brittany and i had discussed a few ideas of things to see in and around southwest virginia while we were here and one of our priorities was asheville, north carolina. asheville, being only a 2 hour drive from big stone and a haven for locally grown food, hiking, hippies, and all around small-town-in-the-mountains fun, had obvious appeal. plus brittany had never been there. we decided to camp, not only because we enjoy it, but because its just plain cheap. after the clinic closed on Friday at noon, we packed up our already prepped meals, camping and hiking gear and set off south through tennessee to north carolina.
the camping experience was, in my opinion, much more successful than our last adventure in Shenandoah over labor day weekend. that weekend, we struggled with the set up of our borrowed and very odd-shaped tent, underestimated the melting of ice in the cooler which then turned pre-made fajitas into soggy tortilla mush...which we THEN burned in attempts to dry them out over the fire which we only started after borrowing lighter fluid from a neighboring camper... novices indeed. this time we were more prepared. we brought my small propane gas grill. beat that nature. we kept all bread type ingredients far from the cooler. we did a dry run of tent set up before we left virginia. we were not going to look like idiots this time. and indeed, things went well. we got a space in our first choice campsite, we set up the tent in 20 minutes and turned the knob on the grill to get the fire going. we hit one snag when brittany mistook the bug spray for cooking spray and doused half of our pre-cut veggies in deet. she managed to salvage most, and our dinner, minus the one mushroom i had to spit out, was much more satisfying than the burnt mush fajitas to which i previously alluded. we even managed to make s'mores and then pack up fast as a thunderstorm rolled in. what comes after novice? competent? although i do admit that as the rain poured down that night, i was saying a silent prayer that our tent would not collapse as we slept.
the next task for the weekend was to hike Mount Mitchell, which happens to be the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. now, you can just drive to the top and walk up to the tower built to look out over the expanse of the North Carolina mountains. but then what can you say? I drove Mount Mitchell? No no. Online we found the details of the summit hike which began at a remote campground 5.7 miles and 3600 feet from the top. With printed copy in hand and camelbak stocked with water and snacks, we set out on our immediately climbing, tree-covered path. And it just kept climbing. No ascents and descents, no passes, no flat ground, just up hill...for three hours straight. additionally, this hike had none of the views that made mount rogers so spectacular. we were deep in forest for the entire climb, which gave us no sense of how far we had to go and no ability to visualize our target. but luckily, my print out gave detailed descriptions of the path: the types of trees we would meet a long the way, boulders to look forward to, signs of nearing the summit. After an hour of climbing in silence, I pulled out this little paper and began to read aloud about the type of forest we were in and how the trees were changing as we increased in elevation. The paper also revealed that we had already made it nearly half way. Then, silence. and more climbing. possibly some moans behind me. after another 45 minutes, i whipped out the paper again. more trees, a virgin forest to be exact. find that and we'd be at another milestone. we were starting to get tired of trees. another 45 minutes, no virgins, just endless climbing. please, next milestone, PLEASE. we finally made it to an area where "a horse trail will combine with the path." we were nearing the last 1,000 foot climb. we had missed the virgin forest. "as the trail flattens and puncheon is laid down to keep your feet out of the mud, you will know you're near the summit." puncheon? what's puncheon? after another steep 30 minute climb, EVERYTHING was puncheon. is this keeping our feet out of the mud? oh no, here it is. this is puncheon. no, THIS is definitely puncheon. we were also instructed to look out for a boulder on the right and a cave on the left. that rock looks big enough to be a boulder. where's the cave. no cave. ok. keep climbing. didn't she say this would flatten out? hey, that could be a boulder. still no cave. this is definitely puncheon. finally, after another 30 minutes and angry grumbling, we passed exactly what we were hoping for. people. especially one woman who said, you're almost there. the trail began too look more used and had some signs about the flora around us. and at last, we emerged from the trees to find...another steep, yet paved, hill to climb to the tower overlook. ughhh. we trudged up, salt from dried sweat caked on our faces, dirt on our legs, we passed the loafer and izod clad, complaining of the burn they felt climbing that paved walkway. if they only knew.
we refueled on peanut butter sandwiches and fruit and begrudgingly began the descent. This took an entire hour less than our climb up because at many points we were nearly running down the mountain, due to the slope as well as the desire to be the hell done with this hike. when we made it back to the car, we agreed, the first stop would be for ice cream.as this entry is already too long, i will be brief about our time in the actual town of asheville. we stopped by the town each day, sometimes just to walk around, others to eat. it's not how i remembered it. its bigger, with a more concentrated downtown that i had imagined. but its just one of those ideal places. you could have the city, night life and great food if you wanted that. or you could be at peace in the mountains, walk around the campus of the nearby university, tap drums with the folks in the park. if i could find a salsa club and some people to speak spanish with, i think i'd be set. our last morning after a stop at a farmer's market, we went to brunch at a restaurant i had spied online. Tupelo's Honey Cafe = Incredible. They use locally grown and organic ingredients and put a fresh spin on southern cooking. You'd think i'd pulled that from their website. We had fried green tomatoes and goat cheese grits, followed by sweet potato pancakes served with peach butter and maple syrup. As if that wasn't good enough, they serve complimentary warm biscuits with blackberry jam. In my book, it was a great ending to an fun weekend in Asheville, NC.
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