Trip West - Maggie Valley - Pink Beds Loop Hike

 Today we decide to Hike the Pink Beds Loop on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It is a 45 minute drive so we get an early start.

We get to Clyde and run into a road block from Hurricane Fred that passed through here two weeks ago and killed 6 people from severe flooding.  276 is closed and we are rerouted to 215 to the Parkway

215 is a scenic winding mountain road.  We pass by Logan Lake

Even up here you can see damage from Fred.  

You can see where the river had washed over the bridge

and where water had rushed down the road and over the bank

1.5 hours later we arrive at the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Good thing we got an early start

It's always a beautiful drive on the Parkway

We get to the trailhead.  The trail passes the Pink Beds Valley, named by the settlers when the abundant blooms of local plants were visible from the surrounding mountainsides; now that the area has been reforested, the name is more historical than descriptive.

The hike is a 5.2 mile loop

It crosses the South Mills Creek and it's tributaries several times

Passes through some open fields

and into some deep forest

Tucson takes several breaks

The trail is quite wet from Fred and Ida

Sorry Mom

Several bridges are washed out, making crossing a challenge

Tree tree hugger

Good environment for mushrooms

You can see in parts how much the river overflowed from the storms

A sturdier bridge

a boardwalk ahead

and it is a beauty.  Glad we did the loop clockwise rather than my usual counter clockwise.  Nice to have this towards the end

Tucson wants so bad to take another dip but keeping him dry for the trip home

another boardwalk

and back to the first bridge

and the parking lot

and a beautiful drive home