We went camping at Linville Falls with some friends for Memorial Day. We forgot how much harder it is to plan for six people vs two, but overall the trip was awesome!

After arriving at the campground Friday afternoon (we wouldn’t recommend the government-run Linville Falls campground, the sites are packed like sardines) and pitching our tents, Brendan dubbed himself Firemaster and we kicked off the weekend with some delicious food made by Chelsea and Cameron and s’mores provided by Matt and Aditi.

On Saturday, we climbed up Hawksbill Mountain. The trail was about 1 mile each way, and the weather was perfectly sunny with a cool breeze. Going straight uphill was tough, but the view was worth it! After lunch, we decided to cool off at Linville Falls basin, which was only about half a mile’s hike from the visitor center but somehow even steeper than Hawksbill. Swimming in the refreshing mountain spring rejuvenated us for the hike back up to the campground.

We decided to take it easy on the last day, and spent some time in Boone before heading home. The view of the town from Howard’s Knob Park was stunning, and we finished off the trip with an delicious brunch at Proper in downtown Boone. Brendan and I are hoping to go camping more in the future to prepare for Peru 2020!