Flat Top Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA, 9/6/2020

An hour and a half hike to Sharp Top says the sign above! It it took us almost two hours to reach the summit trudging along a steep trail, and stopping frequently to let faster hikers pass.   

Since the time of the early settlers, Sharp Top was believed the tallest summit in Virginia until better measurement showed there several higher tops, with Mount Rogers to the south now officially the highest in the state. 

Views of the lake, about half way up the hill. Notice the three long buildings along the lake? That's the Blue Ridge National Park lodge where we stayed for two nights on our way from Albuquerque to Columbia, MD.  A beautiful and restful refuge, except that it was Labor Day weekend and quite busy.   

There really is a large rock formation in the shape of a turtle.

 Our reward at the top: 360-degree views with Peak of Otters, the Shenandoah valley and Allegheny mountains to the west, and the Piedmont to the east.  

Total distance: 5.4 miles; elevation 1,417 ft. Max elevation: 3,868 ft.

Dupont Forest, NC, 9/4/2020

On our cross country trip from Albuquerque to Columbia, MD, we stopped for a couple of days to visit Jim's sister in Asheville, NC.  She kindly took us to visit the manicured gardens of the Biltmore estate; in its end-of-summer prime. The next day, Jim and I drove south to the Dupont State Recreational Forest, known for its many lakes and waterfalls along the Little River. 

Historically, the forest was part of the Biltmore estate, before being bought by the state. Although some of us are not particularly interested with how the ultra rich live, occasionally those living on a grand scale have the foresight to be stewards of the land. This was the case with Vanderbilt, who hired landscape architect Frederick Olmsted (architect of Grand Central Park in NYC.)  Olmsted with forester Clifford Pinchot were the first to develop a forest management plan. This in turn, lead to the founding of the first school of forest management in the US. 

On a fun note, scenes of both The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games were filmed here. 

Triple Falls

High Falls

Total distance: 5.4 miles; elevation 1,417 ft; time ~ 4 hours, 

including picnic lunch and multiple stops to admire the falls.