Roaring Fork Falls & Setrock Creek Falls

Waterfall Hiking With Brett – 6/28/15 - Roaring Fork Falls & Setrock Creek Falls – 2.5 Miles

Jim was away on a bike trip so I coaxed our son Brett to explore a couple of waterfalls with me.  Kind of a long drive for two short hikes, but good company and a good meal enhanced the outing and we had fun getting our amateur photography on. [The photos at the link below are really great and we are blaming ours on the bright sunshine and corresponding shadows.]

Roaring Fork Falls and Setrock Creek Falls are just a few miles apart on gravel roads at the shadowy base of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina.  Blue Ridge Parkway, go north onto N.C. 80, then left on South Toe River Road. For more detailed directions, consult Kevin Adams’ North Carolina Waterfalls.

The trail to Roaring Fork Falls is about a half-mile of old logging road and a quarter-mile of true trail.  We had the falls to ourselves for a bit before more waterfall seekers arrived.  A generous multi-level flow 45 feet high.

Roaring Fork Falls

Unlike his mother, Brett isn’t worried about slipping or getting his feet wet

The shot

Rhododendrons in full riot bloom everywhere we went

Next up:  Setrock Creek Falls.  The trail begins from the parking area at Black Mountain Campground (a terrific base campground for hiking the Mount Mitchell trails; you can also buy ice cream there for energy).

Setrock Creek Falls, actually taller than Roaring Fork Falls but just dribbling today from the upper tiers.  The width of the rock bed gives an indication of just how much water can come through during heavy rains.  Some folks have entertained themselves building rock cairns. 

The pool at the base of Setrock Creek Falls

Waterfall hikes are some of the most memorable for me.  It’s easy to conjure up who was with me, the sounds of the water flowing, the breeze blowing, the time of year, the flowers, the temperature.  Those images assist me in contemplative prayer and mindfulness meditation.  Have you tried it?  Close your eyes…

"If every 8-year-old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation." ~Dalai Lama

Pisgah National Forest: Wild Women of Davidson River

Wild Women Weekend at Davidson River – Moore Cove Falls – 1.4 Miles - 5/28/15-5/30/15

It’s been too long since the Wild Women went camping!  I invited my book club friends for a weekend of adventure.  Several of them have joined in prior Wild Women weekends but some have only heard the stories.  Destination:  Davidson River Campground in Pisgah National Forest, a little closer to home than the Great Smoky Mountains but with plenty of activities to keep us entertained.  [Our book club is named “Reason2Read” or R2R.]

Five wild women arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, then two more joined us by suppertime.  The last three Wild Women arrived Saturday morning.  A story told mostly in pictures:

How to put up a tent while laughing 101

How to cover a tent with tarps in case it rains (which it did about 10 minutes after the tarps went on)

How to congratulate ourselves with cigars (aka pretzels)

Perusing the trail map to choose a hike agreeable with everyone.  The ranger at Pisgah gave great advice to hike to Moore Cove Falls, 1.4 miles round trip on a recently rehabbed trail with wooden structures over every creek crossing.  After the first few steps the gentle climb is well graded.  

On Saturday morning we hit the trail.  A couple of WW’s were nervous, not sure what to expect judging from some questionable things I’ve done lately.  I knew some limits would be stretched but the rewards would be great. 

A stone bridge built by CCC workers in the 1930’s 

WW’s on the trail 

Margery and Leida – yes, this is fun!

A short easy hike to a waterfall – no, we were not alone.  We sat on the high rocks on the right side to eat lunch and watch people coax each other to stand under the spill. 

It's a little slippery but great fun to walk behind the falls.

One mom with a sleeping baby swaddled in a carrier tried not to look anxious as her husband led their three small boys up the steep side slope to the top of the falls.  After seeing several people disappear into the trees and reappear on the ledge near the top, several curious WW’s investigated.  Leida, Linda and I followed Suzi up the very steep scramble to get this bird’s eye view.

