Upper Creek Falls – Pisgah National Forest - 5/15/15 – 1.5 Miles
Jim signed up to participate in the Beech Mountain Metric
bike ride, scheduled for a very early Saturday morning start. He always invites me along on these trips, so
I can watch the inspiring start and amazing finish – and entertain myself in
between. Well, this time I said
yes.
Despite the shaky weather conditions – a little rain and fog – on Friday we wandered our way towards the North Carolina high country. Tucked away off of Highway 181, a sweet little hike leads to Upper Falls in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. [By now it should be obvious that Pisgah National Forest spreads like an ink blot across western NC.] I found details for this waterfall hike in Kevin Adams’ book North Carolina Waterfalls. It’s also on Carolina Mountain Club’s waterfall challenge list. There was one car in the parking area but we didn’t see anyone else on the trail.
Despite the shaky weather conditions – a little rain and fog – on Friday we wandered our way towards the North Carolina high country. Tucked away off of Highway 181, a sweet little hike leads to Upper Falls in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. [By now it should be obvious that Pisgah National Forest spreads like an ink blot across western NC.] I found details for this waterfall hike in Kevin Adams’ book North Carolina Waterfalls. It’s also on Carolina Mountain Club’s waterfall challenge list. There was one car in the parking area but we didn’t see anyone else on the trail.
Seemed like a good day for Jim to test drive my hiking
poles. I followed behind and could see
that he didn’t fully buy into them at first.
It does take some practice. By
the end of the loop he was using the poles more naturally and relying on them
on the uphill. I was definitely
uncomfortable without them, feeling less balanced and constantly holding onto
trees on the steep downhill.
Hiking the 1.5-mile loop clockwise takes you to the top of
the falls first. The expansive rock is
tempting to walk out on, but don’t go too far trying to see over the drop. You will not be able to tell anyone about it
because you will be a goner.
At the top of the falls
Crossing the rock face and continuing clockwise, the trail descended steeply with several side trails shooting off to the right toward the waterfall. We resisted, as per the guidebook, and continued on the main trail to the obvious path to the bottom.
And…Wow! Unexpectedly
huge.
Continuing the trail’s descent, I was delighted to find
several clumps of Clinton’s lilies in bloom.
Lower Falls of Upper Creek (surely the settlers could have
thought of a more unusual name than that?) is a run of small cascades and
slides. One wide step across the flow
today, but looked like it could be challenging after a big rain.
After crossing the creek, the trail headed back up the
mountainside via a long series of switchbacks.
It looked like the original “trail” was one steep shortcut, still quite
visible and probably used by many, and the switchbacks double the distance, but
Jim and I stayed faithful to the trail builders trying to minimize the
erosion. Lots of pink rhododendron
blooms woven into the canopy.
Large boulder area with anchors imbedded for rock climbers
Just a couple of miles further up Highway 181 is the left turn to
access Hawksbill, a medium-sized mountain with an expansive rocky summit and
the best views of Linville Gorge. The
hike is about 1.6 miles round trip. Jim
and I didn’t visit Hawksbill today, but on Easter Sunday we hiked it with our
son Brett.
Jim, Brett and me on top of Hawksbill. Grandfather Mountain is the bumpiness in the middle horizon
Brett looking into Linville Gorge
The reason I’m mentioning Hawksbill here is that these two
short hikes, Upper Creek Falls and Hawksbill, are an excellent combination for
a day trip. Both trails have some
elevation gain and loss, but are doable for just about anyone willing to
experience a little heart rate increase, a little heavy breathing, and take
his/her time. The rewards are
great. And then there’s barbecue at Judge’s Riverside in Morganton. Or Italian cuisine at Sorrento's Bistro in Banner Elk, where we ended up tonight.
Jim's gearing up for his big ride tomorrow and I'm going to hike up Grandfather Mountain
“We live in a wonderful world that is full
of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have
if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
~Jawaharial Nehru
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