Catawba Falls In The Fall

Catawba Falls in the Fall – 10/22/17 – 3.5 Miles

Catawba Falls near Old Fort, NC is a straightforward hike to a dramatic waterfall that I usually avoid because there are too many people.  It's located in the Grandfather Ranger District of  Pisgah National Forest, not part of a state or county park system. The easy access draws crowds and I cringe at the risky behavior that seems to inevitably go with tumbling water and big wet rocks. The lower falls are reasonable, but I consider the upper falls "access" to be dangerous, rock scrambling up a steep muddy side manway while holding onto a rope (and you gotta come down the same way you go up). I don't believe the waterfall should be fenced off and I do believe that people are responsible for their decisions - but I don't want to be around when a risk turns into a life lost. Fatalities have occurred at Catawba Falls (as of this writing, there have been two deaths in 2018).

 But…we’re going anyway.  My son Brett enjoys photographing waterfalls and we are working on socializing his 2-year-old dog Bodhi (my grand-dog), so this hike is good practice.  We are not early birds and Old Fort is a 2-hour drive from Charlotte, so I knew we would be jockeying for trail space on a Sunday afternoon.  Bodhi did extremely well considering the number of other dogs, (mostly) attentive dog owners and other folks out for a nice fall day.

Practicing sitting with distractions – so far so good

Does this little cascade make me look cute?

A photo of Brett taking a photo

Lower Catawba Falls

There were dozens of people sitting all around on rocks, standing in the frame, etc., and there was some creative cropping to produce this photo. At the waterfall base there literally was not enough space for us to stand safely and control Bodhi on his leash, so we didn’t stay.  On our walk back to the parking area we passed dozens more people, so I wasn’t sorry.  Big note to self:  Catawba Falls only on early weekdays mornings (or never). Second note to self:  Bodhi can go just about anywhere.

"As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing." ~John Muir