Appalachian Trip Summary

Our 5-week trip primarily in the Appalachian Mountains followed the unfolding of spring as we traveled north with blooming dogwoods and azaleas dotting our path from Georgia to Massachusetts. Like our previous trip we hoped to avoid freezing temperatures, which we did. :-)

Our route wasn't a straight shot north because we tagged on a visit to Kings Mountain National Military Park on the way giving us a chance to check it out before we volunteer there in the fall and visiting two other National Park areas, as well.

Our trip had its ups and downs. We were at the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi and in one of the east’s deepest gorges. As we drove from Georgia to Virginia we drove up and down steep grades snaking our way around hairpin turns watching the elevation change by thousands of feet, but thankfully the 4Runner did fine pulling our little trailer over the mountains.

We enjoyed our time along the way, hiking, taking pictures, sight seeing, and letterboxing. Mostly we hiked. We hiked together and sometimes we did his and her hikes, where Bill’s hikes were more rugged or longer. We hiked in the rain a couple times, but mostly hiked in the sunshine.

We saw quite a few waterfalls and cascades: some from far away, some from close up. Some huge or tall and others a mere trickle over some rocks. Some were right by the road and some required steep hikes or lots of steps to see. Sometimes Bill scrambled to precarious places to get the best possible vantage point. We just loved the sounds as we walked along a cascading stream. Here are the major ones.

The mountain trails typically did not get above tree line, but we’d hike to balds, towers, and rock outcroppings. At Stone Mountain, the biggest rock outcropping, we hiked up and got a great view. At Clingmans Dome and Mt Mitchell (the tallest peaks on our route) we took the steep paths to the observation towers. We saw Mt Mitchell from Clingmans Dome, but it was too cloudy to see Clingmans Dome from Mt Mitchell.

We also enjoyed the mountain vistas as we drove, stopping at many overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive.

We were fascinated by the effects of lighting and weather changes to the view. Coming back to an overlook when the clouds were rising on a misty morning or at sunset created a different look than when we saw things in the middle of a clear day. And we certainly understood why the mountains were called the Smokies and the Blue Ridge.

We spotted interesting wildlife along the way: deer, elk, and one bear! Snakes interrupted both of us on separate hikes and we enjoyed having enough time to watch the smaller things.

Barbara letterboxed some: tackling Stone Mountain letterboxing with Massachusetts friends Melissa and Matt, finding boxes along a tough trail at Unicoi State Park with Melissa, and having a picnic lunch with Linda near the US’s first letterbox, Max Patch.

Although most of our time was in nature, we got a little history, as well: Revolutionary War history in South Carolina (we’ll be back for more of that), Appalachian pioneer life, and Roosevelt era history.

And then there were the unexpected things like meeting a former colleague of Bill’s while hiking, a serendipitous dinner with a letterboxing friend in Atlanta, lunch at a restaurant overlooking the mountains, or going to a place where everything is made from gourds.

We had a great time. Time to plan some future trips…

New York – Hyde Park

We ended our time in the Appalachian Mountains and headed toward Boston, but we decided to break up the long trip back with one more tourist stop.

Last summer Barbara read No Ordinary Time, a Pulitzer Prize winning book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during World War II. Ever since then Barbara wanted to see their homes. Bill saw Franklin’s home when he lived in the Hudson Valley, but that was years ago and didn’t include Eleanor’s. So we decided to visit Hyde Park.

We reserved a 3 tour package online which included the Vanderbilt Mansion, Springwood (the home of Franklin D Roosevelt), and Val-Kill (the home of Eleanor Roosevelt).

VANDERBILT MANSION

The first was the Vanderbilt Mansion. This was the Spring and Fall home of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. The home is a fine example of the Gilded Age, though one of the smaller Vanderbilt homes with only 54 rooms.

ornate ceiling at the Vanderbilt Mansion

The house is undergoing major renovations, so scaffolding surrounded the exterior, the upstairs was closed, and the lower level was filled with covered artifacts, but we got a good overview on the ranger-led tour. Renovations should be complete around October.

NPS photo before renovations

A niece inherited the house and furnishings, neither of which she wanted. A neighbor (Franklin Roosevelt) suggested she donate it to the National Park Service which she did. The lavish mansion and furniture remain virtually unchanged from the time of the Vanderbilts.

SPRINGWOOD

Next we went on a ranger-led tour of Springwood which is the home where Franklin was born and raised and remained his home base as an adult. The tour included details about both the house and Franklin’s life.

the living room and library

VAL-KILL

We also got a tour of Eleanor’s cottages. Springwood was Franklin’s mother’s house and Eleanor never felt at home there. So Franklin had a cottage built for Eleanor on land that he owned. The cottage and a second house lack much of the original furnishings, but the tour was interesting and included information on Eleanor’s accomplishments.

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT LIBRARY & MUSEUM

Last we went back to the grounds near Springwood and visited the Franklin D Roosevelt Library and Museum. This was the United State’s first Presidential library, starting the tradition of preserving presidents’ papers and artifacts. The museum weaves the lives of the Roosevelts with the history of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II. It was quite well-done and interesting.

