The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.

~Sydney Harris

You may have noticed a lack of posts on this blog the past month. We have been dealing with my mother’s declining health as well as plenty of long-scheduled things here at home. Traditionally, we take a trip somewhere for our birthdays which fall a week apart, but this year had other plans. After another visit to mom’s, I decided we needed a break for ourselves and scheduled a couple of days last week at one of our favorite mountain destinations, the Celo Inn, near Burnsville, NC. The weather was forecast to be perfect – cool and clear (though it turned out that was not the case every day).

–The Celo Inn – one of our favorite places for respite in our mountains (click photos to enlarge)

After a wonderful breakfast at the Inn, we headed to our friend’s place in Burnsville. They are restoring an old cabin that will soon be an idyllic mountain retreat. We had a great time talking and marveling at the work they have done and then headed for lunch and a hike. The weather was changing with clouds and cold air starting to dominate. But up to Carver’s Gap we drove for what turned out to be a very brisk hike on the open balds of the Roan Mountain trail.

–Clouds and windy conditions dominated our hike through the balds

–Fall colors were starting to peak at the higher elevations, but here it is mainly in the shrubs

–Clouds moved in, clinging to the balds and spitting rain (and a little sleet) at us. We took shelter in a spruce grove for a bit during the heaviest rain.

–The Mountain Ash berries are brilliantly colored and really stand out on a cloudy day

–Goldenrod adds a splash of color to the bald. Most flowers had already gone to seed.

–Not the weather we had expected, but a beautiful place nonetheless.

–I like the message but I think someone pulled a photo off the internet (the source of all things accurate – not). I believe these are Sugar Gliders and definitely not one of our species of flying squirrels.

–This was the goal – about 2+ miles out from the parking area – elevation 6169ft.

–On our way back, the clouds started lifting and we even had a few shafts of sunlight in the distance (but not on us, unfortunately). So it was windy and COLD!!

–We ate dinner at a rustic little place in Spruce Pine. Melissa got a cup of hot water (her usual thing for hot tea that she normally brings). She didn’t have her tea bags, but instead cuddled the warm cup and drank some hot water to warm herself…it was that cold!

–The next morning was more favorable in terms of the weather. A view from the Parkway as we headed to the trailhead for Hawksbill.

–Sort of amazing that neither of us had ever been up to Hawksbill. Definitely worth the hike!

–A view of Table Rock from Hawksbill. This was our next hiking destination (another first for us).

–Ruh Roh…as we started the drive to Table Rock, the tire pressure monitor told us something was amiss. A quick look showed this large screw embedded in the tire.

The gravel road was narrow and steep so we decided to drive out rather than change the tire there. We luckily found a “garage” (actually a place that makes bear boxes) that had a compressor and could give us some air until we got to a tire place in Newland. They were efficient and got us out in about 20 minutes with a good patch. But now we had to alter our plans as we didn’t think we had time to drive back to Table Rock and hike the trail. We were close to Linville Falls so Melissa decided we should go there and hike the trail on the opposite side of the river from where most people go to view the falls. It was crowded, but we opted to hit the trail for the plunge basin overlook. Signage for the trail indicated it was strenuous…it wasn’t too bad as there were steps in the particularly steep parts.

–View of Linville Falls from the plunge basin overlook

We still had some time so someone I know wanted to hike the difficult trail down to the river below the falls. In spite of my knee issues, I agreed. We passed a young man hiking back and I asked what the trail was like. He paused and said it is almost vertical and tough, but worth it. Going down was slow as it is very rocky and steep (no steps on this trail), both things somewhat difficult for an old guy with a bum knee. But it was worth it – a truly different perspective on a feature I had seen many times before from a high overlook on the opposite side of the river.

–A very different view from what I have experienced in the past of Linville Falls – from the river.

It turns out, going back up the trail was much easier than coming down. We headed into Burnsville for another dinner with friends – a great end to a much needed escape to the mountains.