And in an old-school-cool Large ALICE...I like the vibe!
Post your recent hiking pics
- Thread starter chiefjason
- Start date
- Replies 542
- Views 13,204
OP
Based on the curl on the Rhodos it might have been too cold for a rooster tail. I'd be going nymph on a fly rod. Which is what I'll likely be fishing Thur/Fri when I'm out. Deep and slow until it gets warm.
Nice area to be out and about in though.
OP
Something a bit different. Instead of a straight hiking video I did more of a highlight reel of our overnight hike into Gragg Prong and Lost Cove. It was my wife's first time back to backpacking since before she was pregnant with our oldest. It was about 7.5 miles total. Going to do a separate vid of the flowers.
OP
Got the wildflower vid up.
OP
couple of pics as well. The OR hat I got in college and while talking about it here I realized it’s been on every single backpacking trip since as well as most of my day hikes and a lot of fishing trips. Retested it last year. Still works.
And the narrow gauge railroad line was pretty cool on the side of the trail.
And a couple shots playing around with the low light camera.
And the narrow gauge railroad line was pretty cool on the side of the trail.
And a couple shots playing around with the low light camera.
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
Did 8 miles on Grandfather Mountain with two of the boys. Weather was about perfect. Started off chilly, but the ascent kept us warm. We did the Profile Trail up to Calloway Peak and back. I was shocked how many people were on the trail. When we arrived at the parking area around 8 AM, we were one of 6 or 8 vehicles. When we got back around 1, a ranger was turning people away because the lot was full.
Things are starting to bud up there, but no blooms.
It was a humbling beginning to the hiking season. I had to work a lot harder than I thought I would. Of course, Profile is around 4 miles of mostly UP, so there is that. Also, trying to keep up with the boys wears me out in a hurry. lol
View from the top:
On the way home, we stopped at Winkler Knives’ showroom. That was really neat. They have a museum of Winkler’s knives that have been in movies and on special forces missions, including the tomahawk that was there when Saddam Hussein was captured. Also a board of various projects he has done for military and LE agencies. Really nice folks, too.
Things are starting to bud up there, but no blooms.
It was a humbling beginning to the hiking season. I had to work a lot harder than I thought I would. Of course, Profile is around 4 miles of mostly UP, so there is that. Also, trying to keep up with the boys wears me out in a hurry. lol
View from the top:
On the way home, we stopped at Winkler Knives’ showroom. That was really neat. They have a museum of Winkler’s knives that have been in movies and on special forces missions, including the tomahawk that was there when Saddam Hussein was captured. Also a board of various projects he has done for military and LE agencies. Really nice folks, too.
@chiefjason -
I skimmed the video you posted and will try to watch it all later. I got a cold shiver when you posted the panning shot of Hunt Fish Falls... 🥶 I fell in there in the early 90s. I can't recall the month, but my buddy (who still laughs about it to this day) says he thinks it was October(?) but I know it was cool (we only hiked from October to March).
We had just came down the primary trail from the parking area, and I walked over to overlook the pool and said "I'm going to get a closer look". I was wearing khaki pants and a pair of worn-out Hi-Tec Magnums (old duty boots) that I knew were slick, but DANG they were as comfortable as bedroom slippers! I took about two steps and I heard my buddy say "Just don't get TOO close a look!" and that's when both feet slipped and I hit on my butt. I began sliding down and it seemed to take several seconds before I hit. Just before I hit the water-all I could think was the cold shock and was praying "God just don't let me pass out!" I hit and came up once but was deep enough that my my feet didn't catch any ground and went back under. I'm not a good swimmer at all (but am a former SCUBA diver-let that sink in...lol) but I gave it a couple of hard strokes and this time came up on a sand bar and was able to stand. My buddy was already trying hard to get downstream of me and I yelled that I was good and to stop (didn't need TWO casualties.) I made my way to the bank and climbed the hill back up to the trail. The water was so cold that I was already getting stiff fingers and felt the cold "stinging" me. He asked if we needed to head back to the truck and I thought about it...not gonna lie I was ready to call it, BUT I recalled having a pair of Tevas and a spare pair of pants in my day pack (which miraculously was still dry inside-I hadn't went under long enough for water to enter it!) I told him I thought I would be okay.
