Carmel on the road: North Carolina wrap-up and farewell to a friend

I'm a little behind with my blogging and will try to remedy that in the next few days, but I feel compelled to write a little wrap-up post about my time in North Carolina, even though it feels like quite some time ago.

I hadn't originally planned to go to North Carolina when I first sketched out my route, but over a lunch with two work colleagues in the weeks leading up to my departure, the lovely Tiff urged me to visit this area. She had travelled round the South with her partner Grania a few months previously and had loved this part of America. So I changed my road trip plans and added Charlotte to my flight itinerary. I was not disappointed. Charlotte is a lovely town, and spring had sprung when I arrived, marking a significant difference from my weeks in Texas. I enjoyed spending time in the little art gallery there and practised driving a bit before commencing my epic road trip. I've already mentioned my drive to Asheville and how beautiful it was to get my first taste of North Carolina scenery. En route I stopped at Crowders Mountain State Park where I decided to do my first solo hike and limber up for the Smokies.

Charlotte architecture

Spring has sprung!

The start of the trail

A pleasant stroll in the woods turned into a hearty uphill hike, through rocky terrain. As I curved around the peak towards King's Pinnacle there was not a soul in sight and I experienced my first taste of the eerie silence of hiking in these parts. The trees were still relatively bare, giving me an incredible view of North Carolina when I reached the summit. The surrounding hills of the park shone with a blue haze and I sought a shady nook away from the sun.

Glimpses of hills through the trees

Trail ends here

View of North Carolina from King's Pinnacle

The rocky way

Here I thought again of the girl who had encouraged me to come to this wonderful part of the States. As regular readers will know, Tiffany, tragically, suddenly passed away in February, so I fell to thinking how I will not be able to email her to tell her how grateful I am that she urged me to come here. I sat among the rocks of the crown of King's Pinnacle and meditated for a while, thinking of Tiff and her cheeky smile, pondering on the brevity of life and the importance of living in the moment, remembering her wonderful positive energy. After a few minutes had passed I thanked her silently for her advice which has enriched my life in so many ways, and said my farewell to her. Something compelled me to look up at that moment and as I did a magnificent hawk swooped in the sky from behind me and soared out across the valley in front of me. The joyfulness of its flight, the majesty with which it charted its course above the forest made tears well in my eyes and I felt a 'farewell' back. She is gone but truly not forgotten, and her positive energy lives on in so many people whose lives she touched.

I finished the hike to the car deep in contemplation and enjoyed the solitude of the forest.

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My hikes here in North Carolina and the Smokies have been most pleasurable, with changeable terrain and varying levels of difficulty. Despite my many solitary walks I have also encountered a number of people along the way who have been most helpful and have enhanced my enjoyment of the areas. Many folks in the welcome centers and state park info booths have given me fantastic advice, folks at delis have provided me with hearty, delicious sustenance and those along the trails have never been short of a smile and a hello, often stopping to pass the time and swap traveller tales. I'm finding that the stories of Southern hospitality are founded firmly in fact – people really are friendly here and have made me feel so welcome to this part of the world. At least in my experience in the Great Outdoors!

I also enjoyed a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway which is one of America's greatest scenic drives. It is a 469-mile drive which follows closely the highest ridges between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. Sections of it were closed due to snowfall (I know, snow!) but I did a decent chunk of it near Mount Pisgah, where they brew some fine beer. I'm definitely getting plenty of practice of driving along windy, single-lane roads with breathtaking views. Learning how to safely stop to take a photo has been one of my earliest lessons!

While I was in the Smokies I hiked along another section of the Appalachian trail, near Clingman's Dome, otherwise known as the 'Top of Old Smoky': the highest mountain in the Smoky Mountains. It straddles the boundary line between two states, and so at 6,643 feet above sea level it's also the highest mountain in Tennessee (only the third highest in North Carolina). It's also the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, so I thought I'd pop up there and join the AT once again, to clock a few more miles on it, and practice some high altitude hiking before my trip to the Andes next month.

From this platform, President Franklin D Roosevelt dedicated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the people of America on September 2, 1940.

Rockerfeller donated $5million of the $12million required to purchase the Smoky Mountains' 520,000 acres

View from Newfound Gap

It was a 7-mile drive from Newfound Gap and a short, steep walk to the top, but I was already feeling the effects of the altitude and had to take it a bit easier than usual. Many 'Reebok hikers' who were only there for the 0.5 mile trip to the lookout tower were clearly struggling along the way. All the puffing and panting was rewarded at the top, however, with panoramic views of the Smoky Mountains. We were very lucky to have such a glorious day -- apparently visibility is frequently very poor from up here due to air pollution and forest fires.

Above the clouds at Clingman's Dome

I quickly left the crowds behind and joined the Appalachian Trail. My aim was to reach a shelter just over 4 miles down the trail. A chap I met in my Airbnb place in Asheville gave me Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods to read which I devoured in two days, and I had covered the passages about the shelters along the trail (for the thru-hikers) with fascination. If I am ever to do such an epic multi-day hike I have to see what the accommodation is like first. So I set off.

Friends along the trail

View along the trail -- still above the clouds!

One foot in North Carolina, one in Tennessee!

Leaning tree on the trail

First glimpse of an AT shelter

Inside an AT shelter

Bryson's fascination with these shelters is infectious. Interestingly, the shelters are different as you journey along the AT, because different states and National Parks are responsible for their building and upkeep. The shelter I saw, in the Smokies, was exactly as I'd pictured it from his description. A crude stone structure with one wall completely missing. (Why on earth was one wall missing? Beyond me.) Someone had strung up some groundsheets to stop the wind and elements (and bears?) from getting in. Inside there were wooden fittings and bare shelves on which were still strewn some sleeping bags and ground sheets. A campfire outside was surrounded by wooden benches and, being lunchtime, I stopped to eat the peanut butter sandwich which I had prepared earlier that morning. I shared my lunchtime spot with two young bearded thru-hikers, who were eating space-age looking gloop from plastic tubes, a middle-aged couple on a day hike from a spot down the trail and two old seasoned hikers uninterested in smalltalk. We settled into a comfortable silence as we ate and I pondered my attire compared with the boys who had been on the AT for almost a month. Perhaps I would want something other than blue jeans if I were to hike this trail seriously. And a waterproof jacket. They had beards also, but I'm a little challenged in that regard. Aside from that, I'm all set.

I hiked plenty of other trails during my time in beautiful North Carolina, including small loop trails, hikes to waterfalls, epic tramps over 10 miles and many more which have blended into each other. This is certainly the life.