Hidden Waterfall

I mainly hike alone these days. By my choice. However, sometimes I have to forgo certain things when I'm hiking by myself. You can't take chances when you're alone and far from help. So it was last Sunday when I hiked down a trail I'd never been on in the area between Linville Gorge and Wilson Creek.

Climbing back up toward NC 181, I could hear a lot of water falling. So I knew that there was some kind of cascade or waterfall through the heavy growth of rhododendron, but I couldn't quite get a good look at it. What I finally did end up realizing was that it was a very high series of cascades and drops that--if you could find the right safe spot--might make for an impressive photo.

However, I was alone and in no position to try to find my way down into that little gorge to find such a spot to take a photo. What I could (barely) see through the brush were two big drops that would add up to quite a nice waterfall. I'm certain it's a noted falls/cascade, but I don't know if it has a name or if there are lots of photos online featuring it.

I did the best I could under the circumstances. Even so, I did take a risk and had a hard time scrambling back up to the trail.

A nice little cascade on the creek. Not sure why someone tied flagging to that limb.

I'm pretty sure that this is a fisherman's trail carved over the years through the rhododendron by fly fishermen.

This video in no way shows the falls. You really can't see it, except for that small trough that acts as a transition between the two big drops.

This trough splits the two big drops.

A very nice campsite along the trail.

6,000 feet

If all goes as planned, I'll finish my latest novel in a few days. If I do, I'm going to treat myself to a one-night backpacking trip. I know exactly where I want to camp.

A few years ago I was hiking on the Mountains to Sea Trail near Mount Mitchell, the USA's highest peak on the east coast. Along the trail I came to this view on the shoulder of one of our 6,000-foot peaks:

For reasons I can't exactly name, I have wanted to camp at the top of this rocky face ever since I saw it. From my vantage point far below, I even saw a spot I'd want to try to set up my tent. It's right here, at this enormous boulder below the summit:


I don't know if there's room for a tent there, but if there is that's where I want to pitch my camp and spend the night, watching the sunset and waiting for sunrise. I have talked to a friend who scrambled up the cliff face in the first photo and he says that it's pretty easy to do.

It's my reward to myself for completing a long and difficult task.

We'll see.

A Few Videos

In the Black Mountains of North Carolina.

One of the great views along the Mountains to Sea Trail.

The view from the overlook along the Mountains to Sea Trail on the side of Potato Knob in the Black Mountains.



Roaring Fork Falls. I'd been to this area a number of times, but somehow kept avoiding going to see this waterfall. My mistake. It's a genuinely spectacular feature. An easy hike of only one-half mile along a gravel road takes you to it.