Johnny Molloy - Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge: A Hiking Guide to the Cascades of the Blue Ridge Mountains

S OCO F ALLS (see )

Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge

Fourth edition, first printing

Copyright 2014 by Nicole Blouin and Johnny Molloy

Project editors: Ritchey Halphen and Amber Kaye Henderson

Cover design and maps: Scott McGrew

Text design: Annie Long

Proofreader: