chilly. That about sums it up. The next day I packed up and hiked back without getting lost and yes, I conquered the massive hill that I talked about earlier. Plucked the banjo in the parking lot for a little while, packed up the car, and went home!

 But not before I snagged a shot of this little guy!