Hunt Fish Falls

The day that we were leaving I'd promised myself one last, brief hike. Examining my trail map, I knew that there was a trail that led a very brief .7 miles to a waterfall called Hunt Fish Falls. I'd heard that it was a nice place--especially if the water flow was good. So Carole and I got the trailer ready and the campsite 90% packed up to save some time.

After that, I hopped in the truck and drove to the trail head, leaving Carole at the campground to hang out in the trailer to relax while her hiking-mad husband went off for one last walk before heading home. The drive to the trail was short and I soon found that I had the trail to myself. Unlike the hike to Big Lost Cove Cliffs, the distance for this one seemed pretty much right on the money. The trail just heads down into the valley dropping moderately until about a tenth of a mile before the falls. At that point it gets pretty steep and you can hear the crash of water from the various waterfalls.

Surprisingly, I discovered that there is a side, feeder falls to the right as you're walking downhill. This waterfall does not have a tremendous volume, but it's very tall and pretty impressive, when you consider that it's something of a bonus.

There were three people at the falls when I got there. They'd spent the night in tents just above the main waterfall and were packing up as I arrived. While I was scoping out the falls and swimming hole they got their stuff stowed away and were soon gone, leaving the place just to me.

I instantly fell in love with the spot. The area just above the waterfall screams to be used as a campsite. The forest shields you from the sunlight, but the creek is just a few steps away and the sloping and treeless granite bedrock leads easily down to an enormous and deep swimming hole at the base of Hunt Fish Falls.

Once again, within two days, I'd found a second spot that I did not wish to leave. But I had to go. I took as many photos as I fancied, shot some brief video of the falls, and then headed back up the trail to return to pick up Carole and the trailer and head back to Charlotte.

But I'll be heading back. Just as soon as Life allows me to.

Falls and Swimming Hole below.

This low volume but very high waterfall is just beside Hunt Fish Falls. In fact, it's possible to pitch tents in the space between the two falls for a fantastic campsite.

This vast and quite deep swimming hole at the base of Hunt Fish Falls almost demands to be used. However, this was a bonus hike for me. I had to make a quick run of it by hiking down to the falls and then getting back to the campsite to re-attach the trailer to the truck before checkout time. You can better believe I'm going back to try out that swimming hole.

It's possible to stand on the cascade that empties out the swimming hole and look back up at Hunt Fish Falls.

The granite bedrock slopes down to the deep pool to the green-tinted but otherwise clear water. The floor of the pool is pure sand, quite easy on the feet.

If I was going to camp here, I'd pitch my tent just inside the edge of the forest here, above the falls. There's a huge boulder just across the creek and the sound of crashing water would lull me to sleep. And if I wanted a swim, it's a short stroll down the exposed granite to the edge of the pool.

I've found few campsites more inviting than the one above this waterfall.

Ode to a Blossom

As I was standing knee-deep in the crystal clear water in the plunge pool below HuntFish Falls, I noticed a fallen rhododendron blossom floating past on its way toward the rapids beyond. Here was the bloom of the Catawba rhododendron, so recently on the shrub, illustrating great beauty and fertility only moments before. And now it was hurtling along toward destruction. Ah! The futility of life! The cycling and recycling of all that grows!

I was almost tempted to write a bad poem.

Instead, I feel that it's good to recall Percy Dovetonsils, the worst of the Earth's bad poets, creation of the late, lamented Ernie Kovacs.

Ah, Percy.
We hardly
knew Ye.

Special Places

Have you ever been to a place that you didn't want to leave? I've been to a precious few such spots in my life. All park or wilderness locations. The first one was when I was fifteen years old--a little dot on the Appalachian Trail called Liss Gap. I was only there the one time and we stopped to rest. I wanted to stay, but a schedule was pulling us on.

There have been a few others over the years like Liss Gap. I generally stumble on these bits of geography once every five years or so.

But two in one weekend? Yeah. It's true. I'll write more about them later. Just now we need to unpack the truck. Here are a few shots I took at these places.

Big Lost Cove Cliffs, Pisgah National Forest, Curtis Creek Area.

HuntFish Falls. Pisgah National Forest. Curtis Creek Area.