After completing our hike to White Rock Falls we continued south on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The next hike on our list was Apple Orchard Falls.  We did an out-and-back hike that ended at the falls for a total of 2.4 miles.

These were easily the newest trail markers we’ve ever seen!

By the time we started the hike, the sun was already setting.  We knew we’d have to book it to the falls in order to be able to see them before it got dark. The foliage along the way was beautiful, and the trail was covered in leaves.

I was a bit nervous about making this hike at all because I knew that the return trip would be in the dark.  I’m so thankful that we made the decision to go ahead with the hike, as the Apple Orchard Falls were beautiful!

We went ahead and donned our headlamps before setting out on the return hike.

Making the return hike in the dark was a bit intimidating, but we didn’t encounter any issues along the way.  We’ve backpacked in the wilderness before, but we’ve never hiked after dark, so this was a first for us.  I’m thankful that we had the foresight to put our headlamps in our backpacks before setting out.