Sandy and I recently returned from a road trip to Linville Gorge in North Carolina. Beautiful location in the Pisgah National Forest. The first day we went into The Amphitheater. We hired a local guide who brought us in via an unobvious trail through the rhododendron forest off of the Mountains to Sea trail. We descended to the base of the Mummy buttress and climbed "The Daddy", six pitches of excellent climbing. Good rock with great position over the gorge and exciting exposure. We rapped off down the back of the buttress, and worked along a ledge system to gain "The Prow", four more pitches of fun.
We had several rain days, but then we were able to climb some more. We went to the Table Rock area on our own midweek. We climbed "The Cave Route" and "My Route", and climbed "Jim Dandy" the following day.
Definitely worth a visit especially if you like getting a little further off the beaten path as we do.
On the return trip, we stopped at Seneca Rocks,WV. What a cool formation! It is a giant fin of rock with climbing on both sides, and a top that is two feet wide. We climbed the "Old Man's Route" on the south west face. Fun climbing, very open exposure and a scary summit. Tricky climbing because the rock is highly fractured and requires good study of placements. Pay attention and have fun.
We also brought our road bikes and cycled the Grandfather Mountain-Linn Cove Viaduct section of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We are looking forward to getting back up North, aiming for White Ledge and North Bald Cap.
