WNCOutdoors.info Blog

Instead of watching the super bowl, I hiked to the waterfall on Hickory Branch today, near the historic Curtis Creek area in the Pisgah National Forest. It was a beautiful winter day, and not only would I rather do just about anything but watch football, there’s not much I’d rather do than hike to a waterfall I’ve never seen before!

Waterfall on Hickory Branch

The Curtis Creek area, in the shadow of Mount Mitchell and the Blue Ridge, was one of the first areas to be added to the National Forest after the creation of Pisgah. The hike starts at the Curtis Creek campground, which has just received major renovations and more campsites in the last few years.  There are several trails in the area. The Hickory Branch trail goes past a waterfall, of course, but the others climb into the higher elevations and eventually lead all the way up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The big winter storm of last Friday dumped record amounts of snow on the mid-atlantic states but didn’t do much in the Asheville area. However, it left this valley blanketed in about 6 inches of snow. The higher elevation ridges, visible through the trees and from the open areas near the campground, were glittering a brilliant, silvery white with the remains of the damaging ice storm – nature’s pruning shears – that they received just a couple of days ago. The gate at the campground was closed, but it’s only a short walk from there up to the trailhead anyway.

There were no tracks on the trail, so Darla and I forged ahead into fresh snow territory. The going was a bit tough – the snow was a lot deeper than I thought it would be – but it actually provides good traction on some of the really steep parts of the trail. Better than mud would, anyway. It was quite a sight – the woods were hush, except for the sound of rushing water. The streams are all higher than normal this winter, making it a good time to go out and see waterfalls.

The trail climbs a bit more steeply at the very beginning and again near the falls, but overall it’s not that difficult. And it’s a short hike of less than a mile one-way. While not a magnificent or spectacular falls, this one definitely has its charm. I don’t know that I’d recommend making a special trip out here to see it, but if you are already in the area or camping at Curtis Creek, it’s definitely worthwhile. And if you’re looking for solitude after a snowstorm, apparently there’s no better place!

Get all the details on how to get there on NorthCarolinaWaterfalls.info!

According to the Asheville Citizen Times and the Times-News Online today, the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act has been introduced into the house, which would authorize $75 million to acquire high priority lands adjacent to the existing Parkway corridor. The goal of the bill, which is being introduced while the Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary, would be to protect adjacent land from development for resource conservation and viewshed preservation. Although the bill does not specify which lands are being targeted, and will not seek to acquire land through eminent domain, added lands would likely be available for recreational purposes, so this could eventually have an effect on the total area available for on-trail opportunities for hiking and mountain biking in the region as well.

An article in the Roanoke Times mentions the possibility of adding mountain bike trails to the Blue Ridge Parkway’s list of off-road recreational activities. In 2008, the Parkway asked for public comment on its trails development plan, and specifically those trails which connect to other trails on public lands in the area. Many riders from our region enthusiastically supported adding mountain bikers as an acceptable user type, including myself. Although, according to the article, the plan won’t come out for review until at least next year (and then it could be years until the trails are opened or built), it appears that there is hope that the National Park Service might start opening some of its trails to bikes.

Currently, there is only one trail on National Park land in the entire region that is open to bikes: the lower portion of the Deep Creek trail (and it is more of a gravel road). And although bike-friendly Forest Service trails connect directly to the Blue Ridge Parkway, users must stop riding and carry their bikes over the short section of trail on Parkway property until they reach the roadway, an awkward and senseless requirement which would hopefully be lifted once the new plan goes in place.

We’ll keep you posted as we here more about the prospects of bikes on National Park Service lands.

It turns out I had the Panthertown Valley trails mistakenly under the South Mountains State Park trailhead! I’ve corrected this, and added all the new official Forest Service trails in Panthertown Valley. Check ‘em out, and GPS maps of the trails are coming soon!

I spent New Year’s Eve visiting two waterfalls near Highlands, NC which I have added to NorthCarolinaWaterfalls.info: Picklesimer Rock House Falls and Big Shoals (Secret Falls). The weather was foggy, and it had snowed around 1-2 inches the night before, which was actually great weather for hiking! The recent precipitation meant the water was up, and it was cool so I didn’t have to worry about overheating. And the fog made for some great, moody photography.

