Mountains to the Sea Trail, Asheville

I didn't hike from the mountains to the sea...but I did hike from the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway to where the Parkway crosses the Swannanoa River on the Mountains to Sea Trail.  The three of us stopped in to see the Folk Art Center but didn't stay long once we realized it was mostly current regional art for sale and not a display of historical folk art.

The entrance to Blue Ridge Parkway is about a mile from our cabin so Katrina dropped me off and came to pick me back up a little over an hour later.  After spending two days at The Biltmore with hordes of people an empty trail was just what I needed to wind down.

I still can't get over how nice it is to smell the pine as I crush the needles beneath my feet on these trails. To smell the pine, the earth...I won't get that for months in my little corner of southeastern Wisconsin.

The trail could certainly use some maintenance as I had to scramble over four different trees across the trail on my journey.  Maybe that's why no one else was on the trail with me, in which case they can leave as many trees on the trail as they like! 

 

The trail also crosses over Tunnel Road and I enjoyed my view from the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway there and again when I came to the Swannanoa River. It was just under three miles round trip, and was much nicer than fighting New Year's Eve crowds at all the "hot spots" in town.

While at The Biltmore I spied these beautiful purple berries. A passerby told me they were called Beauty Berries.  Anyone have any more information?  Thought I'd add them here so their color could delight others as much as they did me!

We've left Asheville and moved on to a rental home in Cumming, Georgia to take in some sights in Atlanta, visit my mother's cousin, and I want to take my first steps on the Appalachian Trail at Amicalola Falls State Park. Any tips are always appreciated!