Kuykendall Falls

It rained overnight, but mostly stopped by daybreak.  We woke up early, had breakfast, and broke camp.  Alex was a little disappointed as he really enjoyed his time camping.  After packing the car, we checked out and headed to Cathys Creek Road (FR-471) in the forest.  Just past Cathys Creek Falls, we parked at the gated FR-5361.  From here, we began a long hike on this forest road.  Not many people travel this road as we ran through spider webs almost the entire time.  In about 2 miles, we passed FR-5361A and then FR-5361B in about another mile.  After about 4.5 miles, we got off the road and bushwhacked down to Kuykendall Creek.  It was very steep, but fortunately very open.  At least we didn't have to wade through rhododendron.  We came out near the base of the falls, but a lot of rhododendron were blocking the view.

So I took off my boots and waded, climbing up a small cascade to get past the rhodos and get a clear shot of the waterfall.  It's a really scenic waterfall, but there's not really anywhere to sit and relax.

So we made the steep climb back out and had a break back on the road.  Then it was just a rather easy forest road hike back to the car.  Having cleared out the spider webs on the way in, the hike back out was a lot easier.

Headwaters State Forest

Saturday morning, we woke up and had breakfast and then left camp.  We drove west on US-64 to Rosman and then south on US-178.  Just past town, we turned on East Fork Road and headed into the future Headwaters State Forest.  The NC Forest Service plans to open the newest forest in 2018 or 2019.  But we couldn't wait that long.  Our first stop was a quick one.  We pulled off along the road at East Fork Falls.

It was just a very short ways down to the creek for a very scenic waterfall.  I scrambled around a bit on the rocks to get pictures from different angles.  And the view from the top was great as well.

Then we continued down East Fork Road, turning right on the barely-a-road Busted Rock Road and parked near where the road crossed Big Branch.  We picked up an old road that followed East Fork French Broad River upstream to its headwaters.  In less than a mile, the road ended and we followed a path a short ways towards the waterfall.  I first stopped at some nice cascades below the waterfall, but I knew this wasn't right.

Just a little further was the spectacular Reece Place Falls.  This waterfall is a real beauty.  The lighting wasn't great, but we really enjoyed our time here.

After a snack and enjoying the waterfall a bit, we headed back.  There was a lot of thistle blooming along the trail here.

Beautiful to look at, but don't want to brush up against it.

Driving back on East Fork Road, we turned on Glady Fork Road and parked at the trailhead for Graveley Falls.  The trail is another old road and was a really pleasant hike.  In less than a mile, we could see Graveley Falls from the trail, but the view was partially obscured.

It was a steep scramble down and more rhododendron were blocking the view down here.  So I took off my boots to wade in the pool and get a clear view of the waterfall.

It's not nearly as big as Reece Place, but quite scenic nonetheless.  After some pictures, we headed back.

We drove back to US-64 and took NC-215 to Tanasee Gap Road, parking about 4.5 miles down at the gated FR-9999.  We followed the road a short ways to a clearing with a trashy campsite and from here bushwhacked through dense dog hobble down the ridgeline towards Double Branch.  We came out above the waterfall and continued down to where it cleared out a little.  From here, it was easy to get to a spot about three-quarters of the way down the falls.  A huge tree had fallen at the base, so couldn't get a picture from down there anywhere.

The water level was pretty low but the rocks were really cool.  I think this one would like nice in higher water.  From here, we followed the creek downstream to Parker Creek and crossed to pick up an old logging road.  The old road followed the creek down, crossing several times.  There were plenty of trees fallen over the road, but it was pretty easy to follow.  One downed tree had a lot of sulphur shelf fungi growing out of it.

Near where Parker Creek enters private property, we crossed once more and followed a tributary upstream to John Neal Falls.  The water level was low, but I think this would be a gorgeous waterfall in high water.

We got some pictures and took a rest here for a bit before heading back.  Rather than bushwhacking, we continued on the old road until it met up with FR-9999.  Turning right, it was about a mile back - a little longer, but much easier than bushwhacking again.  Alex certainly appreciated it.