Bill was impressed with the tenacity of both Franklin and Eleanor. Yes they were giants living in “no ordinary time,” but their many accomplishments took dogged determination and hard work.

We stayed at Mills Norrie State Park and even got a glimpse of the sun going down over the Hudson River from a trail near our campsite.

This ends our trip. Now back to Boston to see family and friends.

Virginia – Shenandoah National Park Part 4

Our last full day at Shenandoah was another beautiful day. Barbara encouraged Bill to hike Old Rag.

This 9.2-mile loop hike has a several-mile rock scramble and it’s so popular that the parking lot fills on weekends. The trail is within Shenandoah National Park, but the trailhead is on the park boundary – about an hour drive from our campground. So we started early and drove along Skyline Drive, down the mountains, and around to the parking lot.

BILL’S HIKE

Old Rag is a mountain mostly covered by trees (like most of the Appalachians) but it has a rocky top with good views and a ridge that is a jumble of boulders over a mile long. Some clever person found a path along the ridge, which involves climbing over, between, and even under the boulders. Much of it is hands and knees climbing, sometimes with arm strength needed to pull yourself up, so it isn’t easy, nor is it particularly difficult.

The reward was unobstructed views from several viewpoints and the summit.

The trail down the mountain was unremarkable, and the long fire roads back to the parking lot were dull. Bill finished in 4.25 hours including lunch on the summit, over an hour earlier than his rendezvous time with Barbara. Bill felt it didn’t live up to its reputation as the baddest and prettiest hike in the park, but it was unique and memorable.

BARBARA’S HIKE

In the meantime, Barbara drove back up to Skyline Drive (the central corridor of Shenandoah National Park) and hiked to Mary’s Rock. This 2.8-mile round trip moderately difficult trail climbs to a balcony-like promontory with a 180⁰ view.

One can still scramble up Mary’s Rock at the top. Barbara assumed one could get a 360⁰ view from up there.

She made it about 2/3rds the way up the rock and got a nice view including the balcony-like area where the couple is seated in the picture below.

Barbara’s view includes her hiking boots

The couple left and she had the promontory to herself for a long time. She headed back down the mountain, found a nice overlook for lunch, and then drove back to meet Bill.

Campground: Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park

Virginia – Shenandoah National Park Part 3

One of the things we like about Shenandoah National Park is the abundance of diverse hikes where Bill can find a challenging hike and Barbara can find a nearby easy to moderate one. So with another beautiful day, we had his and her hikes.

BARBARA’S HIKE

Barbara combined two hikes in one: Stony Man Summit and Little Stony Man Cliffs. Together it made about a 3-mile hike.

view from Stony Man

view of Skyline Drive from Stony Man

view from Little Stony Man Cliffs

She was excited to spot these yellow ladyslippers.

BILL’S HIKE

In the meantime Bill took the very strenuous 7.3-mile Whiteoak and Cedar Run loop.

Whiteoak canyon is a beautiful series of waterfalls and cascades, the tallest being 86’. The trail stayed close to the stream and there were many picturesque views not far off the trail.

Whiteoak canyon has many tributary streams, but perhaps the most unique was a misting waterfall down the side of the canyon.

The Cedar Run link trail and main trail were rougher and had fewer hikers. Bill saw a black bear on the link trail, who scooted away as he approached. There were three stream crossings.

See the bridge? Me neither. :-)

Another crossing had a fallen tree he used to walk across, until he saw a black snake. It was an easy decision to back up and find an alternative route.

The stream crossing near Lower Cedar falls was an easy rock hop and picturesque.

But most of the southern section of the trail was not near the stream and it was difficult to get good pictures. On one off-trail picture excursion, Bill fell into the stream.

The northern section of the Cedar Run trail was pretty and close to the cascading stream, but Bill was late for his rendezvous with Barbara, so he scampered back without taking pictures.

SUNSET

And we capped off our day with another sunset. Each change in weather, lighting and angle paints a different picture.

Campground: Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park

Virginia – Shenandoah National Park Part 2

What a difference a day makes! Our next day started with a brilliant blue sky and crisp dry air – just the kind of weather that begs for a hike.

Our first hike of the day was on Bearfence Trail. There are two ways up and you can probably guess who chose which way. One was a moderate uphill climb along the Appalachian Trail. The other was a challenging rock scramble with a spectacular 360⁰ view along the way.

We met where the paths joined near a 180⁰ view.

Our second hike was a 1-mile circuit to Blackrock Summit. Again we overlapped with the Appalachian Trail – it follows a similar route to Skyline Drive along the crest of the mountains. We skirted a humungous slope of black rock. We can see how the mountain got its name.

We stopped at an overlook for lunch.

Then Bill hiked 3.2-miles to upper and lower Doyles River Falls.

Upper Doyles River Falls

Lower Doyles River Falls

In the meantime, Barbara hiked the 1.3-mile moderate Frazier Discovery Trail to beautiful views.

We capped off our day finding a west facing overlook to catch the sunset.

Campground: Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park