Rocky Knob Wildflower Hike

Saturday, we headed up to Rocky Knob Recreation Area off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia for a wildflower hike. The Rock Castle Gorge Trail, a National Recreation Trail, makes an 11-mile loop with great wildflower viewing opportunities. We left the Chapel Hill area around 7 and made the drive up, arriving at the parking area off CC Camp Road around 930. Surprisingly, there were quite a few cars here and we had some trouble finding a place to park. In past years, there was never more than one or two cars parked here - a good thing since there isn’t much room. But apparently, this place is getting more popular and we had to really squeeze the cars in. Once everyone was ready, we started off on the trail, turning right after crossing the bridge to hike the loop in the clockwise direction.  Although its possible to start the trail from up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting at the bottom and hiking clockwise allows getting the hardest part of the trail out of the way at the beginning. After the steep climb up, the rest of the trail feels like a walk in the park. The trail follows Little Rock Castle Creek upstream for a ways and begins to get really steep as the trail departs from the creek. We saw a few trillium and other wildflowers on the way, which provided a much-appreciated opportunity to stop and take a break.

There are also several scenic spots where the trail crosses small feeder streams and overlooks where we could take a quick break. Although the foliage was starting to come in on the trees, it was still open enough to have good views of the gorge below. Although this part of the trail is the most challenging, we were still fresh from just starting our hike and soon the trail leveled off as it approached the parkway. Once out of the woods, the trail runs through an open area running parallel to the parkway where cows were grazing.

We continued up and over the bald and came to the Saddle Overlook, where we had views of the gorge below and Buffalo Mountain, a conspicuous hump-shaped mountain, in the opposite direction.

From here, we went back into the woods, climbing up Rocky Knob, the highpoint in the recreation area.

Just past the old AT shelter is a nice overlook, where we stopped to eat lunch. The Appalachian Trail once went through this area, but was rerouted for the Blue Ridge Parkway. After lunch, we continued on the trail, down from Rocky Knob to the Rock Castle Gorge overlook and on towards Grassy Knoll.

The trail runs through several areas where cows graze and there are several ladders to climb over the fences that contain the cows.

One stretch of barbed-wire fence, however, did not have a ladder to cross. It wasn’t very high, so easy enough to cross without the fence, but it could be dangerous if someone didn’t see it. After Grassy Knoll, we started to head back down into the gorge. Hiking through the last open area before the gorge, we saw a large herd of cows grazing, including several calves.

This is normally a nice breaking point, but we had to move a bit so as to not bother the cows. After this point, we started making our descent into Rock Castle Gorge. The wildflowers were tremendous in this area.

We saw hillsides of red, violet, and white trillium, along with jack-in-the-pulpits, Dutchman’s breeches, bloodroot, violets, and others.

We definitely picked a good weekend for the hike as the flowers were in peak bloom and were absolutely gorgeous.

The hike down into the gorge actually took longer than the strenuous hike up because we were stopping so frequently to see the flowers.

Near the bottom, we stopped for a break at the “Rock Castle”, a large pile of enormous boulders.

The gorge’s name comes from the shape of certain rocks in the gorge that resemble castle towers, though I’ve never seen these here. Despite that, the large boulder pile along the trail is sometimes referred to as the Rock Castle. Past here, the trail crosses Rock Castle Creek and heads back along an old road to the parking area.

We saw a lot of violets, a few jack-in-the-pulpits, and some other wildflowers, but not the trillium that were so prevalent further up the trail.

We passed the Austin House and crossed the creek several times on footbridges, before making it back to the parking area.

As we were packing up the cars and getting ready to leave, we saw a few flowers in bloom right next to the car that hadn’t been blooming when we started.

A couple of dwarf-crested irises had started to bloom while we were hiking! On the way back, we stopped for pizza and beer at Radius Pizzeria and Pub in Hillsborough.

Wildflowers in Penny's Bend

After a long winter, spring is finally here. To celebrate the nice weather, I headed to Penny's Bend Nature Preserve in Durham. This small preserve on a horseshoe bend in Eno River is one of the best places in the Triangle area to see wildflowers. Arriving at the preserve, the parking lot was full and I had to park along the street. Luckily, most of these people were here fishing in the river and I wouldn't have to worry about crowds on my hike.

