a much smaller mountain

10.16.23 ~ Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area
Hillsborough, North Carolina

So far the fall color here is pretty patchy. Occoneechee Mountain is the highest point (867 feet) here in Orange County, where we now live. So Monday we climbed a trail up to the top to see what the view might be like. Even though we see deer almost every day in our yard it’s still a thrill to see a wild one out deep in the woods.

getting ready to cross the trail
she spotted me as I zoomed in
proceeding across the trail
approaching the overlook
a view from the overlook
a side view from the overlook
part of Hillsborough below us
Eno River, 350 feet below the overlook

On our way back to the parking lot we heard quite a commotion in involving several crows and possibly another kind of bird. We kept stopping to try to see what was going on, but we never saw anything.

Part of me thought perhaps we had chosen the wrong week to visit Mt. Mitchell, that we might have waited a week in order to see more fall colors. Well, it turns out it was a good thing we didn’t go a week later. They had enough snow over there in the mountains to close Mt. Mitchell State Park and 37 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would not have been able to go see any of what we did!

overlook at milepost 361.2

10.10.23 ~ view of Glassmine Falls
Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah Region, North Carolina

On our way back to our hotel in the charming little town of Black Mountain we retraced our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This overlook was especially beautiful. We saw some fall colors but they hadn’t come to a peak yet.

The waterfall (below) was dry on this day but apparently after a good rain a narrow stream of water falls 200 feet over the cliff. That dark hole at the base is an old mica mine. Mica is sometimes called isinglass and miners called it glass for short, which is why it was called a glassmine.

Glassmine Falls
valley on the other side of the overlook
path back to parking lot, elevation 5,200 feet

The clouds were always on the move, casting dramatic shadows over the peaks and valleys and changing the lighting moment to moment. It was a nice way to end a most wonderful day.