Pink form of hepatica blooms at Harmon Den, NC
Waterfall Keepers Trip #2
Thursday March 25 through Saturday March 27
Dana Koogler
Wally & Cathy Storey
I signed up to be a Waterfall Keeper and adopted two waterfalls. The first was an hour and a half drive from home to Little Fall Branch Falls in Harmon Den, North Carolina. The second one is Lemon Falls which is a small roadside waterfall in the Brevard area. It is close to the campground I stay at frequently. It was time to do the Spring clean up at Lemon Falls. My buddy Wally Storey and his wife Cathy and I planned to meet up, stay at Adventure Village, help one another with our respective clean up duties. We would also have fun hiking. They had to leave on Friday evening, but I decided I would spend Friday night and drive home Saturday. On the way I would stop by Harmon Den and knock out the cleanup duties for Little Fall Branch Falls as well. I would be done until Summer quarter. I knew Spring wildflowers might be popping out at Harmon Den.
I met the Storeys at the campground Thursday mid morning as planned.
I was half an hour later than I had wanted to be thanks to a wreck in Sevierville.
I was able to call Wally and let him know what was up so they wouldn't worry, and I wouldn't stress out. I also got behind half a house going down the interstate. It took up one and a half lanes making it difficult to impossible to pass on the twisting course of I-40 East. Finally I got round it on a straight away just before the first Asheville exit. Once I arrived to meet them we quickly greeted one another and set out toward Lemon Falls. It was the closest to us. The plan was to clean that up, head through Brevard, eat lunch, and then afterwards go complete the clean up of Logging Road Falls for Wally.
Lemon Falls Cleanup
This part of the trip report is going to be rather perfunctory. We got rained on and I have visited Lemon Falls several times before. I did not bother taking any photos. It was running great. We got perhaps 1/4 bag of trash at the site mainly empty beer bottles, cigarette butts, and beer cans along the roadsides. My primary reason for no photos was the rain.
We got finished and headed into Brevard where we enjoyed a hot lunch at Hog Wild Barbecue. It was very satisfying. Next we moved on to Wally's adopted falls.
Logging Road Falls Cleanup
By the time we got to Logging Road Falls the weather was worsening. We began to wonder if we should even be attempting this because of the thunder and lightning. We kept going hoping it would quit. Once there at the trailhead we thought maybe it was going to get better. The lightning had abated and the thunder was less. It was drizzling rain, but we all put our rain gear on and set out to try to get this done quickly as possible. Logging Road Falls is the third waterfall along this old logging grade. We passed the trail for Discovery Falls, passed Log Hollow Falls, and a short time later arrived at Logging Road Falls which is right by the trail. We saw a small amount of trash. The rain picked up and we had occasional crashes of thunder and small flickers of lightning. We boogied down to get finished. Once more I took almost no photos. I snapped a couple with my cell phone and Wally's to show we had been there. It was my first trip to this waterfall. We got perhaps another 1/2 bag of trash from the entire trail and trailhead. Only a piece or two at the waterfall.
We made it back to the vehicle at the trailhead. The rain picked up and the lightning and thunder intensified. I think we got off that trail just in time. We were finished! I was soaked all the way through including my boots despite having worn a heavy raincoat which was long. I could hardly wait to get back to the campground so I could check in.
Once back at the campground I snagged my keys at the office, checked in to Cabin #7 and hit the shower. I got the mud, leaves and sticks off myself. I got the wet clothes stowed in a laundry bag. I got the boots in front of a heater to dry out.
I was warm and clean again. We have almost no phone signal at this campground.
I finally just drove down to the Storey's cabin #10 and we discussed dinner plans.
We ended up going to Pisgah Fish Camp! Yummy! It is always a favorite and the extra nice part was we got to go in and sit down to eat.
Later we came home to our respective cabins and I was asleep by nine p.m.
The storms overnight were unbelievable. Strong wind, heavy rains and lots of crashing thunder and lightning bolts. I woke one time to the sound of the storm.
I can sleep through nearly anything. I had told the Storey's if we woke to a foul weather day on Friday that I was bailing out and going home.
Bluebird Friday
Friday morning dawned beautiful. I woke to sunshine beaming in the window. Birds were chirping. The day promised to be beautiful and clear. It seemed unreal after the intense storm the previous night. We all got ready and headed out for a day of hiking that was pretty and fun.
