3/15 - 3/18/20
Linville Gorge has been on my todo list for a while. I had considered a trip in December but I ended up sick. In the beginning of March, I started thinking about where to go for my spring break and decided that if the weather cooperated, I would do the trip I had planned for December. Of course the Covid thing kept getting worse, but I was going to be going solo and hopefully there would not be too many people in the woods.
I got to the Wolfpit Trailhead about 3, it was obvious that I wasn't the only one with the idea of hiking. A bunch of dayhikers were just coming off the trail as I headed up. I passed a couple more groups of dayhikers on their way out, so I was hopeful that I would not feel crowded.
I wanted to enjoy the sunset, so I planned on stopping at the first good campsite I came to (only about 1.5 miles). I found a nice spot with a great view and no one else around. The clouds were a little "thick" for nice colors, but the sunset was still nice.
Woke up the next day and I was in the clouds. I could still hear the river far below, but could not see more than about 100 feet in front of me. Since there wasn't anything to see, I figured I would hike down to the river and camp low.
It rained overnight and into the morning, but eventually cleared
I decided to head back to the same campsite as the first night so I could enjoy the view again. I got back to "my campsite" and found a giant car camping tent and a roaring campfire and no one around. If I had been hiking out to the car, I would have filled up with water and put the fire out, but I wanted one more night and I was going to have to camp sort of nearby. So I filled up on water for the night/morning and went back up the trail to a different view point. On the way I passed what looked to be a group of young guys who appeared dumb enough to carry that tent for backpacking. I was glad I was a little bit away from their site and hoped that I would not be tempted to kill them at some point
The clouds got thicker, so it was another sunset like the first one, not a lot of color but pretty.
I woke up and headed back to the car. The idiots were already gone, but they had left a smoldering fire even though water was about two minutes down the trail. I spent about 10 minutes and a couple trips to the spring to put the fire out.
Linville Gorge is very pretty, but even in the middle of the week is way too crowded. Even on the rainy day I passed a couple backpackers and some dayhikers. The nice days had lots of dayhikers and then the idiots with the fire just to cap things off. I suspect that I will go back, but it will be in the middle of winter and hopefully that will keep most of the dayhikers away.
lots more photos here https://backpackandbeer.blogspot.com...lle-gorge.html
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Originally Posted by wsp_scott
I don't know why but the composition of the dead tree in the marsh really talks to me. Thanks for sharing 
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