Mar 21 Daffodil Flats

Linville Gorge has so many great places but who would have thought a field of daffodils in the middle of the wilderness would have been one of them. Daffodil Flats is a hard place to get to. There are several routes including in and out on Pinch In Trail, up river from the MST, from private property along the river and my route; Pinnacle to Leadmine to Linville River Trail. The route looked great on a map but you know how that can be misleading. I wasn't even sure there was a Leadmine Trail despite the map. At the Pinnacle Trail parking area, two backpackers assured me there was a trail but it would stun me at its steepness.

Down I went. Or up I went. Pinnacle Trail starts uphill before its plunge down. There was a trail junction right where the backpackers said. I turned left and headed on a nice trail but some flagging caught me eye. It marked a path of sorts. About 100 feet down there was a sign indicating a mile to the river. This was obviously the Leadmine Trail. It was an easy route to follow but footing was slick and I walked slowly. A bit later another sign indicated .8 on the all weather route and .4 "DROP TO RIVER". The drop looked real gnarly. I opted for the all weather route. Much later a 3rd sign indicated there was a .1 shortcut to river. It sure was a long .1 mile and it was rather steep but what trail in LG isn't? 

Once at the river, it was easy to find a trail heading up river. It took about 30 minutes to reach Daffodil Flats.

It sure was a beautiful sight. Later that night, I accessed my buddy, Rickmo's photos from last Saturday. It appears there is a second field of daffodils I did not see. I had a good laugh over that.

The return trip was pleasant, retracing my steps. Footing seemed better going uphill on Leadmine. Still care needs to be taken on that trail.

Sign with proper punctuation, but the trail being referred to is known as the MST.