FIRST SNOW
Sunday morning, Christy, Saucony, and I awoke expecting to see snow.
However, we were greeted with just a gray, cold morning. By the time we were enjoying our breakfast burritos though, the first flakes began to fall. By the time we broke camp, it was really beginning to come down.Initially, we headed for Roan Mountain. I was looking forward to hiking through the spruce forest in the snow. However, by the time we reached Newland the snow was beginning to stick to the road. After we passed a Jeep Cherokee flipped over on it’s side, we began to have second thoughts. I knew it would be a long drive down narrow windy roads to get back from Roan. We turned back, and headed for Blowing Rock instead.
We ended up hiking at Cone Park just outside of Blowing Rock. Cone has some decent hiking, but we usually avoid it due to its proximity to town. However, its location was perfect on a snowy day. We hiked up to Rich Mountain, and the dog loved it! She alternated between racing through the snow and trying to eat the snowballs we tossed at her.
The hike itself was an easy 5 miles. Most of the route followed an old roadbed, but you couldn't really tell under 4" of snow. We passed through forests and meadows, but the storm eliminated any views. We were able to stay warm until lunch, but 20 minutes sitting in the snow really cooled us down. By the time we returned to the car early that afternoon, we were ready to head home.
I expected the drive home to be simple once we got down from Blowing Rock. I was in for a surprise. The snow never stopped, and the roads actually got worse down near Gastonia. Overall though, we didn’t have much trouble. Everybody thought we were crazy for going, but we enjoyed our weekend in the snow.
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