My first trip to Linville Gorge Wilderness, one of two wilderness gorges in the Southern US, was at the absolute perfect time. I’ve never seen a greater show of changing leaves to date. We started at the rim and hiked in a couple miles or so to reach Babel Tower. There wasn’t much trail going up to the tower on the way down to the gorge and I would never have known to climb had I not been with a friend who knew the gorge.
Camping on top of Babel Tower was quite memorable. I pitched my tent a mere foot or so from the edge and woke up to the most amazing site. Before unzipping my tent door, I was already staring down the gorge at Table Rock as the sun rose, giving light to the beautiful fall colors.
We didn’t do any extensive hiking on this trip, but we did spend some time down at the river and hanging out with friends another night at Babel Tower. The section of the river we saw was swift, with currents and rapids twisting every which way.
So far I’ve been back to Linville Gorge to do some climbing at the Chimneys and I can’t wait to backpack down into it again. It’s truly my favorite place, favorite wilderness in the Southeast.
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