Fall Break 16 | Blue Ridge Mountains

‘Fall break’ is a four day weekend we get here at Duke that conveniently matches up with basically no other schools. It’s also a bit too short to go home to Illinois, so this year I went with some friends to Boone, NC.

Boone is home to the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the larger Appalachian Mountains.

It was a 7 mile round trip hike to Calloway Peak of Grandfather Mountain. We did the ‘Daniel Boone Scout Trail’, which was rated moderate-strenuous. Definitely have to agree! There were a ton of roots and stones on the path and a decent bit of scrambling required towards the end.

Oh man was it windy. I’ve been spoiled by 70° Durham. But the 50° highs and gusty winds felt way more like Chicago weather than anything North Carolina.

Still, it was great simply being away from my computer. Whenever I have a spare moment at school, I’m used to four finger swiping over to iCal to figure out what I should be doing. None of that out here.

Gotta express my appreciation for my Buff (the grey bandana on my head). Super useful- you can turn it into a scarf, bandana, balaclava, etc. Wore that all day long.

Many thanks to Sam, Amanda, Eden, Yanda, Tamra, and Ani for a terrific trip.