Beautiful day for a hike along Rich Mountain Trail! There was plenty of color to enjoy on maples, oaks, and beech trees. It does seem like winds early in the week came through some spots, thinning swaths of foliage. That just means fresh leaves to crunch through on the trail! Some slopes in this location remain vibrant and full, as seen from near the top of the trail. The longevity of foliage has a lot to do with specific exposure of a particular spot, which is one of the things that makes color prediction difficult.
Rich Mountain Trail is part of the Cone Carriage Trail network. The carriage trails, particularly the Bass Lake Loop, can be busy on any beautiful day. This weekend was particularly busy on the trails and on the Blue Ridge Parkway, as folks headed up to enjoy foliage in the beautiful weather.
Here are more scenes from Rich Mountain Trail:
