Graveyard Ridge MST Hike

Saturday, we took Alex to the mountains for some early fall foliage hiking.  We left very early and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville right around sunrise.  We made one quick stop at View Chestnut Cove for a nice sunrise view.

Then we continued to Black Balsam Road and the trailhead for Art Loeb Trail and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  Alex would be completing hike 4 for #mst40hike.

We set off one the MST and enjoyed the lovely fall color at high elevation.

The color was really popping up here.

In about 1.5 miles, we passed the first junction with Graveyard Ridge Trail with views looking north into Shining Rock.

After the second junction with Graveyard Ridge Trail and the MST Connector, we got off the trail near a campsite and went down to Yellowstone Prong.

Since we had the dog, we took turns heading down to Yellowstone Falls.  After crossing the creek, I followed the steep trail down, eventually coming out near the middle of the waterfall.

Going any further would be difficult.  It looked like a landslide had taken out most of the path down to the base.  I managed to get down and a tree had fallen right over the falls, so it was definitely not worth the climb down.  Sandy did not try to get down here.

We headed back up and continued on the trail.  I warned a couple other folks about the base of Yellowstone Falls.  Although it was fall, there were still a lot of asters blooming.

In another mile or so, we came to what's left of Skinny Dip Falls after the destruction from Tropical Storm Fred.

Massive boulders were moved around in the creek and the waterfall looked very differently than before.  It was still a popular spot though.

It was about 1.5 more miles to the end of the hike at View Cherry Cove.

There was a nice view of Looking Glass Rock from here.

Sandy and Alex waited while I headed back to the car.  I took Graveyard Ridge Trail to make a partial loop on the way back.

I finished up the hike and then drove back to pick up Sandy and Alex.

From here, we drove to Sapphire and checked into Brook Trout Inn.  For dinner, we headed to Micas and had a pizza on the deck with Alex.

Rainy Hike at Graveyard Fields

Sunday morning, we woke up to more rain, though it was light, but the river was getting higher.

We got breakfast then headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to Black Balsam Road and parked at the trailhead for Art Loeb and Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  As we started hiking, the rain got harder and harder.  Alex had difficulty on the slippery bridges over the headwaters of Yellowstone Prong.  When we reached Graveyard Ridge Trail, we decided to call it quits and take a shortcut back.  Crossing Yellowstone Prong at Skinny Dip Falls would be impossible.  We took Graveyard Ridge Trail and Connector to return to the Graveyard Fields parking lot and walked the parkway back to the car.  We'll have to return in lower water for Alex to complete this hike.

From here, we drove down the mountain to Mills River Brewing and had dinner and drinks here.  There were many dogs here and Alex made a few new friends.  There was a short break in the rain during the evening and we were able to build a fire, but soon it started again and rained relentlessly for the rest of the evening.

Yellowstone Falls

Sunday morning, I broke camp after waking.  The rest of the group was unsure of their plans so I took off towards Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I managed to get a legal parking spot at the overlook; with little fall color left, Graveyard Fields wasn't as popular as usual.

Hiking down towards the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, I first stopped at Second Falls.  It was sunny and the lighting was poor, but it was really pretty in high water.

As this one is crowded, I moved on after a few pictures.  I finished up Mountains-to-Sea Access (#358B) and went right to go eastbound on MST.  In about a quarter-mile, I turned right off the trail to a campsite and headed down to the creek above Yellowstone Falls.  Crossing here was tricky in high water and I had to jump to avoid getting my feet wet.  Luckily, the rocks were dry.  On river right, a steep path led down along the falls.  It was little better than nothing and I had to crouch the entire way.  I first came out near the middle.

But there was more waterfall below and it got really steep from this point.  Monkey climbing down the rhododendron was the only way down to the base.

It was still sunny so not great for pictures but a little fall color was showing.  There was even a little rainbow in the spray.

I then made started making my way back.  I must have gotten off the path as it seemed to be even worse rhodos getting back up.  But soon I was back to the creek and then the MST.

My next stop was Bubbling Springs Cascade along NC215.  This is another great area for fall color, but most of the leaves had already fallen.  I climbed down from the road and rock hopped up to the base.

The water was way up, but the sun was shining right on it.  I then headed to the MST parking along NC-215.  Entering Middle Prong Wilderness, I followed Bubbling Springs Branch upstream, which was a little tricky.  I remembered this being easy in the past, but the water level was a lot lower.  Again, the sun was shining right on Lower Bubbling Springs Falls.

So I crossed the creek and climbed further up.  Most of Upper Bubbling Springs Falls was in the shade, so looked a lot better.

After a few pictures, I headed back.  I wasn't quite ready to leave yet, so hiked a short ways on MST eastbound towards Graveyard Fields.  The trail followed a small tributary upstream but it was too small for any major drops.

I took the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Asheville heading home and made a few stops on the way.  East Fork Overlook was right above Yellowstone Falls.

I could hear it down below but it was hidden from view.  Cradle of Forestry Overlook had nice views down the escarpment but color wasn't close to peak yet.

Mills River Overlook was similar.

I made one last stop at Bad Fork Overlook; at much lower elevation, there was little color change.

