Best Hike EVER!

We took a hike to Black Balsam Knob on the Blue Ridge Pkwy near mile 420 and it was the best family hike ever.  

When choosing our hike location I had to find a hike that would be suitable for the two year old to walk on her own.  That meant it couldn't be more than two miles round trip and the elevation change couldn't be too drastic.  This hike was perfect for that.  

We even took the dog, Nisha, who it turns out loves to go hiking.

This trail is part of the Art Loeb trail that travels these mountains for about thirty miles.  Camping is allowed on the trail and I couldn't help thinking about how awesome it would be to wake up on top of this mountain.

I think I may have even gotten Cari to agree to camp out there with me.  This is amazing because as you can see. . . no bathroom!

We found a great rocky area to stop and eat our picnic lunch and I setup the tripod while everyone ate.

As we all sat down for our family portrait, some dense clouds rolled in and covered up the view of the mountains behind us.  If you could see the view that we were looking out toward during this shot, it was blue skies. Funny how the clouds seemed to get trapped between mountains. 

One of the motivations for the kids to look at the camera for these shots is the promise of acting silly for the last shot. . .

No kids complained about hiking during the trip.  In fact, I have it on video of Meredith declaring this the best hike EVER!