Beautiful Day Hike

 Nice trip to North Carolina for some winter snow activities.  19 miles of hiking/snowshoeing and 825 miles driving over three days.  Recent storm had dumped a lot of snow, so we wanted to see how feasible it is to go enjoy!  There's a nice little ski hill in Blowing Rock (Appalachian Ski Mountain) plus the Cone Estate on the Blue Ridge Parkway offers miles of snowshoeing/skiing/hiking options!

Views of Lenoir, NC in the foreground and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. Hang gliding ramp for those inclined!

Ran out of daylight!  Brushy Mountains, near Lenoir, NC. 

Off Blue Ridge Parkway. Beautiful snowshoe conditions. Near Blowing Rock, NC. 

Cone Estate. Off Blue Ridge Parkway. Near Blowing Rock, NC.

Snowshoeing in the south!  Near Blowing Rock, NC. 

Blowing Rock, NC. 

Altama Plantation WMA. Near Brunswick, GA. 

Beautiful Fall visit to Reno, NV to see our daughter.  It gave us the opportunity to explore many day hikes around the area in the mild, mostly sunny weather.  56 miles hiked and 528 miles driven over nine days in the Northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe region. Panorama with Carson Valley on the left and Lake Tahoe on the right.  From Spooner Summit and the Tahoe Rim Trail northbound.

Site of the 1994 Crystal Fire, near Verdi, NV.  Mt Rose Wilderness in the distance. The trees on the ridge are coming back nicely! Peavine Peak in the distance, with deer in the foreground!

Beautiful, cold morning. Reno, NV.  Verdi ridge in the distance.

Near Washoe City, NV.  At the base of Slide Mountain.

Trailhead near near Reno, NV.

Near Tahoe Meadows, NV.  Views of Diamond Peak and Lake Tahoe.

Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, near Verdi, NV. 

Trail from Washoe Valley to Tahoe Meadows. Humboldt-Toiyabe NF. Near Washoe City, NV. 

Peavine foothills. Near Reno, NV. 

Tahoe NF, near Truckee, CA.   Above Boca reservoir. 

Potential open space preserve near Truckee, CA. Mild weather!

Beautiful arid pinyon pine terrain, with view of Mt Rose and Slide Mtn to the west. Near Virginia City, NV. 

Humboldt-Toiyabe NF? View of Reno, NV.

Tahoe Rim Trail northbound to Lake Tahoe views. Snow clouds building to the west!

Regional park in Reno, NV.  Evening view of the Sierras. 

Mountain golf, near Reno, NV. 

Beautiful Fall evening in Reno, NV. 

View to the north. Sumter National Forest, near Abbeville, SC. 

From Glassy Mountain, near Pickens, SC. 

Off Blue Ridge Parkway, near Brevard, NC. 

Pisgah National Forest, off Blue Ridge Parkway. Near Brevard, NC. 

Fryingpan Mtn trail. Off Blue Ridge Parkway near Brevard, NC.