Horseshoe Falls
Our first hike of the day was Horseshoe Falls. It is a lesser visited waterfall over near Tanassee Creek. Wally suggested we hit up some falls that are lesser known, new to us all, and would be running great after all this rain. Horseshoe Falls is one that gets rather pitiful in Summer or dry weather. It is a 3 mile round trip hike rated moderate at a 5 in Kevin's book. Cathy decided she did not trust her knee on this trail so she waited on us and read a new book.
The hike was on an old logging road that has lots of earthen berms to control erosion. The stream crossings were very easy. The only difficult part was the last two hundred yards to the falls. The soil is loamy, very black and after all this rain-- very slick and loose. We managed to climb up to see the falls without slipping and ending up in the mud or getting hurt. Going back down was worse than climbing up. The falls itself was gushing down over the rock face. It is a true "waterfall" in horse tail form. It has little or no contact with the rock face as it drops initially. The gorgeous blue skies overhead and the imposing rock face were a sight to see.
Below: Kevin's book said that creek left you have to go around a cliff so we picked creek right. The drawback there was vegetation which at this time of year was minimal. It saved us a creek crossing.
Looking straight in front of me. No path whatsoever.
Below: a mossy tree stump near the slide of the falls.
Above: one of our first vantage points of Horseshoe Falls.
Down over the cliff plunged the water with the sun shining through it. It looked like a shower of diamonds. At the base of the falls where it struck the rocks the water spread out in tiny rivulets looking like a lacy spiderweb. I watched the tangle of tree roots and rocks and was astonished what I saw. A rainbow was formed at the base of the falls. It was alive and moving. It wasn't stationary like most rainbows. It was in motion with the water itself. The colors of the rainbow were spraying out toward us like the mist off the falls. I got some good photos and video of it.
Below is a video of the falls and at 2:06 minutes is the best part of the whole thing. It is footage aimed at the base of the falls catching the rainbow spray! 24 seconds of wonder!
Once we got our Horseshoe Falls over with and made our way back to the vehicle we found Cathy awake and ready to go. We discussed our plans and decided to go on to our next hike... Poundingmill Falls. Another one that would not be running well except after hard, recent rain as we'd just had. None of us was very hungry at this point. The only stipulations I had for our next hike was that 1. I wanted it to be something Cathy felt up to tackling. and 2. I did not want it to be real long or difficult. I did not want to mess around until I was hangry.
Poundingmill Branch Falls
2 miles round trip moderate (5) with one short section of off trail
We headed through Brevard and out toward Poundingmill Branch in the Pisgah National Forest. The drive itself was pretty. The rains had waterfalls flowing down to the road in places none of us had ever seen them before!
I wondered if we'd find roads blocked by water damage or downed trees?
Turns out we need not have worried. We had no troubles. We arrived at the trailhead to find numerous other vehicles parked. We expected to find lots of other hikers, but only saw two guys cutting firewood on our trek. We took a short cut to get there. We went through the forest on a true path instead of the old logging road. It cuts off the corner of the trip. We had the prettiest blue skies overhead and the temperature was nice and warm with a light breeze. The sun was such a good sight after all that rain and gloom on Thursday.
We saw no snakes though it was warm enough for sure. Cathy was very apprehensive as they had seen two rattlesnakes on another trek in this area last Summer. We got to the end of the logging road and found the faint path into the woods. You could easily hear the falls from this spot, but couldn't see it at all.
It was perhaps 0.20 miles one way to the falls off trail. It was some of the easiest off trail I've ever done. Someone has even cleared a campsite back here near the falls. We found it without any trouble. Once I was within clear sight of the falls I began to hear Wally's narrative in my mind. He had been reading the description of the falls in Kevin's book. It said something about the falls deserving a higher beauty rating if there was somewhere you could get to for a decent vantage point of the falls. It was apparent to me that this was more than true. Rhododendron was crowded tightly around the stream on all sides. We found a little hole to work ourselves down through. I got to the stream level to find the view still blocked.
I climbed out into the creek carefully and hoisted myself and my gear up onto a log. Once up on the log I found myself on a precarious perch. The creek was dammed by debris here and a small, clear pond was formed right by where I stood. The spray from the falls was intense and hard to work with, but I did have as clear a view of the falls as I was going to get today. It was astoundingly beautiful. A forty foot high gusher of white water with lapis lazuli blue skies overhead. The stone behind the falls was dark brown. Some of the trees on the bluff ahead had pale pea green leaves. It was spectacular to see.
