OK. I’m gonna let the pictures to a lot of the talking, but I’ll give you the finer points! This hike definitely pushed my limit, as I’m a little out of practice – and maybe shape!

This was my first trip to Linville (Pisgah), sad to say, but I made the first one a good one. Did about nine miles, from the Mountains to Sea Trails at marker 210, up to Table Rock, down to the river via the Little Table Rock Trail, then up the Connely Cove Trail, only to double back to the river and then out the Spence Ridge Trail. Rain was in the forecast, so we had gear to cover up, but only needed it on the last ascent and back.

The trails were quite steep, with a good deal of fun stuff to climb up and over. Much rock crawling and some tree hugging. And it was all beautiful.

The view from Table rock was great. You could see Lake James in the distance, and every few minutes—since it was a rainy day, the cloud would rise and fall and move in and out of the area around us. Never did they actually envelope us, but they were close.

There’s the crew I trekked with! Thanks to Robert Philson and David Petroski for leading this one!

In case you didn’t believe me about the slope of the hike, there’s the proof!

Finally, we made it to the river. Very cool and unique bridges. We hung here for a bit, donned a little rain gear, then headed along the river for about 3/4mi until heading up. Would have been a great place for a picnic, down along the river off of the trail a bit.

And there were caves! Not really, but it would have at least given some great cover if we needed it — and could have handled the mosquitos!

OK. So, we climbed up to Table Rock, then down, then up, and I was able to get this picture from across the way!

Total elevation change was around 3,000-3,500ft from what I could tell from a quick look at the maps. I’m a slacker, and didn’t have one with me. It’s on the list. See you out there!