Saturday, November 5: Before it gets dark, we’re determined to hike the 2.4 mile moderately difficult Endless Wall Trail along the New River. The trail passes through forest, crosses Fern Creek, then zigzags along the cliff edge.
It takes a while to walk through the forest to reach the cliff edge, where we have great vistas of the New River Gorge.
This trail has been voted #1 National Park Trail in the U.S. by USA Today readers.
The overlook at Diamond Point provides a great panorama of the gorge and a good turnaround spot.
Besides the fantastic views, the trail offers access to some of the best rock climbing in the eastern United States.
Looking into the distance, we can see the “endless” cliff walls following the curve of the 1000-foot deep gorge.
If you look closely in the picture below, you might catch a glimpse of some hardy souls climbing the sheer cliffs.
We make our way back through the forest to the road, where we have to walk along the two-lane highway for about a half mile to reach our car. It’s a little dangerous along this road, with pick-up trucks speeding along at breakneck speed. It would be nice if the National Park Service built a path along this road.
Back in Fayetteville, we find an interesting wall mural showing white water rafters, the marquee for the Fayetteville Theatre and a sign for Fayetteville Physical Therapy (cropped out in this photo).
We head back to the Historic Morris Harvey House, where we walk around the impressive gardens and then relax in the sitting room with a glass of wine.
In the evening, we head out to dinner at the almost-empty Gumbo’s Cajun Restaurant. We’re told we can’t order drinks because the restaurant has lost its liquor license. I’m of a mind to leave, but we sit through a mediocre dinner, wondering why we didn’t just return to the lively Pies and Pints, where we ate a delicious dinner last night. As a matter of fact, after our very unsatisfactory meal, we return to Pies and Pints, which is as crowded as it was last night, and order wine and dessert. It’s a fabulous top-off to a busy day.
Tomorrow, we’ll have to return home to Virginia, but we plan to make a few stops along the way.
