Mountain to Sea Trail

Sorry that so many of you had hot and humid weather, or, worse, tornados this past weekend.  We were fortunate and had a spectacular cool spring weekend:

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We hiked a portion of the Mountain to Sea Trail , a 1,000 mile long (not completed) hiking trail stretching from Clingman’s Dome on the North Carolina / Tennessee border to the North Carolina Outer Banks.  We, of course, walked only a few miles just north of Mt Pisgah.

The part we were on is commonly known as the Shut In Trail, a legacy of the Vanderbilt family.  The trail was built by George V. Vanderbilt to go from his house, which was actually just a little 175,000 square foot summer home with 250 rooms, to his hunting lodge – a 16 mile trail that stayed on his property the whole time because the yard was 125,000 acres.  Nope, none of those number are wrong.  Here is a little picture I took of the house from several miles away:

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Let me repeat.  Summer Home.  All we can say is – Wow!  Well, and wouldn’t we all like to have zoomies in that house. Oh my.

In our video, you can get a little feel for the Shut In Trail name because the Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron wrap over the trail in such as way as to give you a “Shut In” feeling.”  You can also see some of the original stone work that formed the foundation of the original trail:

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Ok, enough for the humans.  Pups – we found this tree to be one of the most fascinating things on the trail.

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Anyway, enjoy our little Walking Wednesday video – a tribute to a small part of the Mountain to Sea Trail:

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10 Responses to Mountain to Sea Trail
  1. Kira
    April 29, 2009 | 7:48 am

    Woo what a neat place for a walkie. I loved all of the fluffy tails, (especially Qannik’s, she is so cute) The rustling leaves sounded like fun too. Nice place for a little summer home.
    -Kira The BeaWootiful

  2. the Army of Four
    April 29, 2009 | 8:02 am

    Our mom has long been fascinated with the Biltmore! The zoomie potential there fascinates me! Ha rooooo!
    What a great hike!
    Play bows,
    Zim

  3. Khyra
    April 29, 2009 | 8:58 am

    Another inkhredible walk!

    I’m just trying to pikhture The Biltmore filled with Siberian starter kits!

    Tank woo fur sharing!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra
    PeeEssWoo: SOOOOO refreshing not to hear the babble like I have to endure on my walks!

  4. Four Musketeers
    April 29, 2009 | 10:04 am

    What a fun walk ! Looks like a great day !

  5. Stella
    April 29, 2009 | 10:24 am

    Thanks for the lovely walk, it took my Mom right back to Carolina (In my Mind, I’m Goin’ to Carolina!) and she even told me about the Biltmore House which she visited with her Aunty. She said its a little excessive!

    Kisses,
    Stella

  6. princess eva
    April 29, 2009 | 10:30 am

    I think we need a summer house.

    Kiska – be careful that the others don’t push you over the edge!

    Princess Eva

  7. Holly
    April 29, 2009 | 1:46 pm

    Wow! Think of how fun it would be to play “hide from the humans” in that house!!! The landscape and trails look amazing!!

  8. The OP Pack
    April 29, 2009 | 2:25 pm

    Can we arrange a big blogger group rendezvous at the Biltmore and do lots and lots of zoomies together? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? That was a great hike. We are thinking we need to get the humans to move to somewhere cool like you so we can find more fun places to visit.

    Woos, the OP Pack

  9. Steve & Kat
    April 29, 2009 | 8:49 pm

    I think I would like to have a yard that big. Think how many zoomies I could do without ever retracing my steps! Plus I could dig and dig and Mom might not ever find out!

    Kat

  10. Mochi
    April 29, 2009 | 11:40 pm

    It would totally be so much fun doing zoomies in that house!!!

    That was another awesome hike! :)

    Mochi

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