Daniel Ridge Hike

Thursday morning, we took Alex out to the mountains for a long holiday weekend.  Our first stop was at the Daniel Ridge Trailhead near Davidson River in Pisgah National Forest.  It rained most of the way out, but was just a drizzle by the time we arrived around 10.  Being a dreary weekday morning, there was only one other car at the trailhead.  We hiked down the Forest Road 5046 across the bridge to Toms Spring Falls.

With the heavy rains, it was really flowing.  I climbed up the side for a couple pictures and also from the road.  Unfortunately, the view from the road is getting pretty overgrown.

There were some beautiful mountain laurel blooming as we continued down FR-5046.

The road curved around and crossed Toms Spring Branch again below the upper waterfall.

This one was looking really good in the high water.

Shortly after the waterfall, FR-5042 intersected Daniel Ridge Loop Trail and we turned right to follow the loop.  There were some beautiful flame azalea growing along the trail.

Where the trail intersected with Farlow Gap Trail, we turned right to attempt to reach Twin Boulder Falls on Right Fork.  The crossing of Right Fork, which is normally an easy rock hop, was a massive torrent.

There was no safe way to cross, especially with the dog.  So we headed back, following Daniel Ridge Loop Trail down.  Although we didn't get the waterfall we wanted, I did get to see some trillium.

Sandy also spotted some fairy wands.

Continuing down the trail, there were some nice cascades and small waterfalls along Right Fork.

There was the remains of an old bridge across the creek just above where Right Fork and Daniel Ridge Creek come together to form Davidson River.

Past the confluence, the trail split where left stayed on Daniel Ridge Loop and the right trail followed the river more closely, passing some primitive campsites.  We took the right trail and found some more small waterfalls on Davidson River.

A little snail was crawling on the rocks here.

There was the remains of what looked like an old dam a short ways further.

A nice cascade was just downstream of the dam.

We spotted a nice jack in the pulpit along the river here.

The trails joined back together near the ruins of the old fish hatchery.

Soon we reached the end of the loop and bridge back over Davidson River.

We finished our hike up back at the car.

Back at the car, we made another quick stop at Lower Rockhouse Creek Falls.

It's a roadside waterfall, right where FR-475 crosses Rockhouse Creek just above the confluence with Davidson River.  Then we left the forest and stopped to get take-out lunch from Hawg Wild and support our favorite BBQ restaurant in the area.  Next, we drove to the trailhead for Thompson River along Brewer Road.  We wanted to get Simon Falls, but with the high water, it would not be safe to cross Thompson River.  So we followed the trail for just under a mile.  Right before the turn for High Falls was a less conspicuous turn to the left that went down towards Reid Branch just below the waterfall.  The path came out below the waterfall, but there was too many rhododendron in the way for a good view.

I waded through the water to the base for a good view.  On the climb back up, we found another path that left to a great view of the falls from the side.

Then we hiked back to the car.

Continuing into South Carolina, we arrived at Oconee State Park and set up at rustic test site 5.  After getting set up, I took a short hike on Oconee Trail.  There were really a lot of mountain laurel blooming here.

The Oconee Trail went past the campsite lake that was really pretty in the evening light.

I followed the trail past the campground for a ways.

As the sun was beginning to set, I headed back.

After my hike, we built a fire and then went to bed.

Wildflowers and Waterfalls along Basin Creek

Monday was Alex's 11th birthday, so we took him for hike to celebrate.  We left early and first made a stop at Carter Falls near Elkin.  Early in the morning, no one else was here.  It was a short hike along an old road down to the falls.

It's a pretty big waterfall for so far east of the mountains.  On my last visit, it was afternoon and the sun was shining right on it.  It was looking a lot better in the early morning light.

I climbed around on the rocks for pictures and then we headed back.

From here, we made the short drive to the Longbottom Road parking for Doughton Park for our main hike.  Again, there was no one here, so were assured social distancing on our hike.  We followed Grassy Gap Fire Road for about 1.5 miles to the primitive campground and then got on Basin Creek Trail to follow it's namesake.  There were lots of wildflowers blooming in the area.

We spotted a few jack in the pulpit.

The water level was up and it was unseasonably cool, so the many water crossings on this hike would be fun.  The lush forest here was really beautiful in spring green.

There was an old chimney along the trail before the first crossing.

In about a half-mile, the crossings began and most required getting our feet wet.  Alex seemed to enjoy it more than Sandy.  Basin Creek is almost constant drops and cascades.

At the fourth crossing, we got off the trail and creek-walked and bushwhacked up to the Lower Basin Creek Falls.

The last section to get to the falls is a rock scramble, so we took turns so one of us could stay with Alex.

Then we got back on the main trail.  After the fifth crossing of Basin Creek and a tributary, there were two more old chimneys.

And shortly after, there was another chimney.  There were quite a few homesteads along Basin Creek at one time.

Soon after the ninth crossing, we could see the Upper Waterfall on Basin Creek.

The view from the trail was good, but we climbed down to the base and hung out down here for a while.

After a break, it was five more crossings to the trail's end at Caudhill Cabin.

There were also a lot of wildflowers blooming along the upper portion of the creek.

I even found some showy orchis, though they were past peak.

Canadian columbine were blooming in nice patches.

I also found a nice patch of woodland stonecrop.

And the fire pinks were really big!

We then made the hike back.

On the way home, we stopped to get Alex a hot dog for his birthday dinner.

Umstead Reopening

North Carolina State Parks, including William B. Umstead State Park, re-opened on May 9th.  Having been closed since late March, I think this was the longest I had gone without visiting Umstead in a decade!  So with the park opening, we got there right at 8 on the Crabtree Creek side of the park.  Hiking on Sycamore Trail, we saw some jack in the pulpit right at the start.

The trail switchbacks down to Pott's Branch and crosses on a footbridge.

Following Pott's Branch for a ways, the trail then crosses a gravel road and begins a gradual ascent through a beautiful forest.

When we came to the split, we went straight and then switchbacked down to Sycamore Creek.  There were some partridgeberry flowering along the trail.

At Graylyn Trail, I got on Company Mill while Sandy and Alex finished Sycamore Trail.  When I got down towards Crabtree Creek, there were some beautiful mountain laurel blooming.

I ran into Pat here and she indicated that Company Mill Trail had been rerouted during the shutdown.  After crossing the bridge over Crabtree Creek, the trail now turns right and gradually climbs the banks above the creek.

It meets back up with the old trail in about 0.3 miles.  I hiked almost to the other parking lot and did a quick loop around Inspiration Trail.

Then I started hiking back, finishing up the Sycamore Trail loop on the way back.  It was good to be back in Umstead!