When we looked in both directions and saw no one coming, I began stripping off completely nekkid right there on the trail and changed into the spare clothes I'd packed, and we went on with the hike (to the large clearing just below the falls) and and made a "day" camp.
To this day, I still recall that cold water and the burning/stinging feeling and getting stiff before I could get the wet clothes off-and this was in October! Not December, January, February, etc. I have a healthy respect for how quick one can end up in the water AND how hypothermia can work on you.
@cubrock - Glad you posted about Winkler. I've got a couple of his knives and I love that "Western NC DNA" they possess. I was only in the retail store for the first time a couple weeks ago however. Nice place and the guy and gal that were there (Bruce and wife Heather) when I was there were really personable.
I skimmed the video you posted and will try to watch it all later. I got a cold shiver when you posted the panning shot of Hunt Fish Falls... 🥶 I fell in there in the early 90s. I can't recall the month, but my buddy (who still laughs about it to this day) says he thinks it was October(?) but I know it was cool (we only hiked from October to March).
We had just came down the primary trail from the parking area, and I walked over to overlook the pool and said "I'm going to get a closer look". I was wearing khaki pants and a pair of worn-out Hi-Tec Magnums (old duty boots) that I knew were slick, but DANG they were as comfortable as bedroom slippers! I took about two steps and I heard my buddy say "Just don't get TOO close a look!" and that's when both feet slipped and I hit on my butt. I began sliding down and it seemed to take several seconds before I hit. Just before I hit the water-all I could think was the cold shock and was praying "God just don't let me pass out!" I hit and came up once but was deep enough that my my feet didn't catch any ground and went back under. I'm not a good swimmer at all (but am a former SCUBA diver-let that sink in...lol) but I gave it a couple of hard strokes and this time came up on a sand bar and was able to stand. My buddy was already trying hard to get downstream of me and I yelled that I was good and to stop (didn't need TWO casualties.) I made my way to the bank and climbed the hill back up to the trail. The water was so cold that I was already getting stiff fingers and felt the cold "stinging" me. He asked if we needed to head back to the truck and I thought about it...not gonna lie I was ready to call it, BUT I recalled having a pair of Tevas and a spare pair of pants in my day pack (which miraculously was still dry inside-I hadn't went under long enough for water to enter it!) I told him I thought I would be okay.
When we looked in both directions and saw no one coming, I began stripping off completely nekkid right there on the trail and changed into the spare clothes I'd packed, and we went on with the hike (to the large clearing just below the falls) and and made a "day" camp.
To this day, I still recall that cold water and the burning/stinging feeling and getting stiff before I could get the wet clothes off-and this was in October! Not December, January, February, etc. I have a healthy respect for how quick one can end up in the water AND how hypothermia can work on you.
@cubrock - Glad you posted about Winkler. I've got a couple of his knives and I love that "Western NC DNA" they possess. I was only in the retail store for the first time a couple weeks ago however. Nice place and the guy and gal that were there (Bruce and wife Heather) when I was there were really personable.
Last edited:
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
We met Bruce and Heather. Really nice folks. Bruce and my knife making son talked shop for quite a while.
OP
Good news. It's still cold. lol. I didn't get in far, but I did wet wade and fish about 30 minutes. I was colder than I had hoped and only had one fish bump it before I got a mess of a tangle on my double nymph and just called it a day.
That rock is steep at the bottom and wet in places. I'll post about it later by we both took a fall there and I was worried I might got for a ride too.
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
My hiking app glitched right before we reached the last “staircase”. Up to that point we had gained 780 feet. That last set of steps is a beast.
ETA: Alltrails (not my app) has it at 1174’ elevation gain.
Last edited:
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
Thanks. Adding this one to my list and wanted to have an idea what it was like.
My wife loves the picture you took. Looks like it belongs in a calendar.
