Greensboro MST Hike

Sunday, we took Alex to complete another hike for #mst40hike at Greensboro Watershed Lakes.

We parked at the Church Street parking and started off on Laurel Bluffs Trail, which is also the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  The snow had mostly melted in Raleigh, but there was still a good amount here in Greensboro.

There were very nice views of Lake Townsend along the way.

After maybe 2 miles, the trail began following Reedy Branch upstream of the lake proper through a floodplain area between the lakes.

Laurel Bluffs Trail ended at the Lake Brandt where we turned around.  Back at the trailhead, I also hiked the Crockett Trail, to finish up the last section of MST in the area.

Then we finished our hike back at the car.

From here, headed into downtown and stopped at Oden Brewery and got some drinks and lunch from the food truck.  There were no other dogs inside, so Alex wanted to sit outside where it was cold.  At least they had nice heaters.  After lunch, we headed home.

Shope Creek

Tuesday morning, we started making our way home.  Driving through Asheville, we stopped at the parking area for Shope Creek in Pisgah National Forest.  We first hiked up Wolf Branch Trail.  I think there's a waterfall up here, but was unable to find it.  So we hiked the main forest roads up along Shope Creek.  In about a mile, we came to Forrest Falls.

It's a small waterfall, but kind of pretty despite the poor lighting.

We continued further up and followed a snowy old road up along a small tributary that wasn't marked on the topo map.  At the end of the road was the small Wolfden Falls.

It's not too impressive, but might be worth another visit in very high water.

Then we started making our way back.  We stopped at the ford of Shope Creek on FR-220, but the lighting was still poor.

Then we finished the hike back up at the car.

From here, we made the long drive back to Raleigh.

Elk in the Snow

Monday was out last full day in Franklin.  It snowed a bit overnight, but not too much in Franklin.  We headed north to Cherokee and parked at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Dogs are prohibited on most trails, but allowed on the Oconaluftee River Trail, which is hike 2 for #mst40hike for Alex.

We were fortunate that Cherokee had gotten more snow and there was a large herd of elk in the field.

After some pictures of the elk, we started off on the trail.  The river was very chilly looking in the light snow and ice.

We hiked past the Mountain Farm Museum, which was very scenic in the snow.

Dogs aren't allowed on the farm property, but we had a nice view walking by.

Past the outdoor museum, the trail continued to follow the river and there were a few small cascades.

The MST hike ended at the parkway, but we continued to the end at the park boundary.  On the hike back, we saw some of the elk herd just off the trail.

Alex seemed to be taking a keen interest in the elk, but we kept him and us at a safe distance.

Past the herd, we hiked along the closed Blue Ridge Parkway a short ways.  It was pretty in the snow.

A large flock of dark-eyed juncos were flying around the roadway.

We hiked as far as View Oconaluftee River overlook.  The river wasn't viewable from here, but the snowy mountains were nice.

Then we hiked back to the car.  US-441 was closed beyond Smokemont, but we made a quick stop just up the road before leaving the park.  A short trail led to Mingus Mill, which was beautiful in the snow.

Dogs aren't allowed, so we took turns going out to see the mill.

From here, we left the park and drove through Cherokee to the trailhead for Mingo Falls.

The wooden platform at the end of the trail was icy and rather slippery, but the waterfall was beautiful in high water.

After a few pictures, we headed back.

While in the Cherokee area, we drove down US-19 to the trailhead for Soco Falls.  The view from the overlook wasn't great so we scrambled down to the base.

It was really pretty in the snow.

After a few pictures, we headed back.

On the way back to Franklin, we made a detour through Highlands to see more snow at the higher elevation.  We drove through Cullasaja Gorge heading back and made a quick stop at Dry Falls.

It was scenic in the snow and high water level.  We walked behind and around the falls to get some views.

Then we drove back to Franklin.

For our last night in Franklin, we visited Currahee Brewing one last time.  Alex got one more chance to see Lola.  Then we headed back to Gooder Grove to pack up in the morning.

Adventures with the Professor

Sunday, we met up with Professor Scott for an off-trail adventure in Nantahala National Forest.  He asked us to keep the location a secret.  We met him in Franklin and followed him into the forest.  We pulled off for a roadside waterfall that was very tall, but also very cluttered.

We continued a little further and pulled off on the side of the road and set off into the woods.  The Professor knew where he was going and soon we came to the first waterfall.  A steep path led down to the base of the upper section.

There was some beautiful mossy rocks growing around the waterfall.

We had to climb back up to the trail and continue down to another equally steep scramble path to the base of the falls.  A few downed trees, but it was otherwise a really beauty.

We had a snack down here and continued down the creek.  There was some semblance of a trail and it was easy to follow, though we had to cross the creek or some tributaries a few times.  In about a mile, we came to a nice lower waterfall.  It was smaller but very nice.

Just a little further past here was a huge rockhouse.  It was lightly raining at this point and it made a nice spot to have lunch.

Then we headed back.  On the hike back, we spotted a nice waterfall on a tributary.

Then we bushwhacked the rest of the way back to the car.  After saying good-bye to Scott, we headed to Lazy Hiker for our second to last night in Franklin for dinner and beer.

First Day Hike at Opossum Creek Falls

On New Years Day, we headed up to meet with the Badger and friends in South Carolina.  We drove south to Clayton and took US-76 east into South Carolina.  Immediately after crossing Chattooga River, we stopped at the river access parking.  The paved Bull Sluice Trail (#522) led a short ways to an overlook of Bull Sluice.

It's more of a rapid than a waterfall, but scenic and worth a quick stop driving by.

After a couple pictures, we headed back.

From here, we continued to Turkey Ridge Road/FR-755 and drove to the trailhead for Opossum Creek Falls Trail.  Here we met with Badger, Kitty, Rodney and Steven and set off down Opossum Creek Trail (#5203).  In just under 2 miles, we reached Chattooga River and turned left to follow the creek upstream to Opossum Creek Falls.

It's a real nice waterfall and we stopped for a break.  Badger, Kitty and Steven climbed up to the upper section, but we stayed at the base.

I climbed around in the creek for some pictures from different angles.

We had lunch here and when the others made the climb back down, we started hiking back.  About a mile from the trailhead, we got off the trail and made the steep bushwhack down to the base of Camp Branch Falls.

It's a pretty nice waterfall, about 20 feet and worth the short bushwhack to see, especially in high water conditions.

Then we scrambled back up to the trail and finished up the hike.

After saying good-bye, we headed back to Franklin and went to El Charro for dinner.