Above: Krigia dandelion growing at the trailhead for Mt. Hardy Falls
Adventure Village Camping Trip--
Mt. Hardy Falls, DEW Falls, Johns Jump
Saturday Sept. 17 thru Monday Sept. 19, 2022
Kenny, Dana & Gabe Koogler &
Tessa Lindsey
My Co-grandma Debbie wanted to take granddaughter Mia age 23 months on one last trip to Michigan by plane. They were going to visit Sarah, Debbie's eldest daughter, grandkids up there, and Mia's auntie. It would be the last opportunity to take advantage of Mia not having to have a separate ticket or seat. Any future plane trips will be more costly. They went up for about 10 days to visit.
We decided to take advantage of the chance to do things with Gabriel to devote some special time to him. Sister is so demanding at her age and with her nature that he gets neglected a little bit. It makes me feel awful, but I only have so much time and energy to go around. This would be a chance to take him and Tessa camping and to do some fun things. We wanted Michael to go, but though he is only 13 and in 7th grade he is already in the high school marching band! The Heritage Highschool marching band won a competition in Crossville against many other area bands! It is quite a commitment so we will have to wait until after the marching band season is over to devote ourselves to fun things with him.
We talked it over with the kids and they wanted to go to Adventure Village and see Brevard and do some camping and hiking. I wanted to work on getting at least one more of my Kevin Adam's 100 Waterfall list completed. We'd try to make it all happen. Kenny had to work all day Friday so we did not get to leave until Saturday morning. We had arranged to stay Saturday and Sunday night and leave on Monday. Tessa came over Friday afternoon to spend the night so we'd be ready to roll out on Saturday. We got packed and ready with grocery shopping done so we would not have to deal with that on Saturday.
We got over there and got settled at the campground by midday.
The kids were tired of riding and hungry. They predictably could think of nothing other than the promised stop at O.P. Taylor's Toy Store. We had encountered an arts festival in Brevard with streets blocked off and huge crowds. We talked them out of going up there and getting in that mess on such a busy day. We fixed lunch at the camper and then set off to hike to Mt. Hardy Overlook along the Mountains to Sea Trail. It was a 3 mile round trip hike rated moderate.
Below: goldenrod at the trailhead
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We drove up Route 215 north and parked where we did for Bubbling Springs Branch this past May. You start out on the same trailhead, but instead of going left go right for the view of Mt. Hardy Falls. It was a pretty trail with lots of variety. Shady areas of deep forest cover. Moss lining the trails. Springs trickling down the mountain. Meadows of late Summer wildflowers like goldenrod and asters in lavender and white. The day was cool and sunny up in the mountains near the Blue Ridge Parkway. We saw evidence of logging operations like old rusty wire cable and a rail sticking out of the trail itself. I later learned this was part of the Sunburst logging operation. It was a division of Champion Paper Company long ago. .
We hiked along with everyone doing very well. The only trouble came when we all four realized that we had been on the trail long enough to have surely seen Mt. Hardy Falls in the distance if we were going to. What had gone wrong? The walk through the weedy area had both kids noses running like a sugar tree. Tessa was coughing. Gabe was coughing. He fell at one point and puckered up and cried. They did not feel great and this wasn't fun anymore for them. One thing I have never wanted for these children is to take them on hell hikes that turn them against the activity.
We wasted no time in going over the directions again and turning around. We had to have missed it. I wondered if it was running so poorly it was nothing more than a damp rock? Had the view become so overgrown in the six years since the guidebook was published it was no longer viewable from this trail?
After doubling back about 1/2 mile Kenny spotted Mt. Hardy Falls to our left in the far distance. Barely visible through the trees was a pitiful waterfall sliding down the mountain like a piece of white yarn. The kids were not happy about this. None of us were, but there was nothing for it. Yippee! I could say I had completed the hike and only had four more waterfalls to visit to finish this list of 100.
We got back to the camper tired and sweaty. The kids were sooooo tired on the hike and the ride home. I immediately jumped in the shower at the camper to rinse off the sweat. They talked Papaw into taking them to the playground. Not as much tired as they were bored. It wasn't fun for them . They prefer hikes to waterfalls where they can get to the base and have an upclose experience with the falls. I appreciated them being such good sports about it.
We got cleaned up and I fixed a nice dinner of grilled porkchops and veggies. Everyone rested well. The kids had snotty noses, coughs and were truly tired that evening. There had been some crying on the trail. I had injured my right knee stepping down off a high spot.
Below: a very distant view through the trees of Mt. Hardy Falls. Pitiful!
Day Two -Change of Plans and Making Things Up to the Little Ones
The plan for day two was to meet up with friend Wally Storey and all of us drive out to Turkeypen Gap via Chestnut Mountain Road. We would hike to Lower Bearwallow Falls. It is a particularly pretty falls, but a tough eight mile round trip hike from the Frozen Creek entrance of Gorges State Park.