We talked about next time doing this as a vehicle drop hike starting at the upper falls, hiking downhill to the lower falls then out at the Bad Creek parking lot. Hiking to the lower falls adds about 3 miles to the trek.
OP
Hiked about 7 miles in South Mountains State Park. Chestnut Knob, Sawtooth Trail, and CC trail.
OP
Didn’t catch but one today but found a couple more flowers.
OP
Hiked Lake View Trail around Broughton Reservoir today. 1.5 miles. Nice trail.
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
OP
There is a little longer out and back trail up the creek too. Little over 2 miles to the top of the creek. Going to go back when we have more time and check that one out. Got a longer vid of the entire loop on my channel. Roughly 36 minutes of actual hiking around the lake.
cubrock
Swell guy
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Multi-Factor Enabled
Now that my daughter’s 10K is behind us, I’ve switched over from running training to hiking training. Did 11 miles in Linville Gorge today. With the possible closure of the Wolf Pit trailhead come June, I thought I’d try an alternate trailhead to access Shortoff Mountain. I parked at the Fonta Flora trail parking lot located on NC 126 at Wolf Pit Road and hiked the MST Connector trail over to the MST, up the MST to the top of Shortoff, then back down the MST to a gameland connector trail that roughly parallels the MST connector trail back to the parking area. Did 11 miles total. Could have hiked more easy miles on Shortoff, but since this is my first big training hike, I didn’t want to overdo it. I'm glad I didn't - I was wiped out enough by the end.
First of all, the Fonta Flora/MST connector trail is very nice. Has some ups and downs, but nothing horrible. Scenery was beautiful and it parallels the Linville River for a good ways. Would be a pretty decent fishing trail, even if you have part of a collapsed rod sticking out your pack. It was fairly clear overhead much of the way. Parts of it remind me a lot of South Mountain State Park. There were a couple decent swimming holes I saw in the river along the way, too. One could make a fun day hike out of it with swimming, fishing, picnicking, etc. Just have to carry your stuff in and out, but the trail was easy enough that that wouldn't be that bad for anyone in reasonable shape and doable for most if you pace yourself. Even if you just want a pretty, mostly shaded 5.5ish mile hike, you could certainly do worse, at least until it gets within about a half mile of the MST. At that point, it gets steep as it climbs into a burnover area and isn't as pretty, shady, or easy that last half mile or so of the connector. But, if you turn around at the 2.7ish mark, you don't get into that last ugly half mile.
But once you get to the MST, oh my goodness, does it get hard. 1.2 miles of suck - literally - as in sucking wind. This ain't my first rodeo on this section of the MST. I've done it a few other times, but it sure wasn't any easier on me now than before, even though I am arguably in better shape, definitely weigh less, and was carrying less pack than when I did that part the last time, about a year ago. Whoever cut this section of the MST did not believe in switchbacks. There are none. There are a few little wiggles in the trail as it climbs a ridge towards Shortoff Mountain. You get a few breaks where the grade flattens out somewhat for a bit, and there are a couple smallish areas where fires of the past didn't kill all the big trees, but it is mostly UP with minimal shade. Thankfully, today wasn't too hot, but it was hot enough. Those 1.2 miles took me 50 minutes, which was a touch on the humbling side. They took me 36 minutes coming down, which was more painful in the joints than going up and a hard workout in its own right.
Once the MST joins the Shortoff Mountain trail, there is a shorter section of suck as you finish the ascent up Shortoff with some masterfully made, but difficult, trail stairs made of native rock and dirt. My hat is off to whomever did these stairs decades ago. They have really stood the test of time, but that doesn't make them any easier to climb.
I stopped at Unbelievable Point for a snack and drink. Took the pack off and rested for 15 or 20 minutes - my first break since starting the hike. I was 4.88 miles in at that point, according to Avenza. While I sat there, a seaplane buzzed by as it flew out of the Gorge towards Lake James. It was close enough, someone with a good arm could have hit it with a rock. No exaggeration. He was CLOSE to the cliff face and maybe 20-30 feet higher than where I sat. Could easily see the pilot's face. He drifted down to the lake and landed in the middle of the closest arm to the mountain. You could see the white of his splashdown. Then it subsided and he floated for several minutes. A dark shape that looked like it was a boat moved out toward him, but it was impossible to see at that distance whether it stopped where he was or was just passing through. Eventually, the white surrounded him again as he started moving to take off and he flew away somewhere. It was really neat to see.
