North Carolina Waterfalls and Fall Color Trip 2012 (Part 2)

If you haven't read part one of this adventure, go here.

After Dupont, we traveled over to Pisgah and Looking Glass Falls and lunch before heading off into the forest on one of the service roads.  I had heard of a falls there that actually turned out to be a hike to disappointment.  Even though it's never a disappointment to be in the mountains, I was led to believe there was something there, other than what I found.  So, I did some macro work on the trail back.

Close in at the bottom.

To finish out the day, and there is no better way to finish the day, we drove over to Eastatoe Falls, which just happened to be on the way home.  This place has got to be my favorite of them all.  There are many great ones, but this place is very serene and usually I am all alone here.  This waterfall is 80 feet of splendor and magic, and is right in some guy's back yard.  He has to be a cool guy to allow tourists and he does.  Thanks to him.  I've met him once but never even got his name, and somehow, that seems appropriate, as I just love the beauty and magic of this place.  Two shots from Eastatoe.  The small one is a close cropped section from the bottom of the falls and the second is an overall view from the pool at the base.  There is another view from further down the creek as well, but I think these two will suffice to show the beauty of this place.  So quiet and peaceful.  Just the water and you.

From the main pool.

The next day took us to a couple of falls I had not visited yet.  I had seen pictures and I wanted to go, so go, we did.  First up was Secret Falls.  It was not that hard to get to, but the trail head was not so obvious and it was a bit arduous.  Some pretty steep uphill climbs in both directions, but mostly coming back.  Not for the faint of heart, but worth the trip for sure.

Secret Falls

After that, another very hard hike.  Really easy going down into this 500-600 foot deep gorge.  Not so easy coming out.  It's only 3/4 of a mile one way, but you will feel it.  Despite the burning muscle tissue, an all in all rewarding hike, as we visited three falls in one plunge.  This is Glen Falls and it starts out as a long cascade at the top and then there is a big falls in the middle and another at the bottom.

Glen Falls Middle Falls

Glen Falls - Lower Section

After Glen Falls, we decided to go on down the road (U.S. 64) a bit further, as there are a number of falls right on the side of the road.  We passed by Bridalveil Falls, an interesting place but not much for photography, and pulled in at Dry Falls, which has a newly reconfigured parking area and concrete sidewalks and railings going down into the gorge.  This place is really cool.  Lots of good angles to shoot and walking behind the falls leads you to more at the end of the trail.

 These two images are from the approach (left) and then from the end of the trail, where there is a viewing area.

 

Then there's the view looking down the gorge with mountains in the distance as you are leaving.

Looking down the valley from Dry Falls.

After leaving Dry Falls, it was time for the grand daddy of them all, however, it proved not to be, as nightfall was swiftly setting in on us. We would never make it in time, and decided to try for first thing in the morning, prior to heading to Maggie Valley. See part one of our adventure here.
See part three here. 

North Carolina Waterfalls and Fall Color Trip 2012 (Part 1)

Saturday morning, 6AM.  I'm sitting in the cabin in Maggie Valley.....cup of coffee and getting ready to pack up and head home.  Thinking about the past week and what a wonderful time was had by all.  Starting out in Hocking Hills, Ohio, we spent three days wondering the trails and photographing fall color mostly, as the creeks and streams were dry as a bone.  I've never seen it this dry.  We managed to visit almost all the iconic places that Hocking has to offer and a few others as well.  The color was seemingly at it's peak, so the fall color vistas were looking good.

Hocking Hills - Rock House and some light painting.

Cantwell Cliffs was probably the most difficult of the hikes, as we covered every trail in the place, stopping to shoot the two most prominent land features, as well as a bit of macro/closeups of some of the rock faces.  It's a wonder how some of these very abstract looking rock faces evolved.

Hocking Hills - Cantwell Cliffs

 Finishing up at the lower falls at Old Man Cave, I was disappointed to note that the park people have put up split rail fencing in front of the falls and also signs prohibiting closer approach to the falls, such as the large bolder I have shot from in the past.  It also wrecks what I thought was a very nice shot of the falls looking through the underside of the foot bridge at the end of the trail.  Oh, well.  Things change.

Monday morning had us heading south to N. Carolina, travelling via I-75 to US-25E through Cumberland Gap and over I-40 into MaggieValley where we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  First up was Soco Falls, which is close to the entrance to the parkway.  Couldn't not stop here, but I was hesitant to drag my charge into the riverbed for full effect photos, so we shot from the deck.

Soco Falls

Along the way, we discovered Woodfin Cascades, situated right along the side of the parkway.  There's an overlook there, so we stopped and shot and had some lunch.  This is a place that deserves much more exploration, but that's for another trip. 

Next we traveled down the parkway to County Road 215 to visit one of my favorite places, Courthouse Falls.  The falls is situated about four miles in on an old U.S.Forest Service road and the hike is simple and a short 1/4 mile.  On the way out, we worked along the Courthouse Creek for a bit.

Along Courthouse Creek - Devil's Courthouse

After Courthouse we stopped at the Living Waters where there are three sets of falls.  We didn't have much time so we only shot one.

Falls at Living Waters Ministry

 Finishing up at Living Waters, we headed for our lodgings in the town of Brevard which is situated on the edge of the Land of Waterfalls (primarily Transylvania County).  Dinner and a look at the shots from the day and some sleep.

Tuesday had us heading out for Dupont State Forest with a short stop at Conestee Falls.  I was delighted that this place was finally accessible, as it had been closed on my several previous visits.  The county did a great job of creating a viewing platform, but they also denied access to the base of the falls,where the best shots could be had.  Still it was worth the stop to see this great falls and I could see why they restricted access to the base, as it is a very deep gorge of approximately 100 feet or more.  The shame is there is no view of the falls from the front, where they would be most beautiful.  As you can see, there is another waterfall coming into the gorge at the bottom of this photo and it would be a great shot with both falls tumbling into the gorge, but I suppose it would be unsafe to get that shot.  Here's a shot from below by a realtor from before the county construction.

The sun was burning brightly when we reached Dupont, and it was extremely difficult to shoot anything but we visited High Falls and Triple Falls.  If nothing else, we got some good exercise and there were lots of people about to meet and converse with.  No wall hangers here, just good times and nice folks.

Dupont State Forest - Tripple Falls from the overlook.

 Thanks for looking.  This concludes part one of our Fall 2012 adventure to the Land of Waterfalls.  You can see the rest of the adventure by continuing to the next post.  Hope you enjoyed and please comment.

The adventure continues in part two.  See it here.