Pickens Nose

Friday was New Years Eve and we wanted to get in some nice hikes to finish out the year.  We headed west on US-64 and made a quick stop at the overlook near Winding Stairs Gap.

Then we drove to the Standing Indian area of Nantahala National Forest on Upper Nantahala Road/FR-67.  We continued to Ball Creek Road/FR-83 and parked at the trailhead for Pickens Nose Trail (#13).  In less than half a mile, we reached a side path that led out to great views to the north and east.  Clouds were still lingering over Franklin.

The trail ended at an overlook looking south towards Georgia.

Southern Nantahala Wilderness was just beyond here.

Pickens Nose itself was just a little further back - the distinctive nose jutting out.

We stopped for some pictures here before a light rain rolled in.

So we made our way back as more folks were showing up.

From here we drove back to FR-67 and followed that to the end at the trailhead for Albert Mountain.  The lookout tower was visible from the road on the drive in.  After parking at the end, we hiked the Albert Mountain Trail (#36A) up to Appalachian Trail and followed that up to the summit.

The top of the tower is locked but there were nice views from the summit looking down over Coweeta Lab.

I walked a little further on the AT and got a few more nice views.

Then we headed back to the car and headed down FR-67.

We made a stop at the trailhead for Mooney Falls.  The short trail led to a split and we first went left to the upper section.

Then we went back to the split and went down to the lower section.

It's not too big but rather pretty and easy to visit.

Then we drove just a short way further down the road to the trailhead for Big Laurel Falls Trail (#29).  The trail crossed Mooney Branch on a footbridge and then followed Nantahala River upstream into Southern Nantahala Wilderness.  There were some cool trees along the trail.

The trail ended at Big Laurel Falls.

There were several other people here, so we didn't' stay long.  We went out to Nantahala River near the headwaters and ate lunch at a scenic spot.

Then we hiked back to the car and started driving out of the area.

Back to US-64, we went left and then right on Rainbow Springs Road/FR-437.  After about 5 miles, we passed Factory Branch Falls.

It's a fairly high waterfall right along the road, but its covered in downfall and right next to a house.

I got a couple pictures out the window, then we turned around and headed back to Franklin. We went to Currahee Brewing for New Years Eve dinner and drinks, then headed back to Gooder Grove.  We considered walking downtown for the Ruby Drop, but it was raining off and on and we didn't make it to midnight.

Murphy Area Waterfalls

Sunday, we headed to the far western part of North Carolina to visit some waterfalls in the area.  We headed west from Franklin on US-64 to Hayesville and headed into the Fires Creek area of Nantahala National Forest.  Our first stop was at the picnic area, where we could see Leatherwood Falls across Fires Creek.  The view from across the creek was rather poor as there was a lot of foliage in the way.

The water level was way up, so no safe way to cross Fires Creek for a better view.  There was a bridge across the creek that led to a picnic area, but no way to get to the base of Leatherwood Falls.  So we gave up and continued down FR-340 following Fires Creek upstream to the split with FR-340C where the road was gated.  After parking, we continued hiking down FR-340 past the gate, crossing a bridge over Long Branch and continuing about a mile to the point where Bald Springs Branch flows into Fires Creek.  It was a steep, but short scramble down to Fires Creek.  Since the water level was up, there was no dry way to cross, but the crossing wasn't too bad.  At this point, the hike got really difficult.  Lower Bald Springs Falls was just a short was upstream and it was easiest to creek walk to this one.

It's a real scenic waterfall even with a lot of deadfall covering it.  Then we had to make an excruciating bushwhack up the side through dense rhododendron to get above the waterfall and then headed back down to creek level to get to Bald Springs Falls.

This is a really cool waterfall with a lot steps.  We climbed up a little ways along the waterfall until it got to steep and overgrown with rhododendron and then bushwhack up the side.  It was just a short ways further to the last waterfall on this creek, but incredibly difficult.  We could hear the waterfall from high above, but it was very tough to get back down to creek level.  Backtracking a bit, we finally found a safe way to get back down to the base of Rain Forest Falls.

At only 15 feet, it's the smallest falls on Bald Springs Branch, but really scenic, even with several huge trees fallen down on it.  After a couple pictures, we bushwhacked back up and found some semblance of an old logging road that we could follow back down to Fires Creek.  After crossing the creek and climbing back up to the forest road, it was just a mile back to the car.  Hiking back on the road, I spotted two trees near Fires Creek with shelf fungi growing out of them.

The one tree had purple fungi and the other had orange fungi.

Back at the car, we continued driving west past Murphy and Hiwassee Dam to Appalachia Lake.  We turned on the unpaved Prospect Road and drove to the property line to park on National Forest property and made an easy bushwhack down to lake level.  From here, there was a trail following North Shoal Creek up to the beautiful North Shoal Creek Falls.

In high water, this was a really beautiful waterfall.

There were also some really nice cascades on the creek downstream of the waterfall.

After a few pictures, we headed back.

