A very common trail scene in Linville Gorge. Being a wilderness area, more times than not, downed trees are not cleared from the trail. Trail advocates that adopt trails in the big ditch do end up doing some clearing.
We ran into this tree on our hike out of the gorge. It was the biggest tree we had to climb over on our 2 1/2 day adventure. It had to be at least 3 feet in diameter. Unfortunately we didn't notice it until we were already over the tree, but 2 separate "spur" trails have been cleared so you can hike around this tree as opposed to climbing over.
Linville Gorge Wilderness
June 4, 2011