First Day of Fall along the Blue Ridge
Wednesday was the official beginning of Autumn this year, and I wanted to see what the colors were like above 3,000 feet along the Blue Ridge. I was shocked to find that many areas were already experiencing bright bursts of color, even this early in the season.
In the company of a good friend from Minnesota, I first went to the east side of Linville Gorge. Here is the view toward Brown Mountain that we found as we worked our way toward Hawksbill Mountain.
A View of distant ridges from steep Hawksbill trail…
After a strenuous hour long climb to the summit of 4,000 foot Hawkbill Mountain, we were rewarded with these incredible views of Linville Gorge…
Table Rock Mountain to the south was capped with fog…
2,500 feet below, the Linville River continues it’s relentless work at carving this “Grand Canyon of the East”.
Two tired climbers paused to enjoy the view and have a Coors…
The vegetation on the summit was stunted from the harsh conditions in that exposed area.
Mercy discovered that the Hawksbill summit was nothing like Minnesota.
We made the difficult descent back to the car, and headed for the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway below Grandfather Mountain. The yellows and oranges were already in plentiful supply…
Perched on a rock above the viaduct, Table Rock Mountain on the horizon to the left, and Hawksbill Mountain to its right, reminded us of our earlier climbing accomplishment at Linville Gorge.
Wow! Beautiful and it does seen early for leaves to change.ThanksPatsy
Always look forward to your first Fall images of the Blue Ridge. These are even better than last year. Thanks for sharing with your South Florida followers.
I scrolled through your blog. Likely the best pix of the Smokies, etc. I have seen and a lot of them. Gorgeous
Beautiful photos and blog. I am originally from the nearby area. As a teenager we used to climb up the rock wall at Linville Gorge and jump into the water below. I now live in Austria. Your photos brought me nice memories of home!
I have spent many wonderful vacations in Austria, and I was inspired to move to these mountains after skiing at Kitzbuhel… Vann
I would love to move to this area! so beautiful, cant wait to see it all again next weekend. Your photographs are breathtaking