Finally getting around to writing up my Labor Day adventures from this year (since I just got the pictures uploaded). Spent it down in NC with Mike, Katie, Peter and Aleya. Had a great time hiking, boating and climbing.

Aleya and I arrived late Friday night, after a 6 hour drive. We set a departure the next morning and went to bed. As was to be expected, the departure time came and went… We woke up, finished breakfast and left, 1.5 hours behind schedule. Oh well. With slight uncertainty about our destination we set off towards Linville Gorge, aiming to climb routes in the Amphitheater. After some mild confusion and a half hour detour down a gravel road, we found the correct gravel road which took us to the Table Rock parking area. We tossed our packs on and headed down the trail.

Following some incorrect information from a hiker about the direction of the trail, we found ourselves bushwacking through thorn bushes around short cliffs at the top of the gorge. Eventually deciding that was wrong, we re-joined the trail. After a few minutes on there, it became clear that was, in fact, the correct way to go.

We suffered yet more trail confusion trying to find the correct unmarked trail and decided to call it a good hiking day and head back to the lake.

We then spent an hour or two tubing, wakeboarding and swimming. The night was capped off with some grilling and fireworks!

On Sunday we went to Rumbling Bald to give climbing another try. These cliffs can be seen from the lake, so we actually found them this time! We spent the day (until the mid-afternoon) doing several climbs on the “Cereal Buttress”: Granola, Whiskey for Breakfast, and Bee Tree. Very fun climbs.

I didn’t have Labor Day off so after the climbing Aleya and I drove back up to Charlottesville. Was quite a fun trip, will definitely have to do some more climbing in NC.

The rest of the pictures are available here: North Carolina on flickr.