I don’t usually post anything about dayhikes. In fact, I never have, but this hike was so singular that I decided to add it with a couple of pictures. Linville Gorge Wilderness Area is to the east of Asheville. It is called the Grand Canyon of the East. Not sure about that, but it certainly has the feel of being in the West. We hiked the eastern rim, and it was open and almost arid.
Our hike, and in and out, was about 16 miles. We started at the trailhead for Shortoff Mountain. We climbed up Shortoff at a pretty rapid pace. It is a little over 2 miles to the top. The trail climbs over 1300 ft. On Shortoff, we picked up the Mountain to Sea trail to Table Rock Mountain. TRM could be seen in the far distance from atop Shortoff. It didn’t seem possible to me that we were going to hike there and back in a day.
After getting on top of Shortoff, we traveled a few miles on a ridge. It was open, sunny. The trail was close in and we all got a few scratches on our legs and arms. Eventually we turned down into a steep descent. It was very steep. Climbing up on the other side, we soon got great views of the Gorge and surrounding atop large rock formations. The climb up was also quite steep. We followed the MST and eventually started up a ridge that led to TRM. After we had hiked a tough 7 miles, we came to a parking lot, which was a big surprise to me. You can just drive up from the Blueridge Parkway and hike 1 mile up to the summit of TRM. It was a little weird to arrive hot, scratched up and a little tired to the parking lot and be joined by folks that were clean and good smelling. But up we went. The summit of Table Rock is like a table. Sorry. It is several hundred yards from one side to the other. Lots of cool rock formations. We saw several rock climbers.
After lunch on the top, we headed back to the Shortoff trailhead. The temperature was nice, in the high 70s, but the direct sun was something none of us are used to. Most of the hiking in the Appalachians is through dense mountain forests. By the time we had hiked about 14 miles, a couple of the group were low or empty on water. I personally drank 3 liters and was still dehydrated after the hike.
View to the south from atop Table Rock Mountain
My hiking friends on the ridge past Shortoff Mountain. My trekking pole strap also got into the picture.
It is the hardest hike I’ve done in the Asheville area. But the unique views and terrain make it well worth it. I am looking forward to exploring the west rim some time soon.
Mando 
Thank you, Patrick