Earth Day 2022, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the beauty of our slice of this world than on Camp Creek Bald.
Earth Day wasn't the only reason I also wanted to break out my drone. The place I call "the Camp" and others call Viking Mountain was the inspiration for getting the drone. See there were two pictures in the book, Exploring North Carolina's Fire Towers, that were obviously taken with a drone. So, the Camp was obviously where I wanted to take it up.
I had been waiting for a day up on the mountain where it wasn't so windy. Camp Creek Bald is notorious for its blustery days. This April had been on the windy side, but the weather was right for Earth Day. That wasn't my only reason for going. The area of Jones Meadow is one of my favorite places to camp. I was just up here
last October for a beautiful fall color overnight.
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| Dillard Pond |
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| Where I'm headed |
So, I got up there and the weather was great for running the drone as I took off from the Valhalla Inn site and went over Jones Meadow. I got some amazing views of this area of the Bald Mountains.
Running the drone wasn't the only thing I did. I also got some Hiking in.
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| Take off point |
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| Looking west at 350 feet... |
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| ...looking east |
However, I wanted to go-to spots at Jones Meadow including below Blackstack Cliffs. I then headed up the Appalachian Trail (AT) looking for a camp spot. I had used the old Camp Creek Bald Lean-to site last time here. I thought about the campsite I used in 2020, at AT North Mile Marker (NMM) 297, but with it being thru-hiker season I figured it would be busy (and it was). I decided on a site one mile AT North while small it even has water, which I think was for the old lean-to. It might be my favorite campsite up here.
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| Jones Meadow |
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| Below Blackstack Cliffs |
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| My October 2021 campsite... |
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| ...& 2022 |
The main event of the day was on the summit of the Camp. Here I ran the drone around the fire tower. Then I headed up to the spot formally known as Camp Creek Bald Bluffs but now the Grandstand. I mean it is sloped like a grandstand and the view of the sunset deserves one.
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| Above Camp Creek Bald Fire Tower |
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| Looking East |
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| In the middle is what I call the Grandstand... |
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| ...& sunset |
Day two started with sunrise at White Rock Cliffs. I had thought of going back to Camp Creek Bald, but the winds had picked up. This turned out to be a good idea because when I reached Big Firescald Knob it was really windy.
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| Sunrise |
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| Big Firescald Knob Vista... |
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| ...& Blackstack Cliffs |
Once back at Jones Meadow (after a stop at Blackstack Cliffs) it wasn't as windy or so I thought. When I took the drone up to 100 feet I got a warning...for high winds. So, I ended up wrapping the days flying early. But overall it turned out to be a great trip to one of my favorite places...The Camp!
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| Couldn't get high up because of the wind |
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