I am below the log that I climbed up on. The little ponded up area of the stream is atop this. You really cannot see the falls from here.
Below is a video of Poundingmill Branch Falls. It was more than worth the effort required to visit it.
Once we tired of being here at the falls we began our hike back out. We stopped at the little camp site and sat down to rest and get a drink. We were all growing tired and hungry. We hiked the logging road back out as opposed to the shortcut path. It was about 1/4 mile longer, but simpler. It was very muddy after all the rain. Parts of it were deep ruts and other parts shallow, soupy black mud shoals.
We were hot and tired and hungry. We headed back to Brevard and tried the Brevard Diner for the first time. It is new. It was hands down one of the best meals any of us have had. I had a Greek salad with shrimp. It was to die for.
Wally had a cheeseburger and onion rings. Cathy had baked spaghetti and a salad. All of it was yummy! The folks who own and run it are lovely people and we got great service. Their sweet tea is very smooth. It has become an instant favorite.
Click the link above to check them out. It is so good I almost hesitate to share the information, but I want to see them thrive. I am not a foodie, but this place is off the charts.
Wally & Cathy dropped me off at the campground and we said our goodbyes.
They had to get home because of some family commitments. I had such a great time. They are fine friends. The more I get to know them the more I enjoy them.
They have my same goofy sense of humor which is bonus! I hated to see them go, but I was tired and I knew they were also. I went back to the cabin and crashed for awhile. I'd had ideas what I might do in the way of shopping this evening. I did not do any of it. I was just weary. I rested and got cleaned up. I read a new book. I watched some television. I got a shower and got myself organized for the next day. I actually got the internet to work! I couldn't believe it. I slept soundly and woke up rested. The moon was pretty and full and the night air fresh and clean from all the rain.
Saturday Morning-- Harmon Den Cleanup
Saturday I woke rested and ready to go. I watched the weather forecast in the morning with my coffee and cereal. It called for a storm around one in the afternoon. I decided that while I had planned on a leisurely morning and shopping in Brevard after the stores opened... that was not in my best interest. The stores don't open until 10 a.m. and doing that would put me into the working in the rain zone again. I was not keen to repeat that. My first set of boots were still not dried out completely inside. I opted to forego the shopping and head toward Harmon Den to get my clean up done in the dry.
I got to the trailhead for Little Fall Branch Falls around ten thirty a.m.
I found almost no trash at either the trailhead and none at the falls. The trail was in good shape with the exception of one real boggy spot. It looked like a hog waller from wild hogs. I think between the heavy rain and washing the trail and foot traffic and maybe for real hogs.... it was damaged. A work around has been formed to by pass it so it has been like that awhile. I buried one toilet paper blossom. I removed one very elaborate rock cairn. This time I dismantled it completely. Someone went to a lot of trouble to gather pebbles from the stream bed to build this thing. It had a spiral staircase and everything. I was not impressed and set about replacing the rocks in the stream bed.
The falls was running high today. The stream flow was just right. The moss on the rock wall to the sides of the falls was almost glowing it was so deep green.
I spent plenty of time enjoying the waterfall. I also enjoyed photographing and checking out the forest floor which was covered in hepatica. I saw white, pale pink, deep pink, light blue and dark blue! A lot of spring beauties as well. A few tiny yellow violets, but otherwise the wildflowers have a ways to go.
I completed my duties quickly because there was so little trash this time. Even the picnic area and beyond.. where I found the many pairs of pants was pristine today! It paid off to clean thoroughly because today it was negligible effort.
Below is a video of the falls from today:
I wrapped up my stop at the falls and got back on the interstate. I heard on the radio a tone for a storm warning. It was hitting West Knoxville at the moment. I called Kenny on the blue-tooth and found he was in the middle of the storm. I asked if it contained hail as the radio had said? He said not that he'd seen. I took my time trying to avoid it, but still wound up driving right into it. I drove for 25 miles in that mess on I-40 West and I-81. Once I got to Kodak the storm let up. I decided I would stop at the good KARM store in Kodak to see if I could find Easter clothes for the kids. I was glad I did. I found a buggy full of items for a bargain price. Clothing with the tags still on from retail stores! I stopped once more on the drive home to grab some lunch. All in all it was a good trip and a safe one. I am already looking forward to the next trip over that way. I hope Kenny will be with me on that one.
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