Picklesimer Rock House Falls

Picklesimer Rock House Falls is a free-fall over a big rock bluff that old-timers used to call a Rock House. And apparently, someone named Picklesimer lived nearby, or named the falls. It’s a great destination for families with older kids, as the trail is not too hard, and the area around the falls is pretty safe. Just use the usual caution around creeks and rocks, but there’s no big cliffs to worry about below you. And with the really cold weather we’re getting now, there should be some really cool ice formations here later this week!

Big Shoals (Secret Falls)

Big Shoals is what I presume the “official” name of this waterfall is, since the newly blazed & graded trail that leads to it goes by that name. In reality, everyone calls it Secret Falls, which is ironic since it’s not even slightly a secret anymore. It’s a beautiful place, though, and I can see why locals might want to keep it that way.

These are some easy hikes that should be well worth trying this winter. Click the falls’ names at the top of this post for links to maps, directions, and trail descriptions, and then go check them out!

Catawba Falls is located just off of I-40 in the Pisgah National Forest, near Old Fort, in McDowell County. Despite its’ being on National Forest property, however, the falls has long since been off-limits to the general public due to the only reasonable access trail being on private property. But good news! Recently, the Foothills Conservancy bought the 23-acre tract over which the access trail passes for $400,000.00, on a loan. A temporary access agreement with the County was put in place, and since then the public has been allowed to access the fails simply by parking at the end of the road and walking up the trail.

More recently, a Federal house bill has been passed that will allocate the funds for the US Forest Service to acquire the land from the Nature Conservancy, thereby paying off the loan, and possibly develop a larger parking area for public access. Since this news was released mid and late last year, I’ve put the falls high on my list for a visit – and it was well worth the wait. Catawba Falls is a beautiful, multi-charactered falls with two distinct sections – a wonderful addition to the selection of trails and hikes available in Western North Carolina.

The trail begins at the end of Catawba River Road off of I-40, at the bottom of the Old Fort grade (directions on Google Maps). On the day of my most recent hike, there was still a good 6″ of ice and snow on the ground from two recent winter storms in late 2009 (the major snow of December 18th and the big ice storm Christmas morning). The trail was muddy where there was no snow, and it was actually easier to walk on the crunchy snow than the places where the trail was clear!

The trail is mostly level at first, and I noticed that it followed an old power line (which is down in places). The trail starts on the left side of the creek but eventually you must cross to the right side where it continues. There is one place where it is possible to rock-hop, but it was above boot level with the high water. Upstream from that, at the old powerhouse, was a slippery log which I was able to use as a makeshift bridge. It still had snow and ice on it, so it was tricky at best. Expect to get wet on this crossing if you come after wet weather!

After you cross, the trail follows the creek upstream on a gentle grade at first, then a moderate climb. You will pass by the ruins of the dam that supplied the old power house (seen here). The trail drops off steeply to a cascade below the dam, so be careful. This creek used to be the sole power source for the town of Old Fort.

Beyond the dam, the trail climbs a bit more steeply before making another creek crossing. That crossing is an easy rockhop. Next, the trail comes out in a dry wash. Cross to a rocky “island” in between the wash and another creek crossing, and cross that as well. This second crossing was tricky again on my last hike – a big hemlock log makes a good bridge but it too was snow and ice covered.

The trail then continues uphill a short distance through an area of very large boulders to the lower falls, seen below (from a prior trip with no snow). There is a good bit of room for hanging out an enjoying the scenery. The uppermost parts of the falls might be obscured from view when the leaves are on the trees, so I’d recommend going before the winter is over. In very cold weather, I bet lots of ice forms on and around the falls:

Lower Catawba Falls

Now from here, there is a scramble path that leads up the right side of the falls. There is a sign warning you not to go that way and let me tell you – heed the sign. It starts out steep, gets steeper, and eventually gets so steep up some rocks that there is a rope in place to help numbskulls (like me) who go up there anyways keep from getting killed. Because that’s what will happen if you slip – you’ll tumble down the path and off the falls. Not only is it steep, but it’s narrow, with a sheer drop-off into the creek.

So why would anyone even bother climbing this path? There are some pretty neat (scary?) views of the lower falls from up there, but the real reason is to reach the upper falls – which are about 5 minutes upstream from the top of the lower falls. The upper falls is really nice, but until a better path is established, I can’t recommend anyone attempting to reach them. So I got a photo for you:

Upper Catawba Falls

So from the photo you can probably see why people would want to haul themselves up the mountain. It is such a beautiful waterfall, but the trail up there is so bad that I’m torn as to whether I’d even go back that way to reach them.

