Tight Squeeze at Windy Falls

Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast then drove to Gorges State Park. We took Raymond Fisher Trail to Chestnut Mountain Road and went a short ways to an old road on the left that entered Toxaway Game Land and descended down towards Horsepasture River. There were some cool golden spindle mushrooms growing along the trail.

In about 1.5 miles, the road ended at the river just above Windy Falls. There was a nice cascade just above, but it was hard to see around the rocks.

We climbed a little further and found another really nice cascade flowing around a big rock.

Then we started heading down along Windy Falls. The path was fairly easy to follow though steep in places. I managed to step on a hornet’s nest and got stung, not the best place for it. 

Soon we got to a steep ridge that was wet and probably too difficult to go down unaided. So we tied off a drop for the steep descent and would need it heading back up. Down from here, we came to a big rock near the base of Windy Falls. To go any further, we needed to squeeze through the keyhole. Sandy got stuck in the keyhole and was a little panicked. It looked like it might rain soon, so we decided not to risk it and headed back. 

By the time we got back to Chestnut Mountain Road, it was raining pretty heavily, so glad we turned back

It was still pretty early, so we headed into Pisgah National Forest to the Avery Creek Trailhead off FR-477.  We followed Avery Creek Trail (#327) for about a half-mile as it passed the top of Avery Creek Falls.

A short scramble path led down to the base of the falls.  I thought it looked pretty nice even in lower water.

There were a whole bunch of spring azure butterflies down here.

We climbed back up to the trail and continued following the creek upstream.  There was a mushroom that looked like a bagel.

In a little over a mile, a steep path led down to the base of Upper Avery Creek Falls.

We got some pictures and then hiked back.

We stopped at Ecusta Brewery and got dinner from the food truck and had drinks at the brewery.  After dinner, we returned to camp and made a fire before bed.

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.

Upper Wintergreen & Chub Line Falls

Friday, we met up with Justine early and headed to the mountains for a long weekend of hiking and waterfalls.  We arrived at the Frozen Creek Access of Gorges State Park around 930 to start our long hike to visit some of the most difficult waterfalls to access on Toxaway River.  We followed Augur Hole Trail for about 3 miles to the Wintergreen Spur and followed that another mile to the campground at the end.  From here, it was an unofficial trail along Toxaway River heading upstream.  Shortly, there was a nice waterfall along the river and we went out on the rocks to enjoy the view.

After crossing Panther Branch, we took an old road heading up a ridge.  In a short ways, it stopped heading up and began roughly following the contour line above the river.  Past the second drainage, we lost the trail and bushwhacked straight up until we found it again.  At the top was an open area, where a left turn followed a ridge down towards Toxaway River.  It was open and easy to follow at first, then got progressively steeper.  Towards the end were a couple of knife ridges that were tricky to climb down.  We got to the river level just below the base of Upper Wintergreen Falls.

It's a nice waterfall in three sections though only the lower two were visible from the base.  We climbed around on the rocks for a while but with bright sun, the lighting was poor for photos.

I climbed down a little further to the upper section of Wintergreen Falls, but couldn't find anywhere to get out for a clear view.

We then hiked back and it was much easier following the trail on the way back.  When we got back to Augur Hole Trail, we headed down the very steep scramble path to Chub Line Falls.  There were a bunch of burying beetles along the way down.

The path was fairly easy to follow but extremely steep.  As we got close to the river, we had navigate over a big downed tree that was covered in briers.  I inadvertently grabbed a devil's walking stick and got some barbs stuck in my hand.  I know how it got it's name.  At the base, we ran into Badger and Kitty!  We had to wade in the river to get out to a good view point.

The water in the river was not nearly as cold as expected and felt great on our tired feet.  There was a nice flat rock in the middle of the river to relax on.

We hung out down here for a while then made the excruciatingly steep climb back up.  And once up, it was a 3-mile uphill hike back to the car.  We took it slow and stopped to see a small tributary waterfall on the hike back.

There were some snowy hydrangeas flowering along the trail as well.

We made it back just after 7, completing a very long day.

