The Enchanted Woods!!

October is a symphony of permanence and change. Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods while day by day the dead leaves fall and melt. The changing leaves of autumn colored brightly red, yellow and gold either dance in the golden sun-light or lie on the tired forest floor as a pile of dried up leaves.

A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see. Their elegant shape, showy colours, and slow, sailing mode of flight, make them very attractive objects, and their numbers are so great, they easily compensate for the scarcity of flowers. Autumn can be equated to a second spring where every leaf is a flower, blissfully fluttering from the autumn tree.

Listen!! The wind's rising, the air wild with leaves. Leisure summer evenings gone, days grow shorter. Soon it will be dark.
Listen!! With faint dry sound, like steps of passing ghosts, the leaves break free from the trees. And fall.

Stanley Horowitz has said, "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all". I couldn't agree more.

Autumn in Renaissance Park

A few days ago I walked along the trail in Renaissance Park and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the forest slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools. Leaf falling on leaf, on mounds of leaves, falling leaves hide the path so quietly. Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

Full moon at Lake Wylie

TGIF!! Last day of the week, start of the weekend. With fall seaon in full swing, its natural to head out to catch some colours every opportunity that one gets. Charlotte is always a bit late for fall and it may be two more weeks before we see Charlotte in its full splendour. But there are some places that get colours early. Lake Wyile is one such place.

Swamy, Praveen and myself headed out to the lake to catch some colours before the sun sets. On reaching the place we realized, it was still early for the full fall splendour. But we did have some colours. Much to my surprise and amazement, it was full moon night. It was a beautiful sight to see the moon shining brightly over the colourful tree line. As it was lower on the horizon, it looked huge. I captured some shots of the treeline and the moon separately and later merged them to create a composite image (learnt couple of days back). Not bad for a first attempt!! :-)

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock State Park is in Chimney Rock, NC, around 25 miles from Asheville. It's a short drive, an hour and a half from Charlotte, and as such quite a popular destination. It boasts of hiking trails of all skill levels, spectacular views, and a 404 ft waterfall, Hickory Nut Falls.

Its most notable feature is a 315 ft rock formation which resembles a chimney. It is accessible by elevator as well as a moderate hike. It provides a spectacular view of the park and the surrounding countryside.

The view is lovely in summer when one can see the lush green countryside for miles around. It also provides a good view of Lake Lure.

In fall, the scene is changed to a very colourful panaromic view from the rock. All the green is replaced by reds and yellows.

A man-made tunnel leads the way to an elevator that took us to the top of the rock. At the top we have a few trails leading up to Chimney Rock, Devil's Head, an overlook and the top of the falls.

The view from outside the restaurant at the top of Chimney Rock. In fall it presents a very colourful view.

Some more views of the surrounding areas in fall. This is the best time to visit if you want to enjoy the spectacular fall colours of Piedmont.

The stairs to the top of Chimney Rock. The US Flag flutters proudly at the top.

A shot from an overlook with the flag fluttering around in summer while the countryside is lush green.

Same shot taken during fall. The green is replaced by reds and yellows in the same view of the surrounding countryside.

It is a very popular tourist destination, both during summer and in fall. In summer people flock to take a swim in the cool water of Hickory Nut Falls while in fall the panoramic view is stunning. The number of cars parked will give an idea of the number of visitors to this park.

A short hike took us to Devil's Head which is a natural rock formation shaped in the form of a head. Guess erosion can do wonders with rocks.

At the bottom of the rock, another moderate hike takes you to the 404 ft waterfalls, Hickory Nut Falls. It is one of the highest falls I have seen in this area.

The Chimney Rock State Park is home to a lot of rare flora and fauna. Managed to capture some wild flowers on the trail.

The Hickory Nut Falls is a popular destination in summer. Many people prefer to cool off the summer heat by taking a dip in the cool waters of the pool at the bottom of the falls.

The waterfall is so high, I found it difficult to capture the full height at 28mm which is the available wide-angle for me. So I started taking portions of the waterfall instead.