We stopped in Brevard for dinner at Rocky's Drive-In.  They have outdoor seating so we could eat with Alex.  He even got his own hot dog!  After that we stopped at Ecusta Brewery for a drink before heading back to camp.  It started raining so we couldn't start a campfire and just went to bed.

Birthday Waterfalls in Pisgah Forest

Friday was Sandy's birthday and we celebrated by taking Alex camping in the mountains.  We left Raleigh around 530 and got to Pisgah Forest around 10.  Just before 276, we turned on Old NC-280 and then made a left on Turkey Creek Road and followed to the end.  There was a fork here and we took the right split and immediately rock-hopped across South Prong Turkey Creek.  Right after the crossing, we turned left on a more overgrown path following South Prong upstream.  From here, it was just a short ways further to Laughing Falls.  We could see it from the path, but it was a steep scramble down to the base.  We initially went down to far downstream to see the actual waterfall.  There were some nice cascades here, but couldn't see the falls.

So we climbed back up to the trail and went a little further then steeply down to the base.  According to legend, the Cherokee named this waterfall because it sounds like laughter.

I really didn't think it sounded any different than other falls.  After some pictures, we headed back.

Driving into Pisgah National Forest on US-276, we turned left on FR-475.  Right after the fish hatchery,  we went right on FR-475B and drove to the trailhead for Slick Rock Falls.  We could hear the waterfall from the parking area and so it was a very short hike.

The water level was a little low, but this was still a nice waterfall.

We had a little snack here and I scrambled behind the waterfall.  It was cool looking up at the thin veil of water pouring over the rock face.

Since it was such a short hike, we decided to continue on the trail.  It leads about a mile to the base of Looking Glass Rock.  I've seen it from a distance along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but never so close.  The scale of the massive cliffs is really amazing.

I got some pictures, then started heading back.  I spotted some cute little red mushrooms along the trail.

Back at the car, we got back on US-276 and drove a little further to Sliding Rock Recreation Area.  This area is usually so crowded that I've never visited before, but today being a weekday and it wasn't too hot, Sliding Rock wasn't that crowded.

I changed into a batching suit and we headed over to the waterfall.  The water was really cold, but I had to slide down the falls a couple times.  It was too cold for Sandy so she waited with Alex and watched.  The first time down, I could barely breathe after hitting the water, it was so cold.

But getting out, I warmed up quick.  I slid down the falls four times before I had enough.

After drying out, we headed back and continued up US-276 a little further and turned left on FR-475B (the other end).  It was about a mile and a half to the gated FR-5043 where we parked.  A family with two dogs was hiking out and Alex enjoyed getting to sniff a couple other dogs.  We followed the forest road for about a half a mile to the first tributary and took a worn path upstream to Discovery Falls.

This tributary is small so the waterfall didn't have much flow.  There were some flowers blooming up near the top of the falls.

Continuing on the forest road, we next came to the crossing of Log Hollow Branch.  Log Hollow Falls is just upstream of the road.

Even in low water, it's still quite scenic.  And with low water, we it was easier to see the beautiful rocks that the stream flows over.

Form here, we followed a path upstream to Upper Log Hollow Falls, just a short ways from the lower falls.  From the trail, I could see it was quite high, but from the base, only part of the falls was visible.

There was too much vegetation around the base for any view of the entire waterfall, but I could get a profile shot from part of the ways up.

Back at the forest road, we spotted a lot of wildflowers blooming along the road.

The clearing for the road provides enough sunlight for the flowers to bloom in summer.  Butterflies knew where to come as well - we spotted a hoary edge along here.

We continued up the road another half mile or so to Logging Road Falls.  This waterfall is roadside; it really wouldn't be worth any more effort to see.

It is very low flow and mostly obscured by vegetation.  There were more flowers here; a much better photo subject than the waterfall.

Then we headed back to the car and drove down 276 to Davidson River Campground.

After setting up our tent, we got takeout from Hawg Wild and had dinner at the campsite and built a campfire.  It had been a long day and we didn't stay up late.