We had planned to go to Tellico Falls as well while we were way out here, but with the high water level, we knew we'd never make it so headed back towards Franklin.  As we got towards Standing Indian, we got off the highway and took FR-67 past the campground for about 6 miles to the trailhead for Mooney Falls.  After the really tough hikes today, it was nice to visit an easy waterfall.  Mooney Falls is in two sections, though you can't see both from one point.

First we went to the upper section which is a long cascade with some mountain laurels blooming near the top.

Then we went down to the lower main section, a 20-foot drop.

Throughout the area, there were a lot of mountain laurel blooming.  So before heading back to Franklin, we made a quick stop at Big Laurel Falls, just a short ways back on FR-67.  From the parking area, we got on Big Laurel Falls Trail (#29) and crossed Mooney Creek on a footbridge.

Across the creek, we turned right to stay on Big Laurel Falls Trail.  We soon entered Southern Nantahala Wilderness and followed Nantahala River upstream towards its headwaters.

The Nantahala is formed at the confluence of Big Laurel Branch, Gulf Fork, and Kilby Creek.  We followed Big Laurel Branch just a short ways to the falls.

A better name would be Big Rhodo Falls as there were no mountain laurel here, just rhododendron.

It's still a beautiful waterfall and worth the easy hike since we were in the area.  After a couple pictures, we quickly hiked back as it was getting late.

After that, we headed back to Franklin.  Since it was late on a Sunday, most places were closed so we had dinner at Fatz before heading back to the hotel.

Beech Creek Loop HIke

Saturday, we woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel and started driving south on US-441 into Georgia.  After crossing the state line, we followed back roads west to Tallulah River and drove upstream through Chatahoochee National Forest and back into North Carolina, parking at the trailhead for Beech Creek Trail (#378) in Southern Nantahala Wilderness.  The trail started off steep, heading up a ridgeline and then back down Beech Creek where we had to cross and pick up the trail on the other side.  I spotted some cute little orange mushrooms growing out of a log here.

It was just another half-mile or so to Bull Cove.  After crossing Bull Cove Creek, we followed a path upstream a short ways to Bull Cove Falls.

In high water, it was a very scenic waterfall though a big log had fallen right across it and I don't think that's going anywhere any time soon.

There were also some very scenic cascade on Bull Cove Creek downstream from the waterfall.

After some pictures, we got back on main trail and continued following Beech Creek upstream to a wade across Beech Creek.

We picked the trail back up on the other side and followed Beech Creek upstream into a gorge-like area.  Several of the small, unnamed tributaries flowing into Beech Creek had a lot of water, including one that was very scenic.

I think this is Bear Creek Falls, though the tributary is unnamed.  There were a number of wildflowers blooming along the trail, including some narrow-leaved sundrops.

Down below, Beech Creek was really flowing.

Shortly, we passed a rock wall and the trail cut sharply to the left to begin a switchback.  We followed a path going straight that led a short ways to a small waterfall on Beech Creek way below High Falls.

Although dwarfed by the much larger high falls, this was a pretty scenic waterfall.  A lot of downfall on it, like just about everything in this area.

Back at the main trail, it began climbing very steeply via a couple switchbacks.  At the next one turning left, a sign indicated going straight led to High Falls.  We followed the trail to the base of the beautiful waterfall and had lunch here.

High Falls is a really cool waterfall and we spent some time here enjoying the view.

I took off my boots to wade in the water and get pictures from different angles.

The sky grew dark and I thought it was going to start raining, but it never did.  After a bit, we headed back to the main trail and continued to follow it up.  The next half-mile or so was gruelingly steep.  I stopped to see some red efts that had come out in the wet weather, a welcome relief from the climb.

We also spotted a large snail crossing the trail.

In a bit, the trail leveled off as it passed the headwaters of Beech Creek.  In about a mile, a blue-blazed spur trail cut to the left and we followed this up towards the summit of Big Scaly Mountain. Throughout the hike, we had seen evidence of recent wildfires, but nowhere so obvious as up here.

The first part of the spur trail ran through an area where the forest was recovering and a tremendous number of ferns were growing along with many wildflowers.  As we approached the summit, it was mostly dead rhododendrons.

Even here though, a few had survived and were flowering.  We climbed up a rocky outcrop for lovely views from Big Scaly.

After a short rest, we started back down.  And it would be all downhill from here.  The Beech Creek Trail led another 2.5 miles down the mountain to the junction with Deep Gap Trail, where we turned left to head back to Tallulah River Road.  Back at the road, it was another mile or so back to where we parked.

On the way out, we made a quick stop at the Tallulah River Fishing Pier.  The views of the Tallulah River were really nice here, especially with the mountain laurel blooming along the river.

Heading back towards Franklin, we had enough time for one (or two) more waterfalls, so drove west on US-64 to Wayah Road and went about five miles to a right turn on FSR-316.  We parked right before the gate at a ford of Camp Branch.  A short path led past two concrete buildings, presumably to store explosives, and then to Camp Branch Falls.

This is a small, but very scenic waterfall and very easy to reach.

And, there's another one just upstream from the first one.

There was some deadfall over Upper Camp Branch Falls, but I thought it was just as scenic as the lower one.

After a couple pictures, we headed back into Franklin and had dinner at Thai Basil and then returned to our hotel.