Pilot Mountain, N. Carolina

Over the course of the weekend Shanti and I took a little roadtrip to visit my brother and his wife in Kernersville, NC. It wasn't just a weekend, but actually a mini vacation which started last Wednesday. The need to get away was imminent. Since we both have 2 weeks vacation to spend, we figured some fresh air in the mountains would be a great way to clear the mind.

Although we did not accomplish all that much while we visited, we did manage to get out on one of the nicer days to do some more driving and eventually go for a hike. Pilot Mountain is one of these destinations where once you have visited it for the first time you might not make it back to visit for a second. Truth be told, it's a big rock sticking out of the ground. Sure, it's a little odd that there really aren't any other mountain peaks nearby to rival its heighth, but for the fun seeking individual, the thrill might be short lived. Part of me thinks that the negative bias had something to do with the fact that it was the dead of winter for North Carolina and perhaps the spring or fall might offer some colorful landscapes. Regardless, we managed to snap a few shots of the scenery for posterity. I personally enjoyed being someplace high where I can just stare off into the distance for hours. I wouldn't mind returning again during summer to do some camping or longer distance hiking. For our purposes, we parked in the visitor lot and walked along the stone walkway to the lookout areas.
I can see where this site has a lot of potential for photography, but during our visit the bright midday sun did a good job of washing out a lot of the color in the scenery. I imagine the next time we visit we would go out sometime near sunset to catch some really nice colors in the sky.

We spent the 2nd half of our day driving over to Hanging Rock. Most of the day was overcast which also presented some odd lighting conditions. Check back here sometime midweek. I will be posting pictures of some of much more interesting hikes including images of waterfalls and odd rock formations. Until then, enjoy and see you soon.