Fun on the BRP

Saturday I diligently listened to the Park Service's phone message to decipher which parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway were closed, and confidently headed out the door to explore. Contrary to the machine's report on road conditions, the Parkway IS closed at 276/ Milepost 412.

Still, there is much fun to be had by parking at mile marker 412 and hitting the BRP on foot. Daisy and I headed about 3 miles south, through extremely varied terrain. At times we were on pavement and at other times we were post holing in snow up to my knees. Some of the snow is just as sugary as spring corn on Teton Pass! Most of the time, I followed boot tracks and simply sunk a little bit into 2-4 inches of snow.

One shaded area near milepost 415 had a 5 foot snowdrift and several other places had 3 foot drifts. Another glossy area in the shade landed me promptly on my tush thanks to slippery ice. Yet most of the way was easy to traverse in hiking boots. Even without the snow, the road would be difficult to drive on thanks to trees, limbs and rocks that currently sprinkle the asphalt.

It was extremely relaxing to be on the parkway with no motorcycles, RVs, or tourons to adulterate the experience. Selfishly, I really enjoyed having the parkway to myself and it was well worth the effort. Still, it could be some time before all of this snow melts and the winter debris is cleared away. Consider donating some $ or time to help the Park Service get this road back in good shape. In the meantime, hoof it up there; the views of Pisgah National Forest and Looking Glass are phenomenal and the breeze is divine.