Twentymile Cascade and Burgan Creek Falls Hiking with Grandkids --Valley So Wild Blog Series

Hybrid trillium 

Twentymile Cascade & Burgan Creek Falls 

Hiking with Grandkids 

Saturday April 27, 2019

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Micheal and Tessa Lindsey

Pictures are here:  
Burgan Creek Pix

Twentymile Cascade

Twentymile Creek Cascade Map & Info

  We had been wanting to get out and spend time with our other two grandkids Michael age 10 and Tessa age 5.   Now that Gabriel was with his parents more we took the opportunity to give our daughter and son in law a date night.  We kept our two grandkids overnight and had them all day Saturday.   We set out to do a couple easy hikes with them in the Robbinsville , NC area.

We first visited Twentymile Cascade and Moore Branch Cascade.   These are in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina side.  You have to drive the Tail of the Dragon to get there.  It was actually not bad for a Saturday.  Plenty traffic, but a little more courteous today than the usual.   Everyone did well on the curvy road and no one got car sick.

    Twentymile Cascade is a very short hike and super easy over a mainly flat trail. The only elevation gain is the tad bit on the part toward the falls.   Michael had to have a potty break in the woods so while Kenny went ahead with Tessa I hung back with him to watch for other hikers approaching.

I noticed that dropping into Moore Branch at the bridge is another stream with a waterfall on it. I had never paid attention to it before in all the times I've hiked there.  It is heavily overgrown with rhodo.

   We got going again and in a few seconds were on the descending trail to Twentymile Cascade.

It was flowing so strongly there was no way to safely get close to it today.  In times of normal flow you can climb down the rocks and onto the shoal below the falls.  Not happening today. The kids were not thrilled with any falls they had to stay back from. They like to be IN the scene!

  Most of the Spring wildflowers were done for the season, but we saw a few things. I saw Prester John... a five leaf form of Jack in the pulpit.  Only the second time ever for me seeing this.

Michael our grandson.  Tessa and Pawpaw up ahead. Some random fisherman guy. 

 Catesbys Trillium

 Dwarf Crested Iris

Twentymile Cascade above and below

Grandson Michael and Papaw Kenny

 Above and below: Prester John.. note the five leaves

Above and below: Different angles of Moore Branch cascade. a low but scenic spot on Moore Branch.

   

 

  We wrapped up the somewhat disappointing hike to Twentymile Cascades.  The kids wanted to go somewhere they could get right in the creek and wade.     We made it back to the jeep and got a snack and kept going.  We would stop in Robbinsville on the way through and grab some lunch.  We ate fast food at Wendy's and felt better.    Nanny made everyone go try a bathroom break even if they didn't feel like they needed to go.  Kids peeing in the woods especially girls.. can be a hassle. If a number two or three comes along Heaven Help us!

Burgan Creek Falls

Burgan Creek Falls Directions 

  Once we were done with lunch and back in the jeep we left Robbinsville heading toward Burgan Creek. It is a little known, little visited waterfall in the Nantahala Game lands.  It is a pretty waterfall and not a real long hike.  We had successfully visited it once before in Winter. I had wanted to get back to see it in warm weather. I believed it would be even prettier and that it would be a good wildflower destination.  It is not a very long hike, but it turned out to be a little harder than I recalled.   I was tickled that Kenny and I both remembered the road directions to the trailhead.  I did not worry about that until it was too late, and we were already on the way.

It was a nonsense. We found it easily.   If you pass the shooting range on the right of the road you have gone too far.     We parked at the forest service gate and began our hike.

    It goes along an old logging road for a short distance. It then turns and goes right and begins a climb on a true trail.  It is flagged very well the entire distance to the falls.  There is more than one creek crossing, but the first one is "bridged" by a board.  We climbed through a rhododendron tunnel for a fair distance.  We passed a seepage spring that Tessa wanted to go investigate.    We came to the top of the ridge and someone had put a rock cairn to make the trail.  We had a little huffing and puffing on the climb, but not too much.   We then went down the short distance to the stream.  We crossed and on the other side we went back up again for a little.   The trail stays on creek right for most of the way.  I'd say the first half of the trek after the crossing.  We came to a point where we had to ford the stream again. It was not bad. It was running pretty good, but could still be rock hopped.  We helped the kids across.  They did great.

We stayed on creek left until the very last and we crossed one final time to approach the falls with the stream on our right.  The entire forest was a nice wildflower destination.  The Spring ephemerals were on their last gasp though.   Need to do this hike in earlier Spring.

    above: Tessa and Papaw looking at the falls

 We got to the falls and we were all treated to a glorious view of the falls.  They were surrounded by blue sky, green trees, lush vegetation and mossy bluffs.  We stopped to take it all in.   We spent a fair amount of time playing in the creek and enjoying the scenery. The kids liked it much better since they could get in this stream.   Tessa was getting tired and was about over the hiking and we still had to get her back to the jeep!  Kenny headed back with her a bit ahead of me and Michael.    We lingered and played in the creek more and explored.  

I am glad they like outdoors. I wonder if hiking is going to be Tessa's cup of tea?  Too soon to say, but so far she is not a big fan.    She may be my shopping and junking buddy instead.  She loves that stuff.  

      

above: Burgan Creek Falls in late Spring.

Below:  Burgan Creek cascades through mossy logs and rocks. You can barely see Kenny and the kids down below the falls. 

      Below: Grandson Michael really likes hiking and is playing in the creek.


Below: Pretty cascade just in front of where Michael played in the stream.



Below: an representative portion of the trail we hiked. It is very brushy and a little hard to follow if you were new to this.   I guess it isn't fair to judge whether Tessa is going to like hiking based on this.  She is not a fan of any trip where grass and weeds brush her legs.

Above: Michael shows a flat stone he found in the stream



Purple wake robin trillium


White wakerobin trillium.  These were a few wildflowers still blooming on the hike.

Lots of blue cohosh and toothwort and Canada violets too.


    We headed back and joined Tessa and Kenny at one of the stream crossings.  They had rested and we all got along easier on the hike out.   We decided based on Tessa's fatigue level we'd not press our luck. I do not ever want to turn a hike into a misery trip for my grandchildren.  I don't want them to learn to hate it.   We had been going to try Yellow Creek Falls another short one, but that will wait for another time. 
 

   We began the drive home and I asked Kenny if he minded for us to take a quick side trip.  I wanted to see if Gladdens Creek Falls really was along the side of the road toward the Skyway.  We didn't have to go far .. maybe quarter to half mile before we saw a pull out along the left of the road. Room enough to park about six cars. A beautiful stream cascaded down toward Santeetlah Lake. It DID exist!  The tourism map that showed it was not lying.  It probably isn't worth a stop during drier times, but today was it ever!  It had more sweet shrub growing round it than anywhere I've seen.

   We ended our day on a positive note.   The kids spent the night with us Saturday since that was mom and dad's date night.  We took them to church in the morning and handed them off afterwards.
What a great weekend of outdoor recreation and quality family time.   Tessa told me "Nanny, I want to do something again with you and Papaw, but NOT hiking!"  😄


Below are a couple short videos of Burgan Creek Falls and Gladdens Creek Falls.
      First-- Burgan Creek Falls