Crabtree Falls

This hike is on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Since the parkway is a long and curvy mountain road, I thought I'd be smart and shortcut through a nearby town.  Turned out I hadn't read the map right and our short cut turned into a very midguided long cut.  But we did get to see the adorable town of Little Switzerland, NC which I had never seen before - cute swiss chalets and all!  We also checked out the NC Mineral Museum - which was pretty small, but a nice little (and free) stop if you're in the area.

My friend Jackie, little ZB and I trekked out to Crabtree Falls hike at mile marker 339.5 on the parkway.  The trail is about 1.5 miles each way.  Not very strenuous, though I did see some hikers struggling as they must have thought it was a MUCH easier/shorter hike, since all they were carrying was a small bottle of soda.  ZB walked a lot of it, and was thrilled that she was allowed to hold the leash for Hank the dog for so long (not sure how thrilled Hank was about it, but he was patient enough)!

The trail gets a little rougher the closer it gets to the falls, but the destination is well worth it!

ZB was running down the trail at one point and had a big wipe-out.  Though I don't think these hurt for too long, she sure was fascinated by the scrapes for the entire rest of the day.

I am making a note to remember to wear long pants for our next hike.  Not only could it have lessened the scraped-knee factor, but at the water, the trails were lined with irritating stinging nettles.
I'm glad the sun was shining and the temperature was cool.  What a lovely day to get out in the mountains with a couple of sweet ladies!  And an extra thanks to Jackie for snapping some of these good photos!!