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.