About half-way there, we made a quick stop for pictures from Heffner Gap Overlook and then proceeded to Crabtree Falls. Sadly, the campground was closed as well as all the other amenities, likely due to budget cuts. It's a shame as this is a really nice campground and a beautiful area. We parked outside the gate near the closed visitor center and had to hike in to the trailhead. The extra quarter-mile walk to the trailhead was worth it, though, as we walked through a beautiful wildflower meadow just past the amphitheater heading to the campground.
At the campground, we got on the Crabtree Falls Trail and turned right at the junction to hike the loop in the counterclockwise direction. This is the shorter and steeper route to the falls with the more gradual hike back to finish up the loop. The trail heads steeply down to the base of the falls through a number of switchbacks and stairs. We headed down quickly, passing several groups so we could make it to the falls before anyone else. That gave me a good opportunity to climb up on the rocks and set up the tripod to get some nice pictures of the waterfall before the crowds arrived.
This 70-foot cascading waterfall is absolutely beautiful; certainly one of the most photogenic waterfalls along the parking and I was able to get some great pictures.
Sandy was waiting on a bench and talked to a nice older gentleman who was visiting the falls while his wife was out of town. She thought the hike was too strenuous and didn’t approve of him going, so he waited for her to go out of town before visiting.
Once the crowds started to arrive and we had gotten enough pictures, we continued on, climbing more stairs and then headed upstream along Crabtree Creek. I stopped at one point to scramble down to the creek and see a really pretty cascade a short ways upstream of the waterfall.
After the initial climb up, the hike was a nice scenic stroll along the creek we saw a large number of blooming wildflowers along the way.
It's about 1.5 miles heading back this way and before we knew it, we had finished off the loop and headed back to our car.
From Crabtree Falls, we continued south on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few more miles, getting off at NC-80 and heading towards Black Mountain Campground in the Appalachian Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. We turned off NC-80 onto South Toe River Road and made an immediate left and parked outside the Busick Work Center. Walking past the gate, we got on Roaring Fork Falls Trail (#195), which is also Forest Service Road 5520. It's only about half a mile along the forest road to the falls. At a bridge across Roaring Fork, we turned right just before the bridge on a short path that leads to the waterfall. The entire thing is probably at least 100 feet of cascades tumbling down, but it’s hard to get a picture of the entire thing.
Of course that doesn't mean I can't try. I hopped around onto various rocks and boulders at the base of the falls to get pictures from different angles. Then we hiked back to the car and continued on South Toe River Road to Black Mountain Campground, parking just outside. We hiked across the vehicle bridge over the river into the campground and got on Setrock Creek Falls Trail (#197). It's a short and easy trail, maybe a quarter-mile, to the waterfall. The waterfall is probably about 75 feet high and its a nice tiered waterfall.
Today, however, the water flow was pretty low and so the waterfall wasn’t that impressive. I had visited before in the spring when the flow was higher and the waterfall looked a lot nicer. We got a couple pictures and then started making our way back. I pointed out to Sandy the very steep path leading up Mount Mitchell. There is a power line right-of-way going straight up the mountain and I remembered crossing that on the trail up. It really puts the elevation gain of North Carolina's highest mountain in perspective. Leaving the area, we headed south on NC-80 to get on I-40 near Marion. Unfortunately, there was an accident blocking the road and we had to make a detour that took almost an hour. We were both very hungry at this point and determined to make it to Las Salsas in Morganton. Finally, we arrived and had an enormous portion of chicken fajitas, with plenty leftover to bring home - my dinner for the next couple of days.
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