The True Meaning of Bushwhack

Several people have emailed me to say how much they'd like to hike to this waterfall:
While the hike to this waterfall is only about 200 yards from the road which runs adjacent to the wilderness area where it's located, there is no trail. I keep trying to impress upon folk what "no trail" means in the Southern Appalachians. Generally, it means extremely steep slopes, poor footing, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of very thick vegetation. That vegetation generally being various species of brambles, rhododendron (they don't call them rhododendron hells for nothing) and often a nasty foot-grabbing plant called dog-hobble. While it wasn't very far, this is what the hike down to the bottom of the gorge looked like:

If you're up to it, then I highly recommend the scramble down to see these falls on Scotsmans Creek. Otherwise, just be aware of the kind of tough sledding you'll face. (Oh, yes. We also have lots of copperheads and rattlesnakes in this part of the country in the summertime.)

Waterfalls in western NC

Gettin' antsy to go hiking again.

Here are some videos from my last trip:

Silver Falls

The Upper Silver Falls (above the lower one, naturally.)

The Lower Falls of Scotsman Creek

The Reality of It All

Several people have emailed me to say how much they'd like to hike to this waterfall:
While the hike to this waterfall is only about 200 yards from the road which runs adjacent to the wilderness area where it's located, there is no trail. I keep trying to impress upon folk what "no trail" means in the Southern Appalachians. Generally, it means extremely steep slopes, poor footing, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of very thick vegetation. That vegetation generally being various species of brambles, rhododendron (they don't call them rhododendron hells for nothing) and often a nasty foot-grabbing plant called dog-hobble. While it wasn't very far, this is what the hike down to the bottom of the gorge looked like:
If you're up to it, then I highly recommend the scramble down to see these falls on Scotsmans Creek. Otherwise, just be aware of the kind of tough sledding you'll face. (Oh, yes. We also have lots of copperheads and rattlesnakes in this part of the country in the summertime.)