Big Ivy Hike

Saturday I left for the mountains for a week of waterfall chasing.  I left real early, getting to Asheville around sunrise and then heading into the Big Ivy/Coleman Boundary Area of Pisgah National Forest.  Right in the forest, I turned on FR-231 and drove to the end at Walker Creek Trailhead (#165).  Hiking up along Walker Branch, it crossed some nice cascades.

Then I got on Staire Creek Trail (183) and continued heading up along Staire Branch past some rocky cliffs.

There were some nice cascades along the trail as it headed though a rocky gorge.  After this point, it got pretty steep going up.  

There was an interesting rockhouse just off the trail with a stone wall and chairs.

The trail ended at FR-74 and I crossed and got on Bear Pen Trail (#176).  The first part of the trail was moderate and open, but as I got further up, the trail got steeper and more overgrown.  

As I got higher up, I started seeing more and more wildflowers.

The trail ended at Laurel Gap Trail, which was completely overgrown with the wildflowers.  

I don't think I've ever seen so many bee balm, coneflower and lilies in one place. 

It was really beautiful.  But it also sucked hiking through.  As it had rained overnight, the flowers were wet and soon I was completely soaked from practically bushwhacking down the trail.

I tried to focus on how beautiful all the flowers were and not how unpleasant the hike was.

When I made it to the road, I decided to not take this trail back.  Once was more than enough

There were more wildflowers along the road, but nothing like I had seen on Laurel Gap Trail.

And with the recent rains, mushrooms were popping up.

I hiked down to the end of FR-74 and picked up Douglas Falls Trail.

Even with the rain, the water level was a little low, but Douglas Falls was looking nice.  I had lunch here and tried to dry out my clothes a bit.

Then I walked behind and around the waterfall to view it from different angles.

There's a small cave in the cliffs behind the falls.

There was another couple here enjoying the falls as we talked about the area for a bit.

Hiking back, I took the road much of the way to avoid the overgrown trails.  Past Laurel Gap Trail, FR-74 Waterfall was right along the side of the road.

It's small, but rather pretty for a roadside.

I continued on past Staire Branch/Bear Den and then to Walker Creek/Perkins Trail.  I headed up along Perkins Trail (#175) for about a half-mile or so to where it crosses Walker Creek.

I thought Upper Walker Falls was here, but I couldn't find it.  I'll have to research this one more, but didn't feel like bushwhacking.  Then I headed back down to the road and continued to Walker Falls.

This is a pretty big roadside waterfall.

I scrambled down to the base, but I think the view from the road itself is best as you can see the upper sections.

Then I headed back to Walker Creek Trail and took that back down to the trailhead.

From here, I headed back to the highway and stopped for an early dinner at Mars Theatre Brewing Company.  Then I continued to Johnson City and checked into the Staybridge Suites.

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.

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.

Black Mountains Waterfalls

Sunday morning, we woke up early and broke camp and departed Hot Springs.  We drove up into Tennessee and then back into North Carolina on US-19W.  Just a mile or two across the state line, we made a stop to see Big Creek Falls.  It's essentially roadside, but hard to see through the foliage.  A scramble path led to a big rock with a nice frontal view.

I then climbed down to the creek for a view from the base.

The pool looked very inviting and I bet it would make an excellent swimhole.

It was a really scenic waterfall for being right along the side of the road.  Continuing on, we drove through Burnsville and took NC-80 towards the Black Mountains.  We took a short detour on Whiteoak Creek Road and followed to the end.  Whiteoak Creek Falls was just ahead.  First, we scrambled down to the base.

Back at the road, we found another path to get down to the middle section.

A little further up was another path down to the upper section.

It's not possible to see the entire thing from any one spot, but a nice waterfall nonetheless.

The light was poor unfortunately.  After some pictures, we headed back.

Our next stop was the trailhead for Roaring Fork Falls at the Busick Work Center in the Black Mountain-South Toe River Area of Pisgah National Forest.  There were quite a few cars in the parking area and we got the last spot.  Hiking down the Roaring Fork Falls Trail (#195), we saw several groups coming back.

There were some old concrete structures, maybe magazines to store explosives.

Where the road crossed Roaring Fork, we took the path up to the base of Roaring Fork Falls as the last group was leaving.

We got the waterfall to ourselves.  I scrambled around on the rocks to get some pictures.  It's a really beautiful waterfall.

We had lunch here as a few more groups arrived and then headed back to the car.

From here, we drove to our last hike at the South Toe Trailhead Parking just outside Black Mountain Campground.  We hiked into the campground and got on the combined trail heading upstream on South Toe River.  At the second split, we took a right on Setrock Creek Falls Trail (#197) and made the short hike to Setrock Creek Falls.

The water level was up and the lighting was good so I could finally get a decent picture of the waterfall.

Then we hiked back down the trail and went right towards Briar Bottom Campground.  Past the campground, we took River Loop Trail (#200) and continued following the river upstream.

Some self-heal, a medicinal plant, were flowering along the trail.

Near the halfway point, we had to rock hop across Camp Creek.

Wild bergamot was flowering all around.

Shortly after, the trail crossed the river on FR-472.

Across the river, the trail headed downstream on the opposite side climbing up a ridge above the river.  Some rosebay rhododendron was blooming.

Before we left, I took a short hike around the Devil's Den Nature Trail (#192).

I spotted some Japanese meadowsweet, an invasive species.

Then we started making our way home.

Driving down from the parkway on NC-80, we pulled off at Buck Creek Falls.

It's on private property but it's visible from the road.  The view isn't great unfortunately as its mostly blocked by foliage.

From here, it was about another 3 hours to get home.