I started out on the George Pyne Trail that runs parallel to the river.

Almost immediately, I could see an explosion of color along the trail with wildflowers in blue, white, and pink carpeting the forest floor next to me.

It was a beautiful sight and I stopped frequently to capture some pictures of the spring ephemerals.

Further along, near the northwest end of the preserve, I started seeing patches of Dutchman's breeches, a really neat little flower.

I also saw a big rock with a crack down the middle. Out of the crack were growing several little clumps of Spring Beauty.

The number of wildflowers on this short little section of trail was spectacular.

I took the loop up through an open area and back down to the parking lot and then headed across Old Oxford Highway to Section 23 of the Falls Lake Trail.

There's a new campsite along this section of the trail. A private landowner is nice enough to allow hikers to camp on his land and I wanted to check it out. So I hiked about 3 miles east on Section 23 to the well-marked turn onto a blue-blazed spur trail. The spur trail led through a pine forest to an open area with a shelter, fire pits, and flat ground for tents.

It was a really nice campsite and it's extremely nice of the landowner to allow people to camp here. As I was heading back on the Falls Lake Trail, I noticed a few wildflowers, but nothing like the amount in Penny's Bend. It's amazing what a difference in flora, despite these areas being so close.

Panther Creek Falls

Saturday morning, we had one last breakfast at Hofer’s and then finished packing our stuff up. After checking out of the hotel, we started making our way home, but not before stopping for one more waterfall hike. Near Clarkesville, we stopped at the Panther Creek Recreation Area of Chattahoochee National Forest. Although the sky was cloudy, there was little rain. From the parking area, we crossed the street and then went under the bridge on US-441, following the creek downstream. In about a mile, there was a split in the trail, and we followed the blue-blazed trail that stays closer to the creek and headed down to see the First Waterfall on Panther Creek.

After a couple pictures, we finished up the blue-blazed trail and connected back with the main Panther Creek Trail a quarter-mile or so from the split. This first part of the hike was rather steep and narrow and required some climbing over wet and slippery rocks. Afterwards, however, it started to level off, following the creek more closely on a wider path. In about another mile, we came to the Second Waterfall on Panther Creek, a series of shoals and cascades.

Although not terribly high, these falls were very powerful and we found a couple different spots to get pictures from. It was another mile to the main falls and the trail started getting more narrow, steep, and rocky as we progressed. At points, there was fencing on the side of the trail to prevent a fall into the creek. Of course as the trail started getting more difficult, it started to rain, making this hike even more difficult. At one point as we neared Panther Creek Falls, we found shelter under rock outcrop from the rain, hoping to wait it out. But the rain didn’t seem to be lightening up, so we continued on. The very last part of the trail was the most difficult, especially in the rain. This part involved climbing over, under, and around slick rocks to get down to a good viewing place at the base of the falls. Although there was some fencing to help prevent a fall, this was particularly treacherous in the rain. Surprisingly, we actually saw some trail runners at this point and backpackers climbing back up with all their gear. If they can do this running or carrying a backpack, surely we can do it hiking, I thought to myself. Finally, we reached a clearing at the base of the waterfall. Panther Creek Falls is nearly a 100 feet tall and almost as wide, with significant water flow.

It was really an impressive waterfall, but given the weather, we didn't spend as much time here as we would have liked. After we got some pictures and videos, we started making our way back up. With the wet rocks, this was a bit of a challenge, but we made it safely. This is definitely not a trail for people with a fear of heights.

We also stopped at the Waterfall at the Top of Panther Creek Falls and to view the cascades above the waterfalls, then started making our way back.

Just about when we reached the easier part of the trail, the rain finally died down. Of course when it doesn’t matter so much!

Soon we made it back to the car. We changed out of our wet clothes at the bathroom at the recreation area and then started making the drive home along I-85. We stopped for dinner at Fatz in Gaffney, SC, just below the Peachoid water tower, and arrived home after a waterfall-tastic week late in the evening.

