Elk River Waterfalls

Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and had a great breakfast at Eggs Up Grill.  Then we drove just across the state line to North Carolina and parked at the trailhead for Elk/Big Falls.  The short Elk Falls Trail (#172) led from the parking area to the top of the waterfall and then down steps to the base of Elk River Falls.

Lighting wasn't ideal but most of the waterfall was still in the shadows.

After some pictures, we headed back up and got on the gated road that went past powerlines and back down to the river.  Where the road crossed the river, we picked up a path that led back into Tennessee to meet up with the Appalachian Trail.  Heading northbound, we went about a mile to a spur path that led to Splash Dam Falls.  It was tricky scrambling down the rocks to the base

It was mostly sunny, but waiting a few minutes, some clouds arrived and I could get a decent picture.

Then we started heading back and saw a rat snake along the trail.

Before getting off the AT, we continued up the trail a little further and took the spur to Jones Falls.

It's a tall waterfall, but hard to get a good picture.  I waited a short time for a cloud and one cooperated.

Then I climbed up a steep path to the base of the upper drop.

It's a cool view and I really like how the water splashed off the huge boulder here.

After some pictures, we hiked back to the car.

We started making our way home with one more stop at Valle Crucis Conference Center for a short hike to Crab Orchard Falls.

Some clouds rolled in when we first arrived to get some nice pictures.

Soon though, the sun came back so we headed back.

On the way home, we stopped one more time for dinner at Booneshine then finished the drive home.

Laurel Fork Falls

Saturday, we headed back out to the mountains to beat the hot weather.  We drove through Boone into Tennessee and first stopped at the trailhead for Blue Hole Falls.  After parking, an old road led down to Mill Creek at the uppermost section of the waterfall.

This section is mostly obscured by the foliage, but it was just a short ways to the next section.

Past here, the trail descends down to the main part and I scrambled on the rocks to see this upper section in a little grotto.

Then we went down to the main section of the falls that drops into the Blue Hole.

It was a little too chilly for swimming, but I scrambled down to the base to see the lowest section.

After enjoying the view, we headed back up to the parking lot and followed the other trail out to the cliffs above the falls.  This is the only spot I know of to see more than one section at the same time, but the leaves were making the view difficult.

After some pictures, we headed back to the car.

Next, we drove to Hampton and parked at the Blueline Trailhead on US-321.  The parking was nearly full and we got the last legal spot.  The folks that pulled in after us parked illegally, blocking the gate, but it seems they got out before any issues.  Setting off on the Hampton Blueline Trail (#501), the trail headed through powerline clearings, then entered Pond Mountain Wilderness and descended to Laurel Fork.

The gorge along the hike is really pretty and we saw some wildflowers and wildlife.

A worm snake was well camouflaged against the leaf litter.

Japanese meadowsweet is an introduced species with pretty little pink flowers.

And there were some raspberries flowering along the trail as well.

In about a mile, we got on the Appalachian Trail and continued through Laurel Fork Gorge.

There was one moderately steep part of get around some cliffs, but otherwise an easy and scenic hike.  Near the waterfall, there was rock scrambling, but Alex didn't have much trouble.

At just under 2.5 miles, we came to Laurel Fork Falls, also called just Laurel Falls.

A scramble path led down to the base and we had lunch here.

It was initially crowded and some dogs were having a lot of fun playing the water.  Alex doesn't like the water though, so he just took a nap.

Eventually, all the people cleared out and when we had finished lunch and pictures, we headed back too.

From here, we headed towards Erwin and got a snack and then headed down Lower Higgins Creek Road.  There was no parking where the road ended, but a very rough gravel road continued into the forest.  We drove to the end at the turnaround and parked, but probably would have been easier to park along the gravel road and walk the rest of the way.  A gated road continued from the parking area up along Higgins Creek.  In just over a half-mile, we scrambled down from the trail to see Lower Higgins Creek Falls.

The waterfall was nice and pretty high, but only the lower section was visible from the base.

After climbing back up, I went a little further upstream to see the upper sections of the falls, but there was no place I could find with a decent view.

On the hike back, we stopped at some scenic little cascades on Higgins Creek.

Then we finished up our last hike for the day.

From here, we headed to Johnson City and got dinner and checked into the Red Roof Inn for the evening.

Julian Price Hikes

Sunday, we had breakfast in Lenoir then drove back up to Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at Simms Pond Overlook at Julian Price Memorial Park.  From here, we got on Green Knob Trail that led past the little pond.

There were some jack in the pulpit flowering along the pond.

After passing the pond, the trail continued following Sims Branch upstream with a couple easy creek crossings.

The creek was scenic in the early morning light.

After crossing under the parkway, the trail then started climbing up Green Knob through an open area.

There were some cows up near the top and another group as we headed back into the woods.  They seemed a little nervous around Alex and hightailed it up the slope and watched him pass by carefully.

Alex wasn't particularly interested in the cows though.

We passed through another open area and saw some spiderwort following.  The trail then descended back to the parkway at the overlook where we started.  Next, we drove just up the road and parked at the picnic area.  A short hike on Boone Fork Trail led to a spur to the lake to get on Price Lake Loop Trail.

It was very popular on a such a nice summer day, both on the trail and on the lake.

We saw quite a few butterflies nectaring on mountain laurel.

There were a couple spots to go down to the lake on a little beach.

The mountain laurel was really popping.

We also saw some very large tadpoles of American bullfrogs.

As the trail continued around the east end of the lake, there was a cool tree growing out of a mess of boulders.

Near the end of the loop was a great view of Grandfather Mountain towering over the lake.

We finished the loop and took the spur back to the picnic area.

We planned to get lunch in Blowing Rock, but it was really busy, so we headed to Wilkesboro and got lunch at Dooleys before heading home.