One really nice spot along the Rock Jock Trail is a place called Blue Jay Falls. Now, calling it a waterfall is a stretch. I liken it to a similar area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park called 'The Place of a Thousand Drips'. That's what you have here. The water filtering down from the top of gorge emerges atop the rock face here and drips and trickles down the little cliff on its way down to the Linville River.
Every time I'm here I'm tempted to just drink right from the little falls and springs. When I first started hiking and backpacking back in 1973 I wouldn't hesitate to drink the water in such a spot. And I never got ill from doing so. However, these days the back country is cheek-by-jowl with people and dogs; all of whom shit in the woods. It's just not worth drinking unfiltered or untreated water. Maybe it would be okay, but maybe you'd hit some water infested with giardia or e coli, etc. It just isn't worth the risk today with the popularity of hiking and backpacking.
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| The section with the heaviest flow. The most likely spot to use for filtering water to refill empty bottles and flasks. |
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| This is what most of the falls is like: just a series of dripping springs. |
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| Self-portrait at one end of the falls. |
The "falls" extends for quite a way along the trail.
Check these falls out after a rain or in a very cold spell!
ReplyDeleteI've been during stretches of wet weather, but not when it was actually raining. I can imagine it would be fun. Also when frozen. I've never seen that stretch when it's iced over.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not a lot of water, but it's still beautiful. I love the rock formations and colors. The water enhances both.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy my time there. I was looking for a good campsite near it as I hiked. I found a good spot about 1/3 of a mile away.
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