Saw very little wildlife - some birds and lizards. Still a lot of flowers blooming. The blueberry bushes have small, unripe berries which will be yummy trail snacks here in several weeks. Blackberries are just flowering up there, which will be yummy trail snacks after the blueberries are gone.
I did the hike in a skosh over 5 hours, so my average pace, including stops, was a bit over 2 miles an hour. I was pleased with that, given how long the MST climb took. I carried extra water so I wouldn't have to filter any, which saved me some time. I broke in a new pair of hiking shoes, too, which went well. Got a couple hot spots as I figured out the ideal lacing tightness, but they performed mostly as I need them to. Any time I can do an extended hike at an average of 2 miles an hour over varied terrain, I'm satisfied. On backpacking trips, 2 mph is a pretty decent average pace and allows one to cover a lot of ground in a day, when needed.
This route has its own appeal, but it is frustrating to think that it might have to replace routes starting at Wolf Pit, as it adds over 5 miles total to any hike we would normally do that goes up Shortoff. Last year, my most used training hike was Wolfpit to Table Rock parking area, which is right at 14 miles and has two tough ascents that were great for training. Doing that hike from the NC-126 parking area would be nearly 20 miles, which I have done in a single day, but is not something I have the time and hiking chops to do regularly, especially given the Shortoff ascent would be much harder than when starting from Wolf Pit.
Guess we will see how things shake out with the potential trail head closure in June.
Pics below, in hike order:
Mountain laurel (?) blooming on the connector trail.
Lake James from Unbelievable Point. The green ridge just right of center at the bottom is the ridge the MST climbs straight up from the Linville River. Toughest section of this hike by far.
Better view of part of the MST ridge.
Sea plane after he passed us. Camera wasn’t handy as he came by.
Across the gorge.
More blooms on Shortoff.
Headed down the mountain again. The MST breaks off the Shortoff trail here to the right. The fun begins again, only downhill this way. Ugh.
Trail snacks to come….
I passed a pile of bear scat in the trail on the way up the MST. When I came down, a dung beetle had found it and was doing what dung beetles do.
View of Shortoff from the gameland trail that I hiked back to the trailhead.
Was so glad of this sight!
Avenza lost GPS signal towards the end of the hike and I had to start a new track. Total mileage was right at 11 miles in reality. Minimum elevation was 1209’, max 2993’. Lots more total elevation gain than that given the ups and downs.
First of all, the Fonta Flora/MST connector trail is very nice. Has some ups and downs, but nothing horrible. Scenery was beautiful and it parallels the Linville River for a good ways. Would be a pretty decent fishing trail, even if you have part of a collapsed rod sticking out your pack. It was fairly clear overhead much of the way. Parts of it remind me a lot of South Mountain State Park. There were a couple decent swimming holes I saw in the river along the way, too. One could make a fun day hike out of it with swimming, fishing, picnicking, etc. Just have to carry your stuff in and out, but the trail was easy enough that that wouldn't be that bad for anyone in reasonable shape and doable for most if you pace yourself. Even if you just want a pretty, mostly shaded 5.5ish mile hike, you could certainly do worse, at least until it gets within about a half mile of the MST. At that point, it gets steep as it climbs into a burnover area and isn't as pretty, shady, or easy that last half mile or so of the connector. But, if you turn around at the 2.7ish mark, you don't get into that last ugly half mile.
