I had a hard time deciding what to wear - mostly I wasn't sure if I should wear my Helly Hansen Polyproplyene long underwear top. The only other time I'd worn it was when Dad and I hiked to The Harding Ice Field in Kenai Fjords NP and I was so hot I nearly drowned in sweat. I finally decided to go ahead and wear the shirt - it was forecast to be 46 degrees here and I figured it would be a bit colder on the mountain and 46 was going to feel pretty cold.
I gathered up all my winter hiking clothes - my gore-tex pants, 2 fleece tops, 2 prs of gloves and a fleece ear warmer and headed out. I decided to stop at Harris Teeter in Bristow to grab lunch - as an added bounus I had a $10 coupon so it was almost free! :) I arrived at the park around Noon - there was a line at the Thorton Gap entrance station which surprised me because it was such a dreary day.
I'd planned to hike a portion of the AT from Pocosin Fire Road to South River Fire Road which was at about mile Marker 60 - I was at about mile 30. At first there were no views from Skyline Drive - just fog and clouds where the mountains should be. Then as I traveled further south and gained elevation - there was snow!!!! And then there was fog. It was a heavy wet snow that stuck in every nook and cranny of the trees creating a beautiful winter wonderland! The fog I could do without - in places you couldn't see 2 ft in front of you.
Due to driving conditions I quickly ditched the idea of going all the way to Pocosin Fire Rd - opting instead for Whiteoak Canyon. It was closer, and I figured that there would be lots of people there. I pulled into the parking lot and I was one of 3 cars! 3 cars in the Whiteoak Canyon parking lot at 12:30 on a Saturday. I couldn't believe it. Yes, the weather was nasty - but it wasn't snowing or raining. It was cold though - it was 30 degrees when I got out of the car. I was instantly glad that I'd worn the long underwear shirt and brought all my winter gear! As I was getting myself ready to go another car pulled up and I started chatting with the people who were in it - turns out Skyline Drive had been closed up until just a few minutes before I pulled up! :) WOW - amazing timing!
The trail itself was a winter wonderland and I had it all to myself! Whiteoak Canyon, the most popular trail in the park, and it was all mine on a Saturday afternoon! And it was covered in snow to make it even better! The silence of the forest was just amazing. As I descended to the upper falls there was less snow and the temps were rising. At the upper falls there was no snow and the trees were alive with fall colors!
At the overlook there were about 10 people, most of whom had hiked in from the bottom since the drive had been closed when they arrived. They were a bit pertubred to learn that the drive was open and that it was covered in snow! :)
It only took me an hour to hike down to the falls, but I was anxious about getting back to the top since they close the drive at 5:00. It took me about an hour to get back so I was back at the car in plenty of time to get off the drive before I got locked in.
I'm so glad I was able to get out today and enjoy the dueling seasons - one minute it was fall and the next it was winter!
Check out the pics below! :)
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