Mountain Birthday Extravaganza - Day 2

So we walked out of the hotel to find it thunderstorming. The entire day was to be spent outside so that was slight problem. We decided to drive out to Chimney Rock and see if it would pass so we could at least see the Chimney Rock part of the park. After sitting in the car an hour it stopped thunderstorming and we decided to put on the ponchos and hike and play anyway. We still managed to have a good time, even in the pouring rain. We hiked around a little and then went to the top of the Chimney thing. Isaiah was amazed by how high we were. We walked all over the rock and that was fun. Finally, after wandering about for an hour in the rain we headed back.

We hung out at the hotel for a couple hours while the rain kept coming down. Finally, about 2, it stopped. I checked the radar and it appeared to have moved out of the area. So we packed up and drove back out to DuPont State Park. We went back up to the High Falls trail, determined to actually get all the way to the waterfall.  This time we were appropriately dressed and had water. So we headed off down the trail.

The waterfall is majestic. I'm sure there are better waterfalls on earth, but this was Isaiah's first. He was totally freaked out at the roar of the water as we got closer. Our first glimpse was through the trees. Then, as we rounded a bend, there was a clearing and we could see the waterfall from top to bottom. It was massive. Isaiah was wide-eyed as we watched the water rushing down the rocks and into the pool below. This was as far as he intended to hike. Until we saw that you could go to the base of the falls. So we kept going down.

The trail sucked from all the rain, but we made it through and around the puddles and the mud. I was really glad we had picked up trekking poles earlier in the day so we could use them to  help climb over rocks, the sides of the trail, trees, etc. We finally made it down to the base of the falls and got to see the rapids as the water plunged into the pool and then raced to the river.  We played on the rocks and in the water, which was really fun. After taking it all in, we headed back up to the parking area - straight uphill.

It was like doing the Buttmaster 3000 and I will be feeling it tomorrow, but it was so worth it. When we got back to the car we were a sweaty, dirty, muddy mess, but we accomplished what we set out to do and actually made it much further than I thought we would. This was my first real mountain hike without anyone other than Isaiah and we weren't eaten by a bear (my greatest fear when hiking). We also didn't get lost (YAY) or die (obviously). I would call that a success. Isaiah finished out the day swimming in the hotel pool while I sipped on wine and watched him.

Tomorrow, Biltmore and Asheville. Woot!

Mountain Birthday Extravaganza - Day 1

I learned some valuable lessons today. First, do not get directions to a state park from the stoned cook at Waffle House who curses as he describes the large river ("and there's this big a** river... oh, sorry, I forgot about the little guy"). Second, do not decide to wing it and not use the GPS, unless you really don't care about getting there quickly. We didn't care, so we took both the directions from the stoned Waffle House cook and decided not to use the GPS and headed west, deeper into the NC mountains. For those who know me, that is seriously throwing caution to the wind - no plan and no GPS.

We were so far out in the country that I'm pretty sure they had to pump sunlight there. The drive, however, was beautiful. There is nothing like mountains to me - they make me worship every time. Isaiah loves them as well, so it was fun to just drive and see where it might take us. We saw a sign for the Dupont State Forest and Isaiah convinced me to abandon our search for the river and turn right. Now, before you chastise me for taking directions from my nearly 8-year-old kiddo, do remember that he is far better at directions than I am. Besides the GPS was with me, just not in use. I figured we'd be fine.

About an hour after we left the Waffle House we ended up in Dupont State Park at the top of a mountain, at a trail head. I'm not sure we were as close to Tennessee as it felt, but we drove west for a long time before we got there, and we're already pretty far west in NC. So, the two of us are wearing flip flops, have no water, no gear - nothing. And we decide to walk down the trail. According to the signs it was 0.6 miles to something called the "high falls" and the path was actually really wide and gravel-covered. I figured we'd try it. Then the unexpected happened...

The sky clouded up, and the heavens opened. We were probably 0.3 miles down the trail when it happened. Yes, it was kinda cloudy when we parked, but the rain moved in ultra fast and came down hard. We decided to turn around and head back to the car. By the time we got close, it started to thunder and we were soaked to the skin. It was 80 when we got out of the car. By the time we got back to the car it was 67.  We were freezing, wet, and giggling uncontrollably. For all my preparation for tomorrow's hike, we had ZERO prep for today because it was spontaneous.

It did provide some great lessons for Isaiah though. First, his mom is a rock star because I have towels in the car (and boy did that come in handy when we got back!). Second, it was a great lesson in hiking safety. We did it totally wrong. We were totally unprepared and we're fortunate it was just silly and nothing else. Isaiah commented on how he felt wet and how the temperature dropped so fast once the rain started. He said, "Mom, next time we need to just have our gear in the car so that we're not caught unprepared like this again."

As we made our way down the mountain the sky cleared and it was sunny. We came back to a sunny hotel and were able to get into dry clothes (which was awesomeness).  It was a wonderful adventure with good lessons. We didn't accomplish what we set out to, but we were together and that's what mattered most. We had a blast swimming in the hotel pool, eating dinner at Cracker Barrel, and just hanging out. He's a happy kid and so far he's having an amazing 8th birthday trip.

Tomorrow is hiking in Chimney Rock State Park. I think it will go better than today... :)