Family Day - Pisgah Style

Sunday arrived on warm temps and sunny skies. OMG.....
Off to Daniel Ridge we went, the whole family and the dog.

 

 There was still snow on the ground and plenty of mud but it was a truly great day. There were a few other cars at the trailhead but we only saw two people on the trail. The river was way full and getting fuller by the minute with the melting snow.

There are still plenty of winter features in the shady spots. Do all kids love icicles or what?

We headed to a great swimming hole near the end of the old road grade that we like to visit. It's down off the trail and you can barely even see it in the summer but it's pretty obvious in winter. The water was really high, so high we found a sad casualty of the cold and wet. I think he got washed up into a shallow area and then froze.

 Like I said, lots of water. And for comparison a shot from last August.

I was really glad that mom and daughter came along as well, we were able to get lots of family pics with different combinations of us together.

On the way back we stopped at Cove Creek for a picture of the current road conditions headed in to the campsite - the picture doesn't do justice to the awfulness... happy camping!

Here's hoping for a next Sunday just as good :-)

Sunday at the Parkway

On Saturday I got the itch to head up to the Parkway and see some real winter. Hwy 215 crosses the Parkway about 17 miles from Rosman and it will stay reasonably driveable in the winter. I decided to take the chance that I could make it up to the top and get on the Parkway for some incredible views and deep snow. Theo was up for it and his friend Stroh was game as well so off we went - later than I wanted to start but better late than never.

It started snowing before we reached Balsam Grove and I was considering how hard it could snow before I would turn back. There are some very icy spots in the dark coves as the road winds its way up to Pinhook. The elevation changes rapidly and the temperature dropped from 38 @ Balsam Grove to mid-20s by Pinhook. We pressed on past the north facing rocks where the usual group of ice climbers is always playing.  We enjoyed the incredible views of a snowy Devil's Courthouse  and reached the Parkway about 2PM. The snow was very deep....

The plan was to hike south on the Parkway to MM424, just about 3/4 of a mile from where we parked.  We stopped a few times along the way for pictures and a bit of sledding. There was too much soft powder snow.

 

It started snowing pretty hard but the boys didn't care, they were having fun and I was really enjoying the amazing stillness and quiet.