The water was a lovely silky white and we spent quite sometime capturing multiple shots of the waterfall before starting on our way back to Charlotte.

Crabtree Falls

Having spent some quality time at Linville Gorge, the next destination on our itinerary was Crabtree Falls. Again it was Ela's idea. As always, it turned out to be a good decision. A moderate hike from the place where we parked the car took us to the waterfall. Truly exquisite, the waterfall is a photographer's delight. I just wish I had a wide-angle lens to capture this beauty.

The return journey was quite adventurous. We decided to step away from the trodden path and find our way back through uncharted territory. The forest floor was covered in fallen leaves and there were no trails or as much as an indication of the way forward. The trek was tough but thoroughly enjoyable. And we made it back to the car, safe and sound albeit completely out of breath.

Linville Gorge and Linville Falls

One week later, another nice warm October day. Late fall, but the bitter days of winter still a month away, or so it seemed. Too good a day to spend at home. So the four of us - Sandy, Ela, Pattu and I set out on a trip to the Linville Gorge. We were hoping to catch some fall colours. Being an experienced campaigner and a frequent visitor to the mountains, Ela did advise us to dress snugly. But none of us paid much heed. Sandy's Mustang was our ride for the occasion. It's a fantastic car, climbing up the mountain trails like a wild mustang riding over rough terrain. The first hint of cold in the air hit us while filling gas at a roadside filling station. It was a subtle hint , nothing much to be bothered about, and we moved on.

Reaching the town of Linville around noon, we opted for a sumptuous country meal before starting on the hike to the gorge. The trail we followed was moderate and well trodden by hikers over the years.

The trail passed through the woods which I agree were lovely, dark and deep. But somehow didn't remind me of any promises I had to keep.

At places, the trail was extremely beautiful, exhibiting the full splendour of fall. Colours of bright yellow and red adorned both sides of the trail.

We caught the first glimpse of water as we climbed down these steps cut into the path.

And then there it was!! Facing us was the Upper Falls.

The water flows through here and then disappears down a hole into an underground passage finally emerging on the othe side as the Linville Falls.

The Linville Falls creates a beautiful sight, the water from the waterfall crashing down to the rocky bottom. It creates a creek which flows down the Linville Gorge.

The mountain stream continues to flow down the beautiful gorge.

The view of the gorge is breathtakingly beautiful. We found it impossible to resist the urge to stop and devour nature's beauty. Sitting on the ledge, our feet hanging down over hundreds of feet of nothingness, it was exhilarating to say the least.

We had a distant glimpse of the peaks of Mt. Mitchell. It seemed to be getting the first snow of the season. Ela came up with a sudden idea insisting we had to drive to those peaks on the same day. It was too good an opportunity to let pass. We concurred. In retrospect, it was a great decision. But that's another story for another time.

On the way back to the car, I caught the sun once peeking through the woods.

Fall splendor in the Carolinas!!

One more long weekend in October. This time thanks to Columbus Day. Pretty early for fall colours in Charlotte. But the higher elevation of the Blue Ridge ranges always has fall a few weeks early. So Ram, Pattu and I set-out to catch some fall colours in Ram's Grand Vitara. It was a bright day but there were prediction of showers later in the day. As we took to the mountain road and started climbing our eyes were riveted to a beautiful scene. It was like someone had decorated both sides of the road in yellow and red paint. It started raining and this added a surreal effect. This has been one of the most memorable drives till date.

Lovely bright light when starting from Charlotte

But it started raining as we reached the mountains

Roads were slick but the view ahead was beautiful

We saw colours on both sides of the road

Bright yellow and red

The view was surreal

Someone once said, "October is nature's funeral month. Nature glories in death more than in life. The month of departure is more beautiful than the month of coming - October than May. Every green thing loves to die in bright colors." I couldn't agree more.

It was like a natural tunnel of bright yellow and red

Fog shrouded the road on the way back

Driving through these turning roads in the fog was a bit dangerous and a lot exciting