Rattlesnake Lodge (Asheville, NC) 18-Oct-2022

And so our 2022 family reunion comes to a close. Tomorrow everyone will again scatter. Some we’ll see at Christmas (hence the move to Minnesota); others not until next year’s reunion at our nephew’s wedding in Virginia (looks like we’ll need a Virginia hiking guide 😉). So today we wrapped-up with a short, popular hike to an historic location very near to where we were staying in Asheville.

Rattlesnake Lodge was built by a Dr. Ambler between 1903 and 1904 and used by his family every summer until they sold it in 1920. It burned down in 1926. All that remains today are some stone foundations and the concrete rim of the swimming pool.

We hiked to it along the Mountain-to-the-Sea Trail from the tiny parking lot at Bull Gap. A cold front had swept in during the night. So the day broke clear and very cold, then settled on cloudy, cold, and breezy for our walk to the lodge’s ruins.

Old photographs of the lodge and its surrounds give you a sense of how idyllic a summer retreat this must have been back in the day. Certainly better than being cooped-up in town in the days before the wide-spread adoption of air condition. Not to mention dodging summer-fueled diseases. So, despite the rattlesnakes, 🐍 it must have been a great place to be a kid. 😊

We’d had the trail to ourselves when we hiked in but that changed on the way back, as we passed, or were passed by, over a dozen other hikers. The tiny parking area at Bull Gap was full, as was every turn-out along the road to the left and right of Bull Gap. Yes, a very popular hike.

As seems customary after a cold, cloudy hike, the clouds parted and warm sunshine burst forth after is was over. 🤨 So we had some nice views as we were driving back to town on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It had been a short hike, so we were in time for dimsum at Red Ginger in downtown Asheville. The arrival of colder weather had dampened the tourist crowds a little, so we didn’t have to search for parking or wait long for seating. 😊😋 So, until next year in Virginia, that’s the family reunion for 2022! 😁

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