Surprisingly, there were only a couple other cars here; usually this parking lot is packed. But I had never gotten here so early, and the dreary weather may have kept people away. The fall color from the overlook looking into Graveyard Fields was absolutely beautiful.
Some clouds were lingering among the peaks, but the visibility was still good.
After enjoying the beautiful colors and getting some pictures, I started hiking down the Graveyard Fields Loop Trail (#358) to the bridge over Yellowstone Prong.
From here, I turned right and followed the stairs down to the base of Second Falls.
This waterfall is usually very crowded, but for once, I had it to myself.
After a couple pictures, I headed back up the trail and continued on the loop trail in the counter clockwise direction. In half-mile or so, I got on the Upper Falls Trail (#358A) and made the three-quarter mile hike to the waterfall. Except for a group of people who were packing up their campsite, I didn’t see anyone else along this trail either. By the time I got to the waterfall, it had started raining, though not too hard. I climbed over slippery rocks to get to the base of the falls for some pictures.
Then I decided to cross the creek and get some pictures from a little closer.
The creek crossing wasn’t too bad, even in the higher water, but the slippery rocks on the other side of the creek were quite treacherous. I scrambled up a bit to get some pictures of the water from close-up, then had to get back down to the creek and get across. I decided the safest thing would be to butt-slide back down the rocks; I managed to stop myself just before hitting the creek and only got my butt wet. I crossed back over the creek and then started hiking back. When I got back to Graveyard Fields Loop Trail, I turned right to finish up the loop. There was one tree along this section that had the most beautiful red leaves.
And crossing back over Yellowstone Prong on the footbridge, I could see more beautiful colors looking upstream.
Soon, I was back at the car as the rain picked up more and more. I made the short drive up the parkway to the Looking Glass Overlook at milepost 417. I waited in the car for a bit, hoping the rain was stop, but it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. There were no views of Looking Glass Rock through the dense fog, so I hiked across the road to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and headed towards Skinny Dip Falls.
It was a short walk to the waterfall, which was flowing much more than the last time I had visited. Despite the rain, I got a couple quick pictures, then crossed the bridge over the roaring Yellowstone Prong.
I climbed up a bit to get some pictures from close up. It was raining pretty hard, so I wasn’t sure what to do. The clouds were thick, so there was no point in driving along the parkway, so I decided to just keep hiking along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, hoping that the rain would finally quit. There were a couple points where it seemed it was going to break and then it would start raining harder. By the time I got back to near Second Falls, it was pretty much a downpour. So I just started heading back. It was still raining heavily by the time I got back to the car. I drove a little further up the parkway and parked at Devil’s Courthouse. Since eating outside wasn’t too appealing, I ate my lunch in the car. The clouds had thinned enough that I could see Devil’s Courthouse, though it was a very misty view.
After lunch, I got on NC-215 going north and planned to get a couple more waterfalls. I first stopped at the roadside camping area that is the trailhead for Wildcat Falls. However, Bubbling Spring Branch was a raging torrent and there was no way I could get across safely. I headed a little further down the road and stopped at Bubbling Spring Cascades.
The water level was way up, and along with the beautiful fall foliage, made for a spectacular scene. I climbed down from the road to get a shot from closer up, but the whole area down here was flooded and there was no way to get across. I was really striking out on getting these waterfalls. I did find a small waterfall on a tributary of West Fork Pigeon River, just about a quarter-mile south of the pull-off for Bubbling Spring Branch Cascades.
The tributary is not marked on the topo map and I suspect that it doesn't exit in lower water levels.
But it was worth a stop today and the foliage along NC-215 was just beautiful.
I had planned to get Upper and Lower Waterfalls on Bubbling Spring Branch, but with the water level so high, I knew I would never be able to make it. So I gave up and went back to the Blue Ridge Parkway, heading southbound. For 15 miles or so, the road was extremely foggy with very poor visibility. Finally, as the road headed down in elevation, visibility improved. I stopped at the Mt. Lynn Lowry to view Woodfin Cascades.
Even in the high water, the waterfall was barely visible behind the leaves. I think that the only way to see Woodfin Cascades is in the winter or early spring when the leaves are down. It's too bad as it would have been scenic with the fall color. I also made a couple more quick stops at some overlooks. First, Thunder Struck Ridge overlook.
Then I stopped at Fed Cove Overlook, which is the general area of the headwaters of Soco Creek.
From here, I got off the parkway at US-19 and headed to Soco Falls. This was the first place I visited that actually had a lot of other people.
I went first to the overlook, then climbed down to the base for a couple of pictures before heading back.
I took US-19 back to Maggie Valley, stopping at one point for a view of the pretty fall color.
After dinner, I soaked in the hot tub before heading to bed.
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