Hiking Grandfather Mountain

This was pretty much our day yesterday, and what a lovely day it was!

At the beginning of the hike, before we were all tired out

See the grandfather's profile?

Our main sustenance on the hike--that and cake! Yum.

Yay! We timed it right to see the rhododendrons blooming!

Us three on top of McCrae peak, high above the much touted "mile high swinging bridge."

You can't see it, but Katherine is standing on the edge of nothing here. She almost lost her balance and fell over the cliff right after this photo was taken.

McCrae peak from a distance

Me being a daredevil

Cool parts of the trail

Lots of ladders were there to help people get over the rocks. Everyone was amazed that our dog Abbi could do these parts!

Laurel Falls Hike

No blog about my life would be complete without at least a little mention of this hike.

Just in the month of May alone I did this hike 4 times. Yesterday we went with some girls from church and had a grand time. Monica had made banana bread and kettle corn, so we even had snacks, which was a delicious treat (usually we don't bother to bring so much as water bottles).

Here we are at the beginning of the hike

Hiking along the stream

The destination! Laurel Falls. It was surprisingly lower than I expected it to be, despite heavy rain two nights before. Just a few weeks earlier, it had looked like this: 

Us girls at the falls (minus Sarah, who is behind the camera)

And then we found a blacksnake! 

 

Adventures all around... lovely times!