Return to Catawba Falls

Saturday, we left to take Harper for a week in the Smoky Mountains for her first birthday.  We left early and stopped on the way near Old Fort at the trailhead for Catawba Falls.  The area was closed for several years as the Forest Service was making improvements for safety and accessibility and had reopened at the beginning of the summer.  This would be our first visit since reopening.  Arriving at 8, it was raining lightly and there were only a few cars in the parking lot - a good thing we arrived early.  After getting Harper in her backpack, we set off on the Catawba Falls River Trail that mostly followed the old trail.

Soon, we came to a bridge at the ruins of an old hydroelectric building.

It used to be a rock hop across the river, but the bridge has been here for a few years.  The trail followed the river upstream with a moderate incline.  In about a mile, the trail passed Lower Catawba Falls.

Before the new trail, there was a scramble path down to the base, but that was no longer possible with the trail reroute.

We could see the upper portion of the waterfall from here, but the lower section with the small cave was not visible.  The only way down would be to backtrack to a point to get in the river and creek walk up, but weren't going to do that with a baby.  I did a quick loop on the short wildflower trail and then we continued on.

The stairs began shortly before we reached Catawba Falls and we could get out at the base.

The water level was a little low, but the waterfall was pretty in the light drizzle.

Although visible from the base, the stairs weren't as much of an eyesore as I expected.

Then we began the steep climb up the steps.  Several landings provided a view of the upper sections of the falls.

Carrying Harper, I took a few breaks to enjoy the view and catch my breath.  The old path to reach the upper falls was still visible beneath the steps.

The final part of the climb was up an observation tower that had nice views, especially from the top.

It was just a short ways further to Upper Catawba Falls.

The new viewing deck provided a nice view and we scrambled on the rocks for more pictures.

On the hike back, we took Catawba Ridge Trail to make a loop and avoid going down all those steps.  It was a bit more uphill and then started heading down.

Overall, I think they did a nice job in building the new trails and stairs.  I would prefer the wilderness experience but the area was so popular and so many incidents that something had to be done.  The parking lot was full when we got back, even with the rain, so glad we arrived early.

It was getting to be around lunch time, so we drove to Asheville and fajitas at Orales.  It was still a little early to check in, so we made a stop at the Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  While Harper and Sandy browsed, I went for a hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail heading south/westbound.

There were some wildflowers blooming along the roadside and in open areas, but most were non-native.

I hiked just past the tunnel under I-40 and turned around.

On the hike back, a very large black bear popped out on the trail in front of me.  He turned and ran immediately but we sure was a big boy.  Sandy and Harper were about finished up and we took off.

We drove west to Bryson City and stopped at the visitor center to get a parking pass and then checked into our little cabin.

Harper Creek Falls

Saturday, we took Harper to see Harper Creek Falls as we recently got the kid carrier backpack to take her on more hikes.  We left early and got to the Harper Creek Trailhead in Wilson Creek around 8 and the parking was already nearly full, mostly campers I imagine so early.  We got Harper in the backpack and headed off on Harper Creek Trail (#260).  Shortly after the split with MST, we took the unmarked trail to Harper Creek Falls.  At the top, I took off the backback and did a trial run down the ropes.  First I went down to the middle section.  It was a little slippery and I didn't feel confident going down with Harper.  But the path leading down to the base wasn't so bad.  The lowest section with the rope was a little slippery but I could secure my feet in a crack going down.  So I went back up to get Harper and we all made it down to the base to see the waterfall.

After getting her back up, I was getting tired so Sandy carried her back.  I took the opportunity to get some pictures of the mushrooms growing along the trail.

With the recent hurricane, the mushrooms were really popping.

I also saw a dark morph eastern tiger swallowtail.

When we got back to the car, there were a lot more cars here.

We continued through Wilson Creek, getting on FR-464 and driving up to the trailhead for North Harper Creek Falls.  Hiking down the trail, I spotted some green elfcup mushrooms that had stained the decaying wood.

We also saw a little red eft cross the trail.

Harper Creek Falls Trail led about a mile to North Harper Creek Trail (#266) where we turned left and headed steeply down, eventually reaching North Harper Creek.  We went downstream a bit and headed out into the creek at the base of Chestnut Cove Branch Falls.

It's actually on North Harper Creek at the confluence with Chestnut Cove Branch.

It's not too exciting, so we continued upstream to the much more scenic North Harper Creek Falls.

There's a nice area at the base where we ate a snack and let Harper splash around a bit.

Wading in the cool water helped me cool off before the steep climb back up carrying Harper.

From here, we left the forest and headed into Morganton for dinner at Las Salsas.  Then we checked into the Comfort Inn and relaxed for the evening.

Linville Gorge Memorial Hike

Saturday was our first hike since we had to say good-bye to Alex and wanted to do his favorite hike.  Leaving early, we headed up to the Wolf Pit Trailhead at Linville Gorge.  I heard rumors the road was going to close to the public, but didn't see any indication.  We headed up along the Shortoff Mountain Trail.

The mountain laurel were really popping all along the trail.

Other pretty wildflowers like goat rue were flowering as well.

Some fly agaric mushrooms were popping out of the ground.

It was humid heading up, especially carrying Harper, but after a mile or soon, we made it up to the top.

It was much cooler up here and the clouds were clearing, so we started getting some great views of the gorge.

We took a short break at a rocky overlook and Sandy spotted an orange-patched smoky moth.

We also spotted a eastern turkeybeard flowering.

At high elevation, there was a lot of sandmyrtle flowering around the open areas at the top of Shortoff.

We also saw some interesting bristly locust.

It had small pink flowers and seed pods covered in red bristles.

There were also a few rhododendron blooming up here.

We stopped at the campsite along the trail before it turns east.

I think this spot has some of the very best views in all of Linville Gorge and Alex really loved the hike up here.

We hung out up here for a while then made the hike back.

We were pretty hungry by the time we got back down so stopped at Fonta Flora Brewing Whippoorwill Farm for pizza from the food truck and drinks.  Then we headed over to Lake James State Park to get in a quick hike before the rain.

More mountain laurel was blooming along Paddy's Creek Trail.  At the end, we got on Overmountain Victory Trail, but it soon looked like it was going to rain.

Fortunately, it didn't really start until we got back to the car.

From here, we headed to Spruce Pine and checked into Pine Valley Motel.  I noted a trailhead right across the street so I went on a short exploration.  A small trailhead for Overmountain Victory Trail was just off Carters Ridge Road.  The trail led about a quarter-mile along Grassy Creek.  At the end, stairs led down to the creek at the base of a small waterfall.

It wasn't big and there was a tree fallen down the middle, but it made a nice spot to turn around.

It started raining lightly, so I didn't stay long.

Back at the hotel, we took showers and went to bed.