Back at the cars, we headed to Lazy J's to check in and set up camp then headed to Headwaters Outfitters to get some dinner from Mama Bear's food truck and beer from the tap room.

Gorges Waterfalls

Sunday was a rainy morning.  We ate breakfast in the car and then drove to the Frozen Creek access of Gorges State Park.  Our plan was to hit Upper Wintergreen Falls.  We hiked Auger Hole Road about 3 miles to Wintergreen Trail and followed that to the campsite.  After the campsite, the trail was extremely hard to follow, with tons of downed trees over what semblance there was of a path.  Alex was really having trouble and the rain picked up so we decided to head back.  Right past the turn for Wintergreen, Augur Hole Trail was closed due to a landslide.

Turning around, we went back on Augur Hole Trail and got off the road to go down to the waterfalls at the confluence of Auger Fork Creek and Maple Spring Branch.  It was a real steep climb down to the base.  Augur Fork Falls flows down on one side and Maple Spring Branch Falls on the other.

There was a nice view of Augur Fork Falls from the base, but hard to see Maple Spring Branch Falls.  I had to climb up the lower section of the waterfall for a good view.

Such a cool spot with dual waterfalls - there was a great view of Augur Fork Falls looking back.

This area reminds me of a tropical rainforest.  After a lunch break, we climbed back up to Augur Hole Trail and continued back.  In just under a mile, we got off the trail and bushwhacked down to Double Drop Falls.

The bushwhack was pretty steep, but it was short at least.  We got a couple pictures and then finished the hike back.

Before heading back to camp, we went right on Frozen Creek Road for about a mile to see Frozen Creek Shoals.  It's on private property and the view from the road was poor.

On the way back, we stopped again at Headwaters.  The food truck tonight was Tex Mex Barbeque.  I had a pork taco and Sandy had a smoked sausage sandwich.  We got some dry wood from Lazy J and made a fire since it had finally dried out.

Gorgeous Gorges

Saturday, we left early to take Alex to the mountains for a long weekend of camping and waterfalls.  Our first stop was the visitor center at Gorges State Park to get Alex's passport stamped.

Then we parked at the Rainbow Falls trailhead and began our hike along Horsepasture River.  The trail leaves Gorges State Park and enters Pisgah National Forest in under a mile and begins to follow the river more closely.  Soon we made it to Rainbow Falls.  Even in low water, the waterfall is spectacular.

We climbed down to the base for a good view of this magnificent waterfall.  There was a little rainbow at the base.

Continuing along the trail, next up was Turtleback Falls.

In the summer, it's too crowded with swimmers but today it was looking nice.

From here, we followed the trail to the end of the national forest property.  Drift Falls is on private property but can be seen from the property line.

This was our turnaround point.  Just past Rainbow Falls, I scrambled down to the river for Hidden Falls.

And shortly before we got back to Gorges State Park, we took a side path down to Stairway Falls.

In low water, it didn't look as much like stairs.  After a break, we headed back up to the trailhead.

Heading back on US64, we parked immediately across the bridge over Toxaway Falls.  Carefully crossing the highway, we got behind the guardrail and went east to an old gated road.  The road petered out after a bit but it was pretty easy following the path.  Flagging tape helped us stay on the path down to Toxaway River.  Following the river downstream, we came out at the top of Twin Falls.  A rope assisted with the climb down to the base.

Twin Falls is a really nice waterfall, I was impressed.

And Toxaway River was really scenic going downstream.  After some pictures we made the climb back up.  Before crossing US64, I scrambled down to Toxaway Falls.  I made it to the top of the big drop.

With condos across the gorge, it wasn't a great view.  Getting further down would have been tough, especially for Alex so we headed back to the car.

From here, we drove to Lazy J's and set up camp.  Sandy spotted a food truck at Headwaters outfitters to save us the drive to Brevard.  We had barbeque from the food truck and drinks from the taproom with Alex.  Before returning to camp, we made a short detour on Diamond Creek Road.  Diamond Creek Falls is a roadside waterfall a mile and a half up the road.

It was obscured by rhododendron and wasn't much of a view from the road.  We headed back to camp and built a campfire for a bit before going to bed.