The Beacon Heights Trail is located near Linville, North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway at the entrance from US 221 and is a short and relatively easy trail but with awesome views as this post testifies. This was also the first real hike of my spring trip in 2025, as severe or inclement weather prevented much hiking prior to this point.
This was a field just north of Altamont, North Carolina (between Linville and Linville Falls), on US 221 before Hurricane Helene turned it into a mulch processing facility where tree debris and logs had been taken from area properties wanting to get rid of them. These very large black dump trucks were bringing loads of this debris into the facility and dropping it off where loaders would then take it and dump into onto piles, some of which were 20 to 30 feet high. One crew on the far end of the field was busy sorting and grinding the debris into mulch. I assume the larger material is being taken to a mill somewhere to be cut into lumber. This was located just across from the NC Forest Service Mountain Training Center.
These ducks in Asheville after a wonderful lunch at White Duck Taco were part of an excellent day just over a year ago. Visiting the Asheville area after Hurricane Helene several months earlier was a bit tough to take in some respects. Sharing time with others in the overshoot community is always a good time.
