Raven Cliff Falls

Monday morning, we checked out of the hotel and started driving east.  In Morganton, we took NC-181 north into Pisgah National Forest.  Near Jonas Ridge, we took FSR-982 into the Wilson Creek area and drove FSR-197 and drove to the end.  From here, we started hiking Greentown Shortcut Trail (#268A).  In about 1.5 miles, we got off the trail and descended to Upper Creek and began to creek walk upstream.

There were some nice cascades along the creek, though they presented a challenge getting up and over.  We spotted a whole bunch of little tadpoles in a pothole in the creek.

In about 0.2 miles, we came to the base of Raven Cliff Falls.

This is only the lowest section so we climbed up the rocks on river right for a better view of the falls.

Raven Cliff towered above the waterfall.

To get any further, we'd have to scale the cliff using a cable.  It looked like the cable had broken and someone tied if off with ropes that were fraying.  We decided not to chance it and go any further.

So we creek-walked back and climbed back up to the trail.  About half-way back, we spotted some nice cascades and went down to creek level for a break.

A couple tiger swallowtail butterflies were flying about.

After a break, we made the short hike back to the car.

From here, we drove back to Morganton and headed home.

Fowler Creek Falls

Sunday morning, we headed to Nantahala National Forest for another difficult waterfall hike.  We parked on Bull Pen Road and hiked Ellicott Rock Trail (#431) into Ellicott Rock Wilderness.

The mountain laurel were really blooming along the trail.

We hiked through a couple rhodoendron tunnels, but they hadn't started flowering yet.

There were some galax blooming.

Partridgeberries were flowering but had not yet produced fruit.

We also saw some fairy wands.

In just over 2 miles, we came to the second left-hand switchback and got off the trail and started bushwhacking down to the creek.  It was very steep through a rhododendron hell.  About half-way down, it opened up a bit.  Still extremely steep but at least we could tell where we were going.  Finally, we came out at the creek below Fowler Creek Falls.

I climbed on the rocks to get a good view of the falls.

It's a real nice waterfall and we knew we wouldn't see anyone else, despite the popularity of the wilderness.

After a break down here, we climbed back up.  We continued on the trail down to Chattooga River and had lunch down here.

Then we made the hike back to Bull Pen Road.

We started making our way back, but stopped for one more waterfall in Pisgah National Forest.  We took Catheys Creek Road up a couple miles and parked along the road.  A short scramble path led down to Catheys Creek Falls.

It's a real nice waterfall and we hadn't made a visit in years.

Just downstream of the falls, the creek drops through a narrow chasm.  I followed a path downstream and scrambled to the base of this scenic drop.

Then we climbed back up to the car.

We headed into Brevard for dinner and got to-go from Hawg Wild and ate at Ecusta Brewing.  Then we headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Bearwallow Creek Waterfalls

Saturday, Sandy and I headed out early for some waterfalls over Memorial Day Weekend.  Alex stayed home so we could get some more challenging waterfalls.  We arrived at Gorges State Park around 930 at the Frozen Creek Access and started out hiking Augur Hole Trail.  There was a little red eft along the trail.

It was about 3.5 miles to the ford of Toxaway River.  The water was cold and swift, but the rough concrete made it pretty easy.  In about another mile, we came to the ford of Bearwallow Creek.  Instead of crossing, we followed a short path upstream to a cascade.

From here, there was absolutely no path and the going was very difficult.  There were several cascades along the creek but we had to stay high above to avoid cliffs and the worst of the rhododendron.  In less than a quarter-mile, we came to Bear Canyon Falls.

The waterfall is very scenic as the creek drops into a little canyon.

There were a number of millipedes crawling around on a downed log.

We had a snack here and enjoyed the views for a bit.

Then we made the rough but short bushwhack back to the trail.  Heading back on Augur Hole Trail, when we got to the top of the ridge between Bearwallow Creek and Toxaway River, we got off the trail and followed a path down the ridge.  Shortly, the trail turned left and headed very steeply down to the creek at the base of Lower Bearwallow Falls.

Unfortunately, full sun was shining right on the waterfall.  Some mountain laurel were blooming around it, but didn't help with poor lighting.

We hung out down here and had a snack, hoping for a cloud, but it never came.  So we made the steep climb back out and then back on Augur Hole Trail.

From here, we headed into Hendersonville and checked into the Econo Lodge.  We then headed to Mills River Brewing for the evening.

Pilot Mountain Loop

Sunday morning, we broke camp and made the short drive to the old park office at Pilot Mountain State Park so Alex could complete another #MST40 hikes.

Starting on Grindstone Trail, we hiked back past the campground and through the nice patches of mountain laurel.

At the intersection with Mountain Trail, we turned right to stay on MST and hike around the mountain.

We followed Mountain Trail to Pinnacle Hotel Road and then got on Grassy Ridge Trail to make a loop.

We finished the hike up back at the old park office.

On the way home, we stopped for fajitas at Cancun in Burlington.

Yadkin Valley Hikes

Saturday morning, we left the mountain section of Pilot Mountain State Park and headed to the Yadkin River section.  This section would be much less crowded on a nice Saturday.  We parked at the Corridor Trail parking on Hauser Road and started along Yadkin Islands Trail to Yadkin River Park Road.  Hiking along the road, there were a lot of wildflowers blooming.

There were some real big patches of daisies.

At the picnic area, we got on Horne Creek Trail and followed its namesake downstream.

More wildflowers blooming along this trail as well.

Bladder sedge, green-and-gold and a lot of jack in the pulpit.

The ones here, as seems to be typical in the Piedmont, were green and white as opposed to the green and black seen in the mountains.

After a mile or so, the trail crossed the railroad tracks and followed along Yadkin River.

There were a lot of spiderwort flowering along the river.

There were a number of blackberry bushes as well.

At the end of the trail we got on Bean Shoals Canal Trail and had a view of the river and islands on the other side.

There were some American strawberry bush flowering, but they had not yet produced the showy berries.

We followed the river further downstream on Bean Shoals Canal Trail.

The trail followed the remains of the canal construction.  In the 1820s, a project to build a canal around the shoals was started but never completed.

We followed the trail to the end past the shoals.

On the way back, we took Yadkin Islands Trail to make a loop back.

From here, we drove to Elkin and parked along Main Street so Alex could get another hike for #MST40hikes.

We followed Main Street and picked up Elkin & Alleghany Rail Trail following Big Elkin Creek upstream.  There was a dam right at the start.

The trail then led through Elkin Municipal Park and then led under highway 268.

After this point, the trail became a little more rustic.

There was another scenic dam on the creek here.

The trail crossed the creek on a footbridge and then led past the reservoir.  I scrambled down to the creek for a view.

From here, the trail followed a private gravel road out to Collins Road, where we turned around.  Hiking back to the start, we stopped at Angry Troll Brewing for dinner.

After dinner, we headed back to camp and I took a hike on Grindstone Trail up towards the top.  There were some nice mountain laurels blooming on the hike up.

Closer to the top, I saw some dwarf bristly locust flowers.

At the summit parking, I went out to the Little Pinnacle Overlook for an evening view of Pilot Mountain.

Then I hiked back down.

Sandy had started a campfire and hung around the fire for a while before going to bed.