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Monday, July 26 Another stellar, albeit hot day. Opted to take a hike rather than climb. We stashed some essentials and a topo in 2 fanny packs and headed toward the Amphitheater at 10:00 a.m. Arrived at the base of the Mummy Buttress at about 11:00 and found the faint trail that continued straight down from The Daddy all the way to the river. Made it to the river by noon. There was a little bushwacking in the last bit, but not as much as we had expected. At this point, the map indicated we had traveled 3 miles and dropped 1900 feet from the parking lot. The river was beautiful, and we wasted no time jumping in and erasing the effects of heat, humidity and climbing grime. Where the trail meets the river, there is 50-foot high boulder on the west side that faces up toward the Amphitheater. It has a smooth, 45-degree face with a large dark-gray rectangle. Later in the week, we observed this boulder while climbing The Daddy. We swam and ate for about an hour. Refreshed and feeling great, we caught the Linville Gorge trail northward. The trail is not marked, but is well-traveled and eases it's way along the river, occasionally climbing and dropping back to the water's edge. We were surprised to find a number of excellent, well-used campsites along the way. Although wild and rugged, the bottom of the Gorge gets a number of visitors. On a Monday, though, we didn't see another soul all day. We continued for 3.5 miles and got occasional glimpses of the eastern rim landmarks--the Amphitheater, the Prow, the North Carolina Wall. After traveling beyond Table Rock, we found the intersection of the Spence Ridge Trail (the topo map is a must for travel down in the Gorge). At this point, we've gained back 600 feet and know that some serious uphill is in store. The Spence Ridge trail crosses the river via a dead tree and a couple of large boulders. We again swam and refreshed before starting up the east rim. From here to the top of Little Table Rock (LTR), we'd travel 1.5 miles and climb 1,300 feet. The first section was a nice, easy climbing grade along a well-traveled, primary trail. Turning off at the intersection of the LTR trail, we proceeded straight up the mountain on a faint, primitive trail. We covered only 1/4 of a mile in an hour and finally made it to the top at 5:00 p.m., dead tired but rewarded. From LTR, it's only a short distance to the main Table Rock trail and down to the parking lot. Round trip: 7.5 hours, 8 miles, 3,800 feet of elevation gain/loss. Wildlife encountered: heron, newts, crayfish, green vine snake. Back at the parking lot, we rehydrated and cooked an excellent dinner of chinese stir fry and macaroni and cheese. We also discovered that our expectations of weekday solitude were far off the mark. Numerous summer camps use the area during the week as a hiking and climbing destination. Our little campsite was now a virtual city of tents, tarps and teenagers. The parking lot saw steady activity of campers and counselors working around white 15-passenger vans with roof racks full of gear and coolers. We played a little frisbee, some gettin'-to-know-you with the camp counselors and then off to bed by 10:00. |