Grandfather Mountain by the Light of the Full Moon, February 7, 2012

It was well after sunset, and I was barreling down N.C. 105 fromBanner Elk and Sugar Mountain, trying to get back to Salisbury, NC bya road I had not taken since 1969 when to my great surprise I saw thesign for Grandfather Mountain, which is privately owned. (I hadforgotten that it was accessible from this road.) I looked to myleft, and the moon was not yet visible, but there--to my even greatersurprise--against the brightening sky in the east northeast was thevery, very dim but unforgettable profile of Grandfather Mountain. (The full profile is not visible here--it is quite a distinctive andcraggy-looking mountain, whether viewed from this side or the otherside, such as the Boone to Wilkesboro highway, U.S. 421, where I hadbeen before sunset.) By the time I had found a place to turn around,backtrack and found a place to park and then get the tripod out andtraipse up the shoulder a ways in the dark, the moon had started torise over the mountain. None of the photos was much good, but atleast in this one--cropped out and blown up--one can see the swingingbridge to the right of the moon. (The summit of the mountain is notvisible in this photo). Since I was on the edge of the highway, therewere also a good many power lines and ground clutter in front of me,and so this was about the best I could do, even with cropping mosteverything away. This is no more than the typical tourist "I wasthere" snap, but, hey, I was pretty happy with what the 5D II did withthis one--at least before I applied sharpening. Hit Ctl+ seven timesto bring it in closer to see the swinging pedestrian bridge, as wellas the noise exacerbated by sharpening. The "star" to the right isprobably the planet Mars, which was in the vicinity that night. Thebridge looks close in this shot. It was perhaps a mile away. Thesummit is further back and to the left, considerably higher. Commentswelcome.

--Lannie

Lannie...

I think this is very well done, considering the conditions.  We were at Sugar Mountain just after Christmas and got to see Grandfather for the first time.  Very near ruined by the private desire to turn it into the ultimate tourist trap I much prefer your nighttime view that retains some of the wild and craggy elements of the mountain.  Have you been down the backside of the mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway?  Views from that side the mountain are much more natural and you also get to see the Linn Cove Viaduct.  Regardless, nice shot... Mike

I like my wilderness wild, Michael, and I was horrified this past week by what has happened to the Boone area since I was last there in the late eighties.  Grandfather was already a mess when I last visited it in 1969, and I have never gone back.  I have enjoyed hiking North Carolina mostly in the Shining Rock Wilderness area further west, or along many sections of the Appalachian Trail in several states.  (My favorite section is Roan Mountain, although even there is not as wild as it used to be as one looks toward Boone from Grassy Ridge Bald.)   The East is simply too densely populated and over-developed for my taste anymore.  The illusion of wilderness can be found here and there.  I still like winter hikes along ridgecrest animal trails--provided that I have a compass with me.  (There are too many snakes off the regular trails in summer.)

My favorite views of Grandfather now are from far away--too far away to see the mess, just the jagged profile against the sky.  I love the view of it in the distance from U.S. 421 west of Wilkesboro.  I can remember when the Blue Ridge Parkway was my playground in the sixties--little traffic, and no traffic after they closed it for the winter.  Wild animals would play in the snow as I walked.  It can be very nice to stroll through in the winter, especially between Wagon Rd. Gap (U.S. 276) and N.C. 215, especially when a good snowstorm is coming out of the Gulf of Mexico.  I love to see the ice "cascading" down the sides of some of the Parkway cuts here and there in colder winters.  (This winter has been warm, although it was chilly last night.)

I  used to live in Greenville, S.C. and never got to the eastern areas around Boone and Grandfather very much--mostly west and north into the wilder, less populated areas all around Asheville and Brevard.  (I haven't gone into the Smokies since1970.  It was crowded then.)

Still, I wouldn't mind living up in those mountains--even though people moving in is what is taking away the very wilderness they came to enjoy.  Too many "scars upon the land," as John Denver wrote.

It's still wild in Ecuador the last time I was there in 1998. . . .

Thanks for dropping by.

--Lannie