Black Balsam Hike

For Labor Day weekend we headed to the mountains. We left Friday morning and arrived at the Black Balsam Trailhead past Graveyard Fields around 9:30, still finding plenty of parking. The Art Loeb Trail was beautiful.

The first short stretch wound through forest where we spotted some interesting mushrooms.

Then the trail opened onto the bald with amazing expansive views

Goldenrod were blooming all along the trail.

There was a lot of snakeroot blooming as well and a few gentians.

Honey bees were busy pollinating the flowers.

The trail was open and the views were fantastic the entire way up.

Harper hiked most of the way and handled the rocky sections and steps really well.

We carried her the final stretch to the summit.

The views from the top were phenomenal, though it was fairly crowded.

She hiked most of the way back down as well. 

From there we drove south on NC-215, turned onto Tanassee Gap Road, then after about 1.5 miles took the gravel Pressley Fields Road. We stopped at a pull-off just past the second “area under surveillance” sign.  Access was steep and difficult enough that we left Harper and Amaroq napping in the car and took turns. I scrambled down to Tucker Creek and walked upstream about 0.1 miles through water that never got deeper than mid-calf to the lovely Tucker Creek Falls.

Even with low flow it looked great, and it seems to be pretty unknown.

Amanda took her turn next.

While waiting I spotted a pretty Diana fritillary butterfly in the road and a hickory tussock moth caterpillar on a plant.

We continued back to NC-215 and stopped at Mill Shoals, which was crowded.

Harper wasn’t interested in playing in the water, so we skipped Bird Rock Falls. Just past there we turned onto Macedonia Church Road and after about half a mile found a short path to Lemon Falls on Lamance Creek.

It's small but scenic, and we had nice lighting nice light.

The water level was low so I could cross the creek at the base.

We finished the day in Brevard with dinner and drinks at Oskar Blues. Harper played and didn’t eat much, so we boxed her meal and checked into the Sunset Motel.

Bartram Hike in Nantahala

On Sunday we checked out of the cabin early and returned to the Bartram Trailhead on US-19/US-74, this time heading the opposite direction into Nantahala Gorge. After crossing the Nantahala River on two bridges, we joined the Nantahala Bikeway and followed it upstream along the river for about a mile.

The stretch was especially scenic in the morning clouds and fog drifting over the water. At the Beechertown Commercial Launch Site the paved path ended.

We crossed the road, passed the Duke Energy parking area, and continued on an old service road that climbed toward Rattlesnake Knob for roughly a mile and a half.

At the top of the road a clearing offered a fine view of the foggy gorge far below.

From there the route turned to singletrack and rose through a series of switchbacks before leveling off, only to become so overgrown that we decided not to push farther.

Rain set in as we retraced our steps along the old road, and we finished the hike wet before making the long drive home to Raleigh.

Rainy Hikes in Citico Creek

On Saturday, Amaroq and I headed into Citico Creek Wilderness via the Cherohala Skyway. Heavy rain followed us up the mountain until it eased near the top, giving way to thick fog that made driving challenging in the poor visibility. Fortunately, we only needed to go a short distance to the West Rattlesnake Trailhead.

From there we dropped onto the Falls Branch Trail (#87) and entered the wilderness under dark, misty conditions, with bee balm blooming brightly along the path.

The trail began fairly level on an overgrown old road before steepening. 

Heavy rain returned as we descended, thoroughly soaking us by the time we reached the falls.

The trail emerged downstream of the waterfall, requiring a creek crossing and a short climb up the opposite bank to the base.

Falls Branch Falls were roaring with the day’s rain, and the weather eased just enough for a few photos.

It was looking really nice today.

The rain held off for the return hike, though we were already soaked through. We continued a short way up the Skyway to Unicoi Crest and joined the Benton MacKaye Trail, heading deeper into the wilderness.

The first mile and a half followed a moderate, somewhat overgrown old road lined with more bee balm and a few Turk’s-cap lilies.

At the road’s end we turned right to stay on the singletrack Benton MacKaye, aiming for Bob Bald.

After about three miles the rain returned in force and erased any chance of views, so we turned around. It poured steadily the entire way back, leaving us completely drenched. At the parking area the rain paused long enough for me to towel Amaroq off before we started down the Skyway. 

Stuck behind slow-moving bikers, we made a quick stop at Spirit Ridge, where a short paved trail leads to an overlook.

It was far too overgrown for any views that day (something that might improve in winter).

From there we returned to the cabin to pack up and prepare for the drive home the next morning.

Fontana Dam & Tsali

Friday, Amaroq and I headed to the Fontana Lake area for a full day of hiking. We started at Fontana Dam, parking at the visitor center.

At roughly 480 feet, Fontana is the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains, and the thick morning fog that greeted us created an atmospheric, almost otherworldly scene.

We walked across the dam through the mist, catching glimpses of the lake on the far side.

The Appalachian Trail continues from there into Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but since dogs are prohibited on park trails, we turned around.

On the way back we paused at a picnic area with more open views of Fontana Lake.

Finally, we climbed to the overlook above the visitor center for a few final photos before moving on. 

Next we drove to Tsali Recreation Area and parked at the bike trailhead. 

A short connector trail took us to the Horse Parking Area, where we joined the Left Loop.

The trail hugged the shoreline for more than eight miles, delivering steady views of the lake.

About a mile in we spotted an old chimney just off the path.

A couple of hours later a brief but intense five-minute downpour soaked us thoroughly; the sky cleared quickly afterward, and continued hiking helped us mostly dry out.

At the end of the Left Loop we branched onto the Overlook Loop and walked out to Cliff Overlook.

Here we ate lunch while taking in wide views of Fontana Lake and the distant Smoky Mountains.

We finished the loop, followed County Line Road back to the trailhead, and on the way home stopped once more in Andrews at Snowbird Mountains Brewing so Amaroq could enjoy another well-earned pup cup.