I don't normally advise crossing creeks near the top of waterfalls but this spot was reasonable. 

The trail curved away from the falls, steeply downhill.  We were up close and personal with the mountain laurel.   

BTW, I use the term “trail” very loosely here.  Mostly it was climbing over, under and around things.

Mountain Laurel

Enough nature for one day.  Back to camp for the relaxing part!

We had barely settled into our chairs when Linda announced that she had an arts and crafts project for us.  With a mischievous wink, she hauled from her car trunk a huge box of painting supplies and clay flower pots.  After spray painting base coats on each pot, everyone set to painting a commemorative masterpiece.

R2R’s doing what they do best

I took some time out for a two-mile walk starting from our campsite and following the Davidson River, across the road and past the ranger station, back across the road and along the river again to close the loop back at camp.  Lots of people fishing and tubing in the slow-moving water.  Saw graceful galax swaying on the creek banks.

Girl Scout leaders never retire, they just take their friends camping and cooking.  Suzi and I orchestrated a delicious campfire meal for our friends that included marinated grilled chicken and two kinds of Dutch oven desserts:  peach cobbler and bear scat cake (chocolate cake with cherries on the bottom).  Doesn’t get any better than that!

It tastes better than it looks

The Wild Women of Davidson River:  Ellen, Margery, Leida, Joan, Margaret, Linda, Suzi, Danielle, Tye and me

Sunday morning rain dampened our gear but not our enthusiasm. These wild women were awesome, embracing the rain and still laughing (and eating). After breakfast and packing up everything wet, some wild women had to get on home, others were ready to go shopping in Brevard, while Suzi trusted me for another short waterfall hike.  

The two of us went in search of nearby Slick Rock Falls, also in Pisgah NF.  The woods were still dripping and the light was lovely.

Suzi disappearing in a mountain laurel tunnel. 

I was due for a dash of humility as we hiked past the point where I thought the waterfall should have appeared.  The trail got faint, and as I was scratching my head at a decision point (continue? turn around?) along came a group of climbers with bands of rope wrapped around necks and shoulders.  This trail was approaching the base of Looking Glass Rock.  The waterfall was back beside the parking area.  Oops. 

Slick Rock Falls – low flow and not very photogenic this morning

But who cares if we walked a little farther than advertised?  Time spent outside is always worth it.  Suzi kindly said it was her favorite part of the weekend.  We won’t wait so long to get the Wild Women out on the trail again.

Drying out back at home

“As I wandered the forest,
The green leaves among,
I heard a Wild Flower
Singing a song.”

  

~William Blake

Smokies 900 Round 2 - Gregory Bald

Smokies 900 Round 2 – Gregory Bald Loop – 5/24/15 – 18.5 Miles

Sunlight woke me at 6:00 a.m. and I waited until 6:30 to check if Jeff was awake.  We had devised an ambitious alternate plan that required an early start, a long day, then a real supper and sleeping in our own beds tonight. 

We packed up camp and hauled everything back to the junction of Twentymile and Wolf Ridge Trail, where we stashed backpacks and extraneous gear behind thick rhododendron bushes.  We carried dayhiking essentials plus all our food/trash.  From this point we faced a 16-mile clockwise loop, then just a half-mile hike out with all our gear to Jeff’s truck and we’d be home free.  The high point of our route was Gregory Bald, a broad grassy meadow from which hikers can look down into Cades Cove.  Most people hike to the bald via trails originating in congested Cades Cove, which requires an agonizing slow drive before and after the hike.  For us North Carolinians, though the hike is longer, hiking from Twentymile is so-o-o-o much more remote and enjoyable. 

The first mile on Wolf Ridge Trail was gentle with several footlog crossings of Moore Springs Branch.  

Past the turnoff to Twentymile Loop Trail (where we would return) the next mile was also gentle but my legs detected the slightest uptick in grade.  At the side trail to Campsite 95 we stopped to make adjustments - Jeff duct taped up hot spots on his feet and I downsized to shorts and short sleeves - for the upcoming climb.  There at the trickling Dalton Branch I spotted this flat rock with what I maintain is a wet bear paw print. 

