On a somewhat limited timeframe (Saturday late morning until Sunday night), I seem to have picked the perfect destination to escape city life and enjoy some great views of Linville Gorge.
Was a great opportunity to try out my new tent in stormy & windy weather. It deflected both wind and rain quite effectively.
We went down the twisty 8 mile gravel road from 181 to the parking area at Table Rock, and then it was a short 1 mile hike to the summit on Saturday evening. The fog had engulfed the entire mountain, hiding the many spendid views until it lifted mid-morning on Sunday.
The sunrise was just incredible, one of the best I've ever seen. The sunshine quickly pushed back the clouds from the day before, slowly giving way to some breathtaking views.
Roxy faired well, as usual, except when I had the bright idea of launching the last piece of Bridget's uneaten Cliff Bar off the side of a cliff; and then scrambling to convince her that I was not playing fetch with her. Luckily she had more sense than her owner this time.
Timing was crucial, as we packed things into the tent just after finishing cooking dinner and nothing got wet before we were able to get all our gear stowed away in the tent or the covered vestibule. The spot we camped at had this random level grassy patch among the rocks that seemed to have no other purpose than a nice soft place to camp on. There were some good areas at the summit too, but it was far more rocky and uneven; though had keenly positioned bushes that would have shielded us from a significant bit of wind, had we not turned in early because of the rain.
I was initially a little reluctant to carry my camera because of the extra weight of a SLR vs. a point & shoot, but the extra weight was neglegible on this short trek and the photos I got wouldn't have been half as good. The tripod did, however, stay in the car, as there really wasn't a place to attach it to my pack and the extra 5-7lbs would have been annoying. Next time I'll invest in one of those bendable gorilla arm tripod-like devices to be able to do some time-lapse and low-light shots.
Half-way down the mountain we scoped out a lower nearby peak as a possible site for future trips in the area and found it to be an excellent group camping site with plenty of locations to see around half of the Gorge. It's not quite high enough to see Lake James as you could at the summit, but there is room to bring a few friends with you without them having to sleep on rocks.
All the steep cliffs reminded me of my last Gorge experience when my older brother fell around 60 feet from a ledge when the weight in his day-pack shifted and pulled him over the side. We're all very lucky his fall was broken by a thick spanse of thorn bushes! So I took a lot of extra care any time the verticals looked particularly threatening.
Pulling out the map, I was able to verify that you can indeed see Babel Tower from Table Rock, as I had suspected. The Babel Tower trail is a favorite of many, including myself; as it is particularly challenging with a full equipment load. By Sunday when the clouds cleared out a bit you were able to see Sandy Flats from most any part of the Table Rock upper ridge area.
I believe Laurel Knob is the next camping spot on my list in the Gorge.