Old Fort Waterfalls

Sunday morning, I checked out of the hotel.  I was originally planning to meet friends in South Carolina for the holiday, but wasn’t feeling well, so decided to just go home.  Then Sandy and I could spend Independence Day together.  Past Asheville, I decided to stop at Catawba Falls on the way home.  I hadn’t been here in a couple years and they finally finished the bridge to the parking lot.  I could park in the lot instead of on the side of the road.  Catawba Falls is very popular so glad I got there early; there were only a few cars in the parking lot when I arrived.  From the parking lot, I set off on the Catawba Falls Trail, rock-hopping the river and then following the trail upstream.  After crossing Clover Patch Branch, I found a steep path leading down to a view of Lower Catawba Falls.

Although I’ve been here before several times, I had never been down to see this one.  Kevin Adams mentions this one is his new book.  Although overshadowed by the much larger Catawba and Upper Catawba Falls, this is a nice waterfall.  A cave to the right of the falls made a nice scene, even in the low water level.  Past here was the old dam and then I continued to the base of Catawba Falls.  The water level was low, so this waterfall was definitely not looking its best.

I got a couple pictures and then took the steep path up towards Upper Catawba Falls.

I passed a couple of people on my way up; the high temperature and humidity made the climb that much more strenuous.  By the time I got to Upper Catawba Falls, I was alone and sat and enjoyed the view for a while.

As I was heading back, I again passed the people I had seen earlier.  They had given up and were heading back.  I also spotted some bee balm along the trail.

I made it back to the car before 11 and it was a little too early to head home.  So I drove through Old Fort and parked at the Old Fort Picnic Area in Pisgah National Forest.  From here, I got on the Youngs Ridge Trail heading up towards Kitsuma Peak.  This was a really grueling hike.  It was all uphill and the heat and humidity made it just miserable.  There was almost no breeze and no creek to cool off in.  It took a while, but I made it to the summit of Kitsuma Peak.  There’s a campsite here, but too many trees for any sort of view.

Exploring around a bit, I found some cliffs just down from the summit that had a nice view west towards Black Mountain.

I relaxed here for a little while and then started making my way back.  It was mostly downhill the whole way, but still strenuous in the heat.  Back at the car, I decided to get one more waterfall before I left.  I drove east on US-70 from Old Fort and turned left on Curtis Creek Road and drove to the campground.  I got on the Hickory Branch Trail (#213), following the trail up and down a ridge to its namesake creek.  After crossing the creek twice, I got off the trail and followed a path to the base of Hickory Branch Falls.

Even in the low water, this was still a scenic waterfall.  A tree had fallen right into the middle of it, so I got to the other side of the creek for a picture.  Then I headed back to the car and started making my way home.