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Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

The Huddle House diner is inviting and cozy on an early November morning. While it isn't that far off from the Waffle House visited the previous morning (the signs are practically identical), it’s a far departure from the chilly sleeping bags we'd crawled from. A few minutes’ drive from our campsite in the expansive Pisgah National Forest gets us a hot cup of coffee while we wait for the sun to warm Looking Glass Rock.

An hour southwest of Asheville, Looking Glass gets its name from the way sunlight reflects off its giant granite dome. Standing at the base, the rock seems to disappear not far above us – an illusion, we discover as we climb, created by the curve rising over 800 vertical feet. Finally reaching the top, we're treated to a sweeping view of the changing North Carolina foliage and the distant town where supper awaits.

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We venture up the winding, picturesque Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville to dine with El Chapala's Mexican delights. Afterward, another hour of eastward travel finds us in Linville Gorge, the "Grand Canyon of the East," at the campsite for Table Rock. Like the rest of Pisgah National, camping is free and the sites clean and natural; bear-proof steel trash bins are the sole proof of man's presence.

As we climb the east ridge of Table, the wind from the west blows a low cloud past us, the rock cutting it and leaving only a small clear "v" where we climb. Everything around us is white. After scaling the quartz-riddled stone, we hike off the top through the Devil's Cellar, a narrow, foreboding canyon made all the more ominous by the dense fog around us.

A campfire supper of mountain pies fills us before we crawl, weary, into our sleeping bags. Well-earned, even this modest fare seems a feast, and with full bellies we curl up. The wind through the trees lulls us, rest finally coming to soothe aching muscles in preparation for the next day's adventures in Appalachia.

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The Huddle House diner is inviting and cozy on an early November morning. While it isn't that far off from the Waffle House visited the previous morning (the signs are practically identical), it’s a far departure from the chilly sleeping bags we'd crawled from. A few minutes’ drive from our campsite in the expansive Pisgah National Forest gets us a hot cup of coffee while we wait for the sun to warm Looking Glass Rock.

An hour southwest of Asheville, Looking Glass gets its name from the way sunlight reflects off its giant granite dome. Standing at the base, the rock seems to disappear not far above us – an illusion, we discover as we climb, created by the curve rising over 800 vertical feet. Finally reaching the top, we're treated to a sweeping view of the changing North Carolina foliage and the distant town where supper awaits.

Sponsored
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We venture up the winding, picturesque Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville to dine with El Chapala's Mexican delights. Afterward, another hour of eastward travel finds us in Linville Gorge, the "Grand Canyon of the East," at the campsite for Table Rock. Like the rest of Pisgah National, camping is free and the sites clean and natural; bear-proof steel trash bins are the sole proof of man's presence.

As we climb the east ridge of Table, the wind from the west blows a low cloud past us, the rock cutting it and leaving only a small clear "v" where we climb. Everything around us is white. After scaling the quartz-riddled stone, we hike off the top through the Devil's Cellar, a narrow, foreboding canyon made all the more ominous by the dense fog around us.

A campfire supper of mountain pies fills us before we crawl, weary, into our sleeping bags. Well-earned, even this modest fare seems a feast, and with full bellies we curl up. The wind through the trees lulls us, rest finally coming to soothe aching muscles in preparation for the next day's adventures in Appalachia.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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