More Waterfalls near Helen

Friday was our last full day in Helen and it was a dreary day. But we weren’t going to let that stop us from getting more waterfalls. Our first stop was the DeSoto Falls Recreation Area in Chattahoochee National Forest. From Helen, we got on GA-75 Alt North and followed that to GA-11/US-129 North. The recreation area was about 11 miles down this road. After paying the day-use fee, we started out on the trail amid a heavy fog, though it wasn't raining. According to sign at the trailhead, the waterfall is named for Hernando DeSoto who explored the region in the 16th century. A piece of armor believed to have belonged to the explorer was discovered near the falls in the 1880s. From the trailhead, we first turned left and hiked about a quarter-mile to the lower falls. Just below the lower falls was another smaller waterfall, Hidden Falls.

There was no good viewing spot, but we could mostly see it from the trail. Lower DeSoto Falls was just past this and we could get a good view from a viewing deck at the end of the trail.

After we stopped for Hidden and Lower Falls, we continued the other way on the trail to the Upper Falls, a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall. The highest tier was difficult to see due to the fog, but also gave the waterfall a mysterious and spooky feel.

When we were done, we headed back to the car and headed to our next waterfall. We continued driving north on US-129 and turned right on Helton Creek Road. In about 2 miles, we pulled off to the side of the road and made the short hike up to see Lower and Upper Helton Creek Falls. There is a short trail that leads down from the road and then up towards the waterfalls.

About half way, a staircase leads down to rocks at the base of the Lower Falls.

After we got some pictures from here, we continued on up the trail to the wooden overlook for the Upper Falls.

On the hike back, we could see both waterfalls from some places along the trail, but they were partially obscured by the trees.

From here, we continued on Helton Creek and Hatchet Creek Roads to GA-348 and took this to GA-180 and GA-75 heading back towards Helen. After a couple of miles, we turned onto the gravel Chattahoochee Road (FS-44). Almost immediately, we made a quick stop to see Upper Spoilcane Creek Falls right on the side of the road. It was really foggy and hard to see, so we planned to stop on the way back as well if the visibility improved. We drove a couple more miles and pulled over again. We could hear the two waterfalls on Wilks Creek, but couldn’t see them well. We walked down the road a bit and found a safe place to head down to the creek and then bushwhacked up a bit to see the Upper and Lower Falls on Wilks Creek.

They were both decent-sized waterfalls but the heavy rhododendron prevented us from getting a great view.

From here, we continued down FS-44 to the Upper Chattahoochee River Campground and parked. Despite the poor weather, there were several groups camping here, some of whom had drove campers and RVs. I was impressed that they could get those large vehicles down the narrow, winding gravel forest road. Past the campsite, we first made the short hike to Horse Trough Falls, a beautiful 70-foot cascading waterfall on the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River.

The ledges over which the water cascades are angled, giving the waterfall a “crooked” look to it. When we were done at this waterfall, we hiked upstream along the Chattahoochee River a short ways to Upper Chattahoochee Falls. This is a 20 or so foot waterfall through a narrow sluice.

Here at the headwaters, the mighty Chattahoochee River is only a couple feet wide. We could only see the waterfall from the trail, however. There were very steep paths leading down to the base, but given the wet conditions, getting down would be dangerous and getting back up would be near impossible. So we got a couple pictures from the trail and then hiked back to the car. On the way out, the fog had lightened a bit and we stopped quickly to get a better shot of Upper Spoilcane Creek Falls.

Back on the paved roads, we headed back towards Helen, a little earlier than most nights. We walked around town a bit, hoping to do a bit of shopping. Unfortunately, many stores were closed or had limited hours during the off-season, but we did pick up some goodies from Hansel & Gretel Candy Shop. For our last dinner, we ate at Cowboys & Angels again, having the very tasty Avocado Burger. We even saw some rabbits frolicking amidst the landscaping outside. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and started getting our stuff packed up. Finishing the way day up, we were at more than 50 waterfalls for the week and still had a few more on our way back home tomorrow.

Tallulah Gorge

Thursday morning, we decide to change plans a bit. This would be the last day of nice weather, so we decided to head east and hit Tallulah Gorge. On the way, however, we wanted to get the waterfall that is perhaps Helen’s most famous - Anna Ruby Falls. After breakfast, we drove through Unicoi State Park to Anna Ruby Falls Recreation Area.  After paying the fee, we hiked down the short paved trail to see the two waterfalls - Curtis Creek Falls and York Creek Falls, which combine to form Anna Ruby Falls.