From Turkeypen Gap it gets the hike down to 3 miles round trip. That would have been doable by the children and all of us were it not for the circumstances of Saturday. Tessa had already hiked six miles this week. Both she and Gabe had runny noses and coughs. They were not feeling the whole hiking thing after the Mt. Hardy disappointment. My right knee was swelled and painful. I tried to call Wally from Cherryfield at the store where we get phone signal. No answer. I texted him to let him know of the change in plans. He was his usual gracious self and we agreed we'd try it another time.
Sunday we slept in a bit. We had a nice breakfast. We got out and played and then headed toward town. They wanted to go to Mountain Play Lodge. It did not open until noon. The toy store also opened at noon. We arrived at the parking lot of Mountain Play Lodge at 11:45 a.m. . We sat there waiting for them to open. Kenny got to looking on Google maps to see what else was in the vicinity. Right down the road was Launch! The trampoline park. The kids immediately voted to do that instead. After the way they were such troopers on such a disappointing hike that was more than fair.
Launch was busy, but not overly so. Just enough to be fun and exciting. It is a very cool trampoline park and had some different sorts of features and attractions than I've seen elsewhere. They had a ball and thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff was attentive and helpful without being overbearing.
Below: Gabe and Tessa getting ready to jump into the foam pit.
After an hour at Launch we headed to eat a late lunch. No one could agree on any of the restaurants in Arden near the trampoline park. I suggested we head back to Brevard to Pisgah Fish Camp. Everyone liked this idea and it was a great hit with everyone. Kenny and I had eaten here many times, but for Tessa and Gabe it was their first visit. They loved it and we will be regular customers. They fix oysters like my Mamaw did! Yummy!
Next we stopped by O.P. Taylor's toy store in Brevard. The kiddos ran around in there with Papaw. I stopped by my favorite store Local Color. I shopped and spoke with the owner and operator, Paul a little bit. I purchased some souvenir items. I love this place for it supports local artists. It has items that are artistic, functional and unique. The prices are very fair. I got a pottery coffee mug with a funny face. A hair barrette that is handmade in Autumn tones. I got a matching pair of earrings. I purchased an inspiring refrigerator magnet.
Below: my coffee mug with the funny face.
Below: Paul is the owner/operator of Local Color
The children were having a blast in the toy store as always. Tessa ended up getting a Polly Pocket toy and Gabe got a toy cell phone that is also a game.
He loves to pretend to get funny phone calls and can be real dramatic.
We headed back toward the campground and decided to go hiking also. They wanted to hike, but today we'd do some short, easy hikes with a big payoff for the effort. We drove the short distance down to Sapphire near Gorges State Park. We walked a quarter mile or so to DEW Falls. It was in the cooler part of the evening. A dad and his little boy were the only other persons we saw this evening and they were at DEW Falls. They did not stick around too long.
The kids loved the short, pretty walk and the waterfall. They played in the creek and explored the next drainage over where there was a small cascade as well.
Today's hikes were redemptive efforts and thankfully they paid off. I want them to love this place. Kenny waxed a little nostalgic. We started coming to this area in 1999. It is hard to believe that we've been visiting this area for twenty three years now. Our children were 9 and 12 when we made our first visit. Now here we are grandparents bringing our grandkids to experience it. It is a sweet feeling, but marks the passing time for sure. We both agreed that Brevard and Western North Carolina have become part of who we are. It has been a large blessing.
Below: Dew Falls
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The kids really enjoyed DEW Falls, but we wanted to take them to Johns Jump nearby. It is a few hundred feet up the road on the opposite side. They were keen to go see it especially when they heard it was an even bigger falls. They mainly like waterfalls where you can get to be up close to it.
Below is a video of DEW Falls
We parked up the road and took a minute to check the directions in the Kevin Adam's waterfall book. We had been here before twice, but it had been many years! I think it was 2003 when we were last there.
The directions were good and we found the short path down to the falls. It was steeper than I remembered, but not unsafe. The kids were handling this challenge like old pros. They loved it. It is a large pretty falls with a nice pool. The waters in the creek are sparkling and cold. Many pretty pebbles litter the creek bed. Mica glitters everywhere in the stream. They had fun picking up pieces of mica and examining it. I let them take photos with my camera and videos.
Below is a video of Johns Jump Falls
We got our visits to the waterfalls wrapped up and headed back to the campground to fix a late dinner. We had a nice campfire tonight and roasted marshmallows. I was prepared to sit up by the fire for awhile, but the children found themselves tuckered out from all the jumping on trampolines and the playing in the creek at the waterfalls. They went to sleep quickly and asked to go to bed!
Below is a short video of the campfire
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