Linville Gorge: The Grand Canyon of North Carolina

Travelin' Light's lead blogger is out of town this week rafting the Grand Canyon, so in honor of his outdoor adventure we'll be posting some photos highlighting the various nature excursions from our backpacking past. Our tour begins close to home in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Often referred to as the Grand Canyon of North Carolina, Linville Gorge is one of the most beautiful wilderness areas on the east coast. You may not realize it, but if you've seen Last of the Mohicans, you've already seen a good deal of Linville Gorge. Most of the movie was filmed there, as well as in North Carolina's DuPont State Forest and Chimney Rock State Park.

Enjoy the photos of Linville...

1. View from the Chimneys looking south toward Lake James
2. Even in springtime the Gorge can be a chilly place. Dress warm and be prepared for STRONG winds.
3. 7am. Facing east from the chimneys.
4. 10 minutes later...
5. Taken later the same day from the top of the Babel Tower formation, looking south towards Table Rock and the Chimneys (where all the earlier photos were taken from).
6. Pumping water near the intersection of the Linville Gorge Wilderness Trail and Babel Tower Trail.
7. Same creek from the photo above, just before it joins the Linville River.
Hope you enjoyed the photos, we'll be posting more later this week (next up: Huckleberry Hotsprings in Yellowstone NP). In the meantime, let us know your favorite 'lesser known' spots (at least, lesser known than the Grand Canyon).

The Wave, a 'Red Rock Stunner' Is Basically The Best Thing Ever

Courtesy of the L.A. Times, who always seem to have excellent travel pictures, comes this shot of "The Wave," a "red-rock stunner on the border of Arizona and Utah" is a bunch of really, really old sand dunes that have turned to rock. It's fairly insane and excellent.

Spectacular Grand Canyon Photos

The Los Angeles Times was fantastic enough to assemble a vertical gallery of shots from the Grand Canyon during sunrise and sunset last week; I meant to link them up earlier but never got a chance (more on that in a bit). 

As you can see above, the photos are pretty freaking spectacular. Swing over to the Times' website and check the full gallery out. Or, alternately, start planning your trip to the Grand Canyon right now so you can take your own pictures and not live vicariously through someone who sent pictures to a newspaper.