Snowy mountains, frozen ponds, and icy waterfalls followed North Carolina’s recent snowstorm. As a storm chaser and nature photographer, I knew I would have a busy few days. I covered an area ranging from Greensboro to the mountains, while trying my best to provide fast video news coverage and discover new landscapes.
The snowstorm, which started 1/22/16, made for some interesting experiences and I received my first true dose of Winter this year. I learned rather quickly to always remember changes of shoes and socks, as falling through the ice has seemed to become a new pastime for me. Nothing to complain about though! Even as I hiked up the Linville Falls trail with soaking boots, wading through 12 inches of snow, I couldn’t be more astounded by the beauty of Winter.
Most of my earlier travels throughout the storm brought me to frozen ponds, car wrecks, and snowy fields. I made it to downtown Greensboro to catch the snowy skyline before deciding to head toward the mountains to photograph the thicker snow. I decided to head to the Linville Gorge and Grandfather Mountain area, where I could travel through the 12 inches of snow (versus 66 inches reported nearby at Mt. Mitchell!). The Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to snow, but Linville Gorge never closes! The curvy road leading along the gorge was completely snowed over, which fortunately was not too much for my 4-wheel drive SUV. Linville Falls trail provided similar difficulties on foot, where two ft. snow drifts covered parts of the trail.
After an afternoon at Linville Gorge, I drove north to a parking area near Grandfather Mountain allowing me to walk the snowy Blue Ridge Parkway as well as hike the Beacon Heights trail. Sunset was phenomenal (as seen in the video below), and I even had some time to swing from my hammock provided by Yukon Outfitters!
It’s hard not to love these mountains…. 🙂
Video featuring time-lapses from the snowstorm in NC, 2016:
Exploring NC 