These waterfalls are named for Anna Ruby Nichols, the daughter of a Confederate solider.

The trail from the parking lot is about a half-mile and paved and made for a very scenic walk along Smith Creek with numerous small cascades along the way.

At the falls there were several wooden platforms to view the falls from different angles.

York Creek Falls, the smaller of the two is about 50 feet and Curtis Creek Falls is about 150 feet.

We got some pictures from various angles and then made our way back to the parking area. We stopped at the gift shop so Sandy could get a fleece pullover as a souvenir. Once we were done, we headed to Tallulah Gorge State Park. It was the last nice weather day of our trip and I was hoping we could hike in the gorge. Unfortunately, the gorge floor was closed due to “weather”. Since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, low winds, and it hadn’t rained in at least a couple of days, I suspect they just didn’t want to open it during a weekday in the off-season. I checked with one of the rangers to determine which trails were open and then we started our hike. The trails here (except for the gorge floor) are extremely well-maintained so it’s almost a stretch to call it a hike. Most of the trails are mulch and a few were made from recycled tire rubber. Without going into the gorge floor, there were 10 overlooks with various views of the gorge for us to see. From the visitor center, we started on the North Rim Trail and hiked to Overlook 1.

We had nice views looking south into the gorge and could see Oceana Falls, although it was an awkward view from above.

The collapsed North Wallenda Tower was here, indicating the spot where tight-rope walker Karl Wallenda had walked across the gorge.

Quite impressive, considering it's about a 750-foot straight drop from here to the gorge floor. From here, we took the rather steep trail up to Inspiration Point for more nice views looking south into the gorge and better views of Oceana Falls.

Without a permit, we couldn’t go any further, so we headed back and headed towards the dam, stopping at Overlooks 3, 4, and 5.

Far below, Hawthorne Pool was visible, a very pretty green pool at the base of L’eau d’Or Falls (although no good views of the falls).

After stopping briefly at these overlooks, we continued to the South Rim Trail by crossing the dam along the highway.

From the South Rim Trail, we stopped at Overlooks 6 and 7, the latter having really good views of Tempesta Falls, then passed the stairs leading to the suspension bridge and stopped at Overlooks 8, 9, and 10, which are basically right next to each other.

From these overlooks, we could see Hurricane Falls in the distance, as well as Caledonia Cascade, a very tall, but low-flow waterfall cascading down the cliff face from near Overlook 1.

In fact, I think we crossed over the top of it when we went to that overlook. There were some really cool stone benches built into the rock face to sit and relax for a bit.

When we were done, we backtracked to the stairs leading down to the suspension bridge and started going down. At the bridge, we took even more steps down to the overlook for Hurricane Falls at the gorge floor, going as far as we were allowed without a permit.

We were pretty close to the falls here, but unfortunately, without a permit we couldn’t get really good views of the falls. So we began our climb up the stairs. The suspension bridge provided a nice break from the climbing, but once across, we had to climb even more. Near the top, we stopped at Overlook 2, the last one, to see L’eau d’Or Falls, a nice waterfall with three distinct sections.

After a few pictures, we finished the loop back to the Visitor Center. It was still relatively early, so on the way back to Helen, we stopped to visit Toccoa Falls. Although it’s on the private property of Toccoa Falls College, the college allows public access for a nominal $2 fee. We paid at the gift shop and walked back to see the waterfall. This was a really exceptional waterfall with a 180-foot plunge off a sheer cliff.

We walked around a bit and climbed on the boulders some to shoot the falls from different angles.

From the big rock near the falls, a rainbow was visible in the spray.

We stayed here for some time and then headed back. On our way back to Helen, we stopped at Hawg Wild in Clarkesville for barbeque. There is another Hawg Wild in Pisgah Forest, NC that we visit often when in the area. We had seen the place driving in and thought that they were the same restaurant. It turns out that they’re different restaurants, despite the same name. But regardless, the food was fantastic, service was great, and the portions were huge. I was eating the leftovers for about three days after we got home from our trip. A great surprise after our unpleasant dining experience at Troll Tavern the night before. After dinner, we made it back to Helen and walked around the little town for a bit before heading to bed.