Then it was a long drive home.

Torrential Rain at Graveyard Fields

This past weekend, I headed to the mountains of NC to see some early fall colors along the highest parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I left Friday evening after work and stayed at the Ramada in Maggie Valley. Saturday morning, I woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel and took US-276 up towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sun rose right about when I hit the parkway, but cloudy skies prevented viewing it. I drove southbound on the parkway to the Graveyard Fields Overlook at milepost 418.8.

Surprisingly, there were only a couple other cars here; usually this parking lot is packed. But I had never gotten here so early, and the dreary weather may have kept people away. The fall color from the overlook looking into Graveyard Fields was absolutely beautiful.

Some clouds were lingering among the peaks, but the visibility was still good.

After enjoying the beautiful colors and getting some pictures, I started hiking down the Graveyard Fields Loop Trail (#358) to the bridge over Yellowstone Prong.

From here, I turned right and followed the stairs down to the base of Second Falls.

This waterfall is usually very crowded, but for once, I had it to myself.

After a couple pictures, I headed back up the trail and continued on the loop trail in the counter clockwise direction. In half-mile or so, I got on the Upper Falls Trail (#358A) and made the three-quarter mile hike to the waterfall. Except for a group of people who were packing up their campsite, I didn’t see anyone else along this trail either. By the time I got to the waterfall, it had started raining, though not too hard. I climbed over slippery rocks to get to the base of the falls for some pictures.

Then I decided to cross the creek and get some pictures from a little closer.

The creek crossing wasn’t too bad, even in the higher water, but the slippery rocks on the other side of the creek were quite treacherous. I scrambled up a bit to get some pictures of the water from close-up, then had to get back down to the creek and get across. I decided the safest thing would be to butt-slide back down the rocks; I managed to stop myself just before hitting the creek and only got my butt wet. I crossed back over the creek and then started hiking back. When I got back to Graveyard Fields Loop Trail, I turned right to finish up the loop. There was one tree along this section that had the most beautiful red leaves.

And crossing back over Yellowstone Prong on the footbridge, I could see more beautiful colors looking upstream.

Soon, I was back at the car as the rain picked up more and more. I made the short drive up the parkway to the Looking Glass Overlook at milepost 417. I waited in the car for a bit, hoping the rain was stop, but it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. There were no views of Looking Glass Rock through the dense fog, so I hiked across the road to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and headed towards Skinny Dip Falls.

It was a short walk to the waterfall, which was flowing much more than the last time I had visited. Despite the rain, I got a couple quick pictures, then crossed the bridge over the roaring Yellowstone Prong.

I climbed up a bit to get some pictures from close up. It was raining pretty hard, so I wasn’t sure what to do. The clouds were thick, so there was no point in driving along the parkway, so I decided to just keep hiking along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, hoping that the rain would finally quit. There were a couple points where it seemed it was going to break and then it would start raining harder. By the time I got back to near Second Falls, it was pretty much a downpour. So I just started heading back. It was still raining heavily by the time I got back to the car. I drove a little further up the parkway and parked at Devil’s Courthouse. Since eating outside wasn’t too appealing, I ate my lunch in the car. The clouds had thinned enough that I could see Devil’s Courthouse, though it was a very misty view.

After lunch, I got on NC-215 going north and planned to get a couple more waterfalls. I first stopped at the roadside camping area that is the trailhead for Wildcat Falls. However, Bubbling Spring Branch was a raging torrent and there was no way I could get across safely. I headed a little further down the road and stopped at Bubbling Spring Cascades.

The water level was way up, and along with the beautiful fall foliage, made for a spectacular scene. I climbed down from the road to get a shot from closer up, but the whole area down here was flooded and there was no way to get across. I was really striking out on getting these waterfalls. I did find a small waterfall on a tributary of West Fork Pigeon River, just about a quarter-mile south of the pull-off for Bubbling Spring Branch Cascades.

The tributary is not marked on the topo map and I suspect that it doesn't exit in lower water levels.

But it was worth a stop today and the foliage along NC-215 was just beautiful.

I had planned to get Upper and Lower Waterfalls on Bubbling Spring Branch, but with the water level so high, I knew I would never be able to make it. So I gave up and went back to the Blue Ridge Parkway, heading southbound. For 15 miles or so, the road was extremely foggy with very poor visibility. Finally, as the road headed down in elevation, visibility improved. I stopped at the Mt. Lynn Lowry to view Woodfin Cascades.

Even in the high water, the waterfall was barely visible behind the leaves. I think that the only way to see Woodfin Cascades is in the winter or early spring when the leaves are down. It's too bad as it would have been scenic with the fall color. I also made a couple more quick stops at some overlooks. First, Thunder Struck Ridge overlook.

Then I stopped at Fed Cove Overlook, which is the general area of the headwaters of Soco Creek.

From here, I got off the parkway at US-19 and headed to Soco Falls. This was the first place I visited that actually had a lot of other people.

I went first to the overlook, then climbed down to the base for a couple of pictures before heading back.

I took US-19 back to Maggie Valley, stopping at one point for a view of the pretty fall color.

After dinner, I soaked in the hot tub before heading to bed.