The trail turned sharply right and the hard work began, gaining 2,500 feet in about 3.25 miles.  Jeff ate his lunch early as I tried to fuel up on energy bars, and the trail was nicely switchbacked, but still we walked like snails (do snails walk?)  At least we passed the backpacking group that had spent the previous night at Campsite 95 (they reported no bear activity).  They were heading to Campsite 92 on Long Hungry Ridge Trail for tonight.  

Wood-betony (aka lousewort) 

At about 5.5 miles Wolf Ridge Trail leveled out and passed through Parson Bald.  Unlike Gregory Bald and Andrew Bald, the park service doesn’t maintain this area to keep it open and trees are gradually taking it over.  I enjoyed the mile of flat walking through Parson Bald to Sheep Pen Gap.  At that point where Wolf Ridge intersects Gregory Bald Trail is Campsite 13, a very popular backpacking site, grassy, flat, large enough to accommodate 15 backpackers and 8 horses.  Good luck getting a reservation here and I hope you like company.

Don’t get used to the pleasant walk, there’s some more uphill to reach Gregory Bald, the highlight of the day.  I’ve been here two times before, once at the peak of flame azaleas and once in the wintertime.  Always impressive.  We were a few weeks early for the azalea explosion, but we had a clear day.  The breeze chilled us in our sweat-soaked clothes so we found a protected spot to sit and eat more food.  This was when I noticed my phone camera malfunctioning, probably the SD card going bad.  Jeez, some bad luck, but even a bad day hiking is a good day.  

Jeff at Gregory Bald, looking south

Refreshed and back on the trail, we made a quick mile to the déjà vu junction with Long Hungry Ridge Trail.  At this point again Jeff left me for more peak bagging and again I descended Long Hungry, just like yesterday; however, this time I wasn’t hurrying and the walking was more enjoyable. 

I passed several groups of hikers on this stretch, including our friends Yo and Teddy, who were still snoozing when we left Campsite 93.  They were climbing up to the ridge and over to Campsite 12 (an ambitious plan for them, I thought but did not say) then backtracking tomorrow.  At last, some good karma - Teddy presented me with my lost bandanna that they had picked up on the trail! They told me about a large rattlesnake they had sidestepped and I kept a sharp eye out, but I never saw it. I did cross paths with a good-sized black snake. 

At Campsite 92 I startled a deer who thought she had the place all to herself.  This was another great site, plenty of room for backpackers to spread out.   I treated a liter of water there for the last push and continued to the intersection with Twentymile Loop Trail to wait for Jeff.  My feet and legs were ready to stop but we had 4.6 miles to go.    

Twentymile Loop Trail is not to be confused with Twentymile Trail – in combination with the lower part of Wolf Ridge Trail, the three make up a 5.5-mile loop.  After the drama of Gregory Bald, though, this trail was a bit boring.  If we had been a few weeks earlier we would have seen a nice section of ladyslippers, but now only the decaying foliage remained.  The trail was very narrow and sketchy in some places, with several small ups and downs that we were not in the mood for at this point in the day.  The best thing about it was one more nice crossing of Moore Springs Branch.  We closed the loop at Wolf Ridge Trail again, turned left and backtracked a mile to retrieve our gear for the half-mile to the parking area.  Day is done.

One more loss to make this my most expensive overnight backpacking trip on record:  extremely tired, very sore feet, I was inattentive and I forgot my hiking poles leaning against the truck. They probably fell to the ground as we backed up and I didn’t miss them until the next morning at home when I unpacked.  I hope somebody else is enjoying them now.

FYI, the Wildwood Grill at Fontana Village is a decent place to eat, not elaborate but the basics.  Back home by 10:00 p.m.

“It is still insisted there can be nothing finer than this trip to Gregory Bald at azalea time, and the ascent made by moonlight.”  ~Smoky Mountain Hiking Club Bulletin, 1937