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Last weekend I made a solo camping trip to the Linville Falls area of the Blue Ridge Mountain chain. I got a chance to swim in a cold stream, read Camus by lantern and observe the vast number of stars not visible in low and brightly lit areas. Most taxing of my ventures was a climb to the top of Macrae's peak (5939 ft) equipped with a full pack weighing 20 pounds. Once there I made alfreado pasta and Earl Grey Tea. In a few of the pictures I'll post you may see a blue arrows or lines. These indicate the trail. In some instances it is not a trail but a climb around shear cliffs and up steep gradients using a rope. There are sections that have ladders made from 4X4's. At one spot in the trail there is a cliff section containing three individual ladders that require you to shimmy along a rope while transitioning between them. Ok, enough editorializing. Enjoy the pictures.

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This is my base camp. I had to repair my tent right away because of a mistake I made with the pole.

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Here I'm cooking a vegetarian meal and making Chai Tea using my Jetboil.

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This is Linville Falls. There was actually a big fire nearby earlier this year.


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This is a small set of falls ahead of the larger falls. According to my reading this was the site of the larger falls until the mid-1800's. The larger falls section continues to drift down stream due to erosion and seismic activity. My base camp is one mile up stream.

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This is directly behind the larger falls. It looks a lot like a water ride, however I don't think I'd enjoy taking a kayak on that trip.

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I went about mile into the woods to get a picture of the sun going down through the fauna.

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Before my climb the next morning.

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This is where I'm going.

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This is the easier portion of the trail. (It looks like Hobbits live here)

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Hello Hobbits are you home?

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I didn't find any Hobbits but I was quiet enough to get about two feet away from this baby bunny. I had enough time to get off about four shots on my cheap camera before he ran away.

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Strait down.

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Rope and slick rock equals trail.

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Ladder equals trail.

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Here I am standing on the second ladder of the three ladder chain I wrote about earlier. By the way, remember that blue arrows always equal trail.

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Seriously hanging onto a rock with one hand and taking a picture with the other.

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Once you get to the top of this ladder you have to crawl around a round cliff edge using a rope.

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My pack on the summit.

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Which way is down again?

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Going back down along the cliff edge. Check out my crazy eyes. That's fatigue from the pack. By the way, there is nothing behind me except several thousand feet of freefall and there is only about three feet of cliff to walk on.

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Blue lines and arrows equal trail.

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Halfway back down I spotted my truck.

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These two guys quit here and started heading back down the triple ladder. I was glad to give them time so I could take a break.

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Beautiful

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The End.