Linville Gorge and Falls- Asheville, North Carolina in early spring

The Linville Gorge Wilderness of western North Carolina in the Blue Ridge is one of the two wilderness gorges in the South. It's about 12,000 acres in the Pisgah National Forest(donated from by the Vanderbuilts from Biltmore Estates), about 1,400 feet deep over the Linville River.

I went with my family a lot when I was a kid and went this spring for the first time in years. It's close to Asheville where we stayed at the historical Grove Park Inn. It's very beautiful and with just a couple miles of easy hiking you can see all the good overlooks intothe gorge and of the falls. It's tough hiking down into the gorge, but a great time for experienced backpackers. There are other areas along the river that also have miles and miles of beautiful hiking and a lot of rock climbing as well. The Chimney's area around Table Rock Peak is where I learned to climb.

Here's a few facts about the area from Wikipedia, then I'll post our pictures from the trip.

*Wildlife: bear, fox, raccoon, trout, grouse, wild turkey, vultures, owls, hawks, copperheads, and timber rattlesnakes.

*Named for John and William Linville, explorers who were scalped by the Shawnee Indians in the gorge.

*Logging was popular in the 19th century, but was impossible in this gorge, which is why it's a rare example of old growth forest in Appalachia. It's the only gorge in NC without a road at the bottom. Some of the formations are up to 500 billion years old.