immediately after dropping off my cake donation, i loaded up the outback and rolled off to the mountains for a little solo mother’s day camping and hiking trip. derek gifted me some car camping gear, to see if that’s preferable to tent camping. for this first attempt, he booked me a hipcamp site near brevard, nc.
it was pretty cozy inside the car overnight. but the whole car camping system was a little finicky for me. the tent. the bug nets. the tetris shuffle of everything.
anyways. i had big hiking plans for the morning, so i made up my coffee and my delicious camp breakfast (on my stupid jetboil, because the butane camp stove decided this was the time to die).
i had my heart set on looking glass rock for my first hike of the day. it is about 6.1 miles out and back, with 1900ish feet of elevation gain. it was a little challenging, very rooty, but the sights and views were so worth it.
i met a friendly fellow solo female hiker on the way up and chatted for a bit. so that was also nice. at the top, i had myself a little snacky, soaked up the beauty and sunshine, and took some photos.
on the hike back down, i chatted some more with my new friend, and it made the normally dreadful decline go by in a wink. we exchanged info and made plans to possibly meet up for lunch later.
from there, i decided to take a drive by the parking area looking glass falls, a super popular spot just off the main road. i snagged a parking spot and scurried down for some quick photos. i have a nice comparison the instagram worthy view and the actual view. whompwhomp.
i knew i wanted to squeeze in a little more hiking that afternoon, but i was glad to meet up with my new pal at a local “canteen” (and partake in flushable toilets). she was taking part in their vegan potluck. i just grabbed my lunch from the cooler in the car and supplemented it with a local kombucha. we were pleasantly surprised when folks with instruments started filing in, and a growing bluegrass jam session began.
after my little rest and refuel, i said goodbye and departed for dupont state recreational forest, which is much more peopley, but loaded with waterfalls. also a cool covered bridge. and one of the peopley people pointed out a pink lady’s slipper flower, which i would have traipsed right by had she not stopped me. all told, i added another four miles or so and 1000′ elevation, so i was pretty tired after this one.
back at camp, i cooked up a delicious dinner on the jet boil. then crawled back into the back of my car and crashed hard (and slept poorly). leisurely coffee in solitude. and another breakfast feast. and it was time to go….
on the way out, i made the spontaneous decision to find another hike before i drove home. this gave me a little more flexibility with how far it was from camp, as long as it was sort of on my path home. after some research, i settled on pilot cove and slate rock trail. the road to it was pretty sketchy and i had no idea what to expect. at the trailhead there was one other car parked on the side of the road. so, what i’m saying was, i didn’t expect to come back alive.
i was very pleasantly surprised. the hike was fantastic. the weather was pretty. the views were lovely. the people were scarce. there was a bit of excitement at the peak. a few folks pointed out a rattlesnake, chilling under a rock. i gave it plenty of space and used my iphones generous zoom to get a photo. so cool.
i spent some time eating a snack with this picturesque view.
i chatted briefly with another family, who took this pic for me.
but alas, time was ticking, and i had a long drive home, and hoped to get to the fam by dinner, so it was time to hustle back down. of course i took a wrong turn, and by the time i realized, it was no faster to turn around than to continue the trail i was on. sigh. i still made it home in time for dinner.
before i wrap up this post, a quick pic of all the fabric i bought in fabric stores on the trip into the mountains. asheville and the like.
it’s so strange to be looking back at these memories, knowing that this area was absolutely devastated by the hurricane a few months back. i’m thankful to have enjoyed it in its hey day, because i don’t know if it will ever recover fully in my lifetime.