Spent a couple of days base / car camping around Table Rock the 16th, 17th, & 18th of October. I would say it was a couple weeks EARLY for peak color on the leaves changing, but beautiful nonetheless.

Since we were camping not far from the car, I ditched my UL setup for something that I wouldn't normally take backpacking - a Ridgerunner with a 40 degree Loco Libre Ridge Reaper, a 30" wide Klymit Static V insulated pad, a 40 degree Loco Libre Ghost Pepper topquilt, and a SLD 13' with 2 internal poles. Temperatures were around 30 degrees Friday night (and a little windy) and 35 degrees on Saturday night. Slept in Patagonia Capilene baselayers and was perfectly cozy both nights. No condensation at all doubling up the pad and underquilt, but not sure how much value was added by the pad other than the marginal difference it provided spreading out the hammock. I certainly don't believe that I would carry the extra 2 lbs of pad on any backpacking trip, but it was nice. I seem to forget how much I like the views from a bridge hammock and enjoyed lounging in the morning watching the sunrise.

As for the gorge, we hiked down to Chimney Gap from Table Rock (stopping at the Chimneys, Cracker Jack Point, and Camel Overlook along the way), we summited Table Rock and Little Table Rock, and made it down to Spence Ridge. All beautiful hiking and views as always. The area was completely packed full of people starting after lunch on Friday (mostly around Table Rock and the Chimneys) with no parking spots to be found in the parking area. Reminds me how much better I like it up there in the winter when less people are around. In the end, though, really nice weekend to be in the ditch.