AN OCTOBER WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS

I spent yesterday 
walking various trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 
which are always resplendent in the colors of late October.
This image is of a colorful cove of Lake Sequoyah, near Highlands, North Carolina

When walking through the woods, 

we usually look straight ahead or to the sides.  

Over the years, however, I've discovered that some 

of them most wonderful sights can only be seen by looking up.

I love the abstract patterns created by tree limbs from this angle.

There are many large lakes in the Blue Ridge Mountains,

but one also stumbles upon tranquil small ponds like this one off the beaten path.

I'm especially attracted to the beautiful abstract designs found

 in nature.  This image is a reflection of some of the autumn foliage in a slow- 

moving section of the Chattooga River, just to the west of Highlands, North Carolina.

This is a stretch of the North Fork of the Chattooga River.

As I walked along a trail

that followed the Chattooga River, 

I came upon a man and his two sons out for a day of fishing.

This was one of the trails I walked yesterday, 

a four-mile loop around Lake Fairfield, near Sapphire, North Carolina.

Looking across Lake Fairfield, I could see 

the sheer rock face of Old Bald Mountain, wrapped in the warm colors of autumn. 

On one of the high look-out points between Highland and Cashiers

North Carolina, I had a great view of the lush foliage that saturated the valley below.

Just outside the town of Highlands, my eyes fell upon 

this little section of woods, which reminded me of an impressionist painting.

A section of woods between Highland and Cashiers

On the edge of Lake Fairfield, with Old Bald Mountain in the distance

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.

John Muir, The Mountains of California