When the morning of Courtney and Caleb’s engagement finally arrived, we were as excited as we were nervous! It would be the first time we got to meet Courtney and Caleb in person but our nerves weren’t because of that. The rain chance was 40% for where we were headed in the mountains, and we weren’t 100% sure if the gravel roads had cleared all the snow enough to even get there. Though this may sound like a long shot, in the recent weeks it became the best chance we had! You see prior to this day, every time we scheduled Courtney and Caleb for their engagement session, we either got a ton of rain or as my fellow Asheville folks know, snowmagedon! I think we rescheduled 3 times before we finally got to this day so by this point we were so hopeful that the weather would hold strong. As we started our drive out of Asheville towards the Linville Gorge, the rain slowly started to dissipate (yessss!). As we got closer and closer to destination Hawksbill, most of the snow that had already melted where we were was laid on thick in the Linville Gorge Wilderness area. As our tires switched from pavement to gravel, the snow and slush welcomed us with open arms!
Once we arrived, we soon met Courtney and Caleb who were there waiting on us! Though we couldn’t quite see them at first because it was dark, we could feel their eagerness to start on our little adventure up to the top of Hawksbill. We pulled out the flashlights and began our ascent! Hawksbill can be a challenging hike as it is with good weather. Add in the ankle deep snow (and in some spots deeper) we were working with and we had a cold, slippery journey ahead of us! Caleb and Courtney were troopers and given their mutual love for the outdoors as well as fitness, they made easy work of the hike!
When we finally reached the top it was time to navigate the cold and rocky terrain to get the edge. We were out of the snow but we were fully in the wind! Temperatures were in the low 30s at the top that morning and the wind gusts were 30+ as well! We all stayed low, double checked our footing and at times slid so we didn’t have to worry about falling. As we approached the ledge the wind seemed to pick up even more. I remember at one point looking at Caleb and Courtney and saying something along the lines of “Hey guys, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with, it’s not worth it, we can get plenty of great shots just being up here.” To which Courtney responded “We’re good, we’re here, let’s do this.” In truth she was shivering from the frigid temps but after all the re-scheduling and the effort to get to this point, her and Caleb were willing to get out of their comfort zones in order to get the perfect shots (love you guys!!). They made their way the final few feet (at one point barefoot for traction) and they took in the beauty of all that surrounded them!
Getting to experience the connection between Courtney and Caleb and getting to know them both as we were challenged by the cold was a pretty unforgettable experience and one that we’re sure we’ll be talking about for years to come! It’s always an adventure getting to shoot at Hawksbill but sharing in that with others is always the ultimate for us! Big congrats to Courtney and Caleb on their engagement and we absolutely can’t wait until March!
Joe & Jenny