I’ve added Catawba Falls to NorthCarolinaWaterfalls.info, and I’m considering adding it to HikeWNC.info as a Best Hike also. But for that, I’ll probably wait until the Forest Service buys the land near the trailhead, making the “temporary” access more permanent.

A while back, I was surfing around Google Maps and noticed that “The Loop” on US 441 in the Smokies wasn’t showing up properly on the map. And when you tried to use the Street View to go around the loop, it jumped from the lower part of the road to the upper part at the tunnel. So, I used the nifty little “Report a Problem” link on the map to describe this to Google. It’s now been fixed! Here’s the email Google sent me as notification:

On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 10:04 AM, <noreply-maps-issues@google.com> wrote:

Hi Jordan,

Google Maps has been updated to correct the problem you reported. You can see the update here, and if you still see a problem, please tell us more about the issue:
Link to view and/or reopen issue

Report history
Problem ID: FB89-4FC9-1447-A5D4

Your report: US 441 loops over itself right here. It’s a bizarre little bit of engineering to get the road to a lower elevation in a hurry. “The Loop” isn’t shown on the map, nor is it possible to follow Street View around the loop – it jumps right from the lower part of the road to the upper part as you go through the tunnel.

–
Thanks for your help,
The Google Maps team

In addition to the major rockslide blocking Interstate 40 just east of the Tennessee border, with the heavy rains from the remnants of tropical storm Ida, rockslides are occurring all accross the region:

• Interstate 40 remains closed and will be that way all winter or longer.
• The Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville is closed indefinitely due to a creep/slide
• US Hwy. 64 just west of the NC Border (near Ducktown) is closed due to a large slide, which was caught on video.
• Scattered smaller slides have also occurred on secondary roads.

FR 477, Avery Creek Road, is closed beyond the Pisgah horse stables due to a landslide that occurred during the recent rains. This slide appears to have happened in the same spot as an earlier slide from the rains in late 2004. From the looks of the pictures posted in various forums, it will be closed for a while.

This closure affects access to the Buckhorn Gap, Bennett Gap, and Avery Creek trails. Right now it looks like it’s possible to hike or ride the closed portion of the road but this will likely change when/if the Forest Service starts doing work on it.

A number of trail projects are listed on the Forest Service’s 2009 Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA). A lot of these will undoubtedly be placed on hold or canceled as they wind their way through the bureaucracy, but we might actually see some work done on some of them. There are definitely some trail maintenance needs across the National Forests so it’s nice to see these coming up.

In addition to these projects, some of the money from the Economic Stimulus plan of earlier this year has been sent our direction. One project listed as a result of this is trail bridge construction and maintenance. No specifics have been announced, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. But expected some changes on our area trails over the next couple of years!

Here are some specific proposals from the latest SOPA:

Pisgah National Forest

– Reroute a section of the Little East Fork trail around washouts from the storms of September 2004. This project is officially on hold.

– Relocate a portion of the Pink Beds trail (Davidson/Mills River areas) around the beaver-created pond/wetlands. This project is completed.

– Officially extend the Rainbow Falls trail up to meet the new trail from Gorges State Park. The actual trail is already in place and easy to follow; this proposal is just to make the naming and routing of it official. A decision is expected in November 2009 with implementation in March 2010.

– Reroute of the very bottom of the Sam Knob trail where it’s eroding into Flat Laurel Creek. A decision is expected in November 2009 with implementation in August of 2010.

– Reroute a portion of the Spencer Branch trail (Mills River area) “to higher ground”. A decision is expected in November 2009 with implementation in April 2010.

– Fix a damaged culvert by building a bridge on the Wolf Branch trail (Bent Creek area). This project is listed as completed on 7/13/09.

– Relocate the Cherry Creek Trail as part of the Harmon Den project. Implementation is expected in June 2010.

Nantahala National Forest

– Relocate a portion of the Appalachian trail off the ridgeline of Hogback Mountain onto the west side of the ridge. A decision is expected October 2009 with implementation in October as well.

– Cut down dead trees along the Joyce Kilmer Memorial trail using crosscut saws and “explosives”. A decision is expected in December 2009 with implementation in Jaunary 2010. This trail will definitely have to be closed while this is carried out.

– Extend the Bartram trail by 4 miles, from below Doubletop Fields down the ridge to Hickory Knoll Road. A decision on this is expected in Februrary 2010 with construction starting March 2010.

So as you can see, there are a number of trail projects in the works across the Western part of the state.