But once you get to the MST, oh my goodness, does it get hard. 1.2 miles of suck - literally - as in sucking wind. This ain't my first rodeo on this section of the MST. I've done it a few other times, but it sure wasn't any easier on me now than before, even though I am arguably in better shape, definitely weigh less, and was carrying less pack than when I did that part the last time, about a year ago. Whoever cut this section of the MST did not believe in switchbacks. There are none. There are a few little wiggles in the trail as it climbs a ridge towards Shortoff Mountain. You get a few breaks where the grade flattens out somewhat for a bit, and there are a couple smallish areas where fires of the past didn't kill all the big trees, but it is mostly UP with minimal shade. Thankfully, today wasn't too hot, but it was hot enough. Those 1.2 miles took me 50 minutes, which was a touch on the humbling side. They took me 36 minutes coming down, which was more painful in the joints than going up and a hard workout in its own right.
Once the MST joins the Shortoff Mountain trail, there is a shorter section of suck as you finish the ascent up Shortoff with some masterfully made, but difficult, trail stairs made of native rock and dirt. My hat is off to whomever did these stairs decades ago. They have really stood the test of time, but that doesn't make them any easier to climb.
I stopped at Unbelievable Point for a snack and drink. Took the pack off and rested for 15 or 20 minutes - my first break since starting the hike. I was 4.88 miles in at that point, according to Avenza. While I sat there, a seaplane buzzed by as it flew out of the Gorge towards Lake James. It was close enough, someone with a good arm could have hit it with a rock. No exaggeration. He was CLOSE to the cliff face and maybe 20-30 feet higher than where I sat. Could easily see the pilot's face. He drifted down to the lake and landed in the middle of the closest arm to the mountain. You could see the white of his splashdown. Then it subsided and he floated for several minutes. A dark shape that looked like it was a boat moved out toward him, but it was impossible to see at that distance whether it stopped where he was or was just passing through. Eventually, the white surrounded him again as he started moving to take off and he flew away somewhere. It was really neat to see.
Saw very little wildlife - some birds and lizards. Still a lot of flowers blooming. The blueberry bushes have small, unripe berries which will be yummy trail snacks here in several weeks. Blackberries are just flowering up there, which will be yummy trail snacks after the blueberries are gone.
I did the hike in a skosh over 5 hours, so my average pace, including stops, was a bit over 2 miles an hour. I was pleased with that, given how long the MST climb took. I carried extra water so I wouldn't have to filter any, which saved me some time. I broke in a new pair of hiking shoes, too, which went well. Got a couple hot spots as I figured out the ideal lacing tightness, but they performed mostly as I need them to. Any time I can do an extended hike at an average of 2 miles an hour over varied terrain, I'm satisfied. On backpacking trips, 2 mph is a pretty decent average pace and allows one to cover a lot of ground in a day, when needed.
This route has its own appeal, but it is frustrating to think that it might have to replace routes starting at Wolf Pit, as it adds over 5 miles total to any hike we would normally do that goes up Shortoff. Last year, my most used training hike was Wolfpit to Table Rock parking area, which is right at 14 miles and has two tough ascents that were great for training. Doing that hike from the NC-126 parking area would be nearly 20 miles, which I have done in a single day, but is not something I have the time and hiking chops to do regularly, especially given the Shortoff ascent would be much harder than when starting from Wolf Pit.
Guess we will see how things shake out with the potential trail head closure in June.
Pics below, in hike order:
Mountain laurel (?) blooming on the connector trail.
Lake James from Unbelievable Point. The green ridge just right of center at the bottom is the ridge the MST climbs straight up from the Linville River. Toughest section of this hike by far.
Better view of part of the MST ridge.
Sea plane after he passed us. Camera wasn’t handy as he came by.
Across the gorge.
More blooms on Shortoff.
Headed down the mountain again. The MST breaks off the Shortoff trail here to the right. The fun begins again, only downhill this way. Ugh.
Trail snacks to come….
I passed a pile of bear scat in the trail on the way up the MST. When I came down, a dung beetle had found it and was doing what dung beetles do.
View of Shortoff from the gameland trail that I hiked back to the trailhead.
Was so glad of this sight!
Avenza lost GPS signal towards the end of the hike and I had to start a new track. Total mileage was right at 11 miles in reality. Minimum elevation was 1209’, max 2993’. Lots more total elevation gain than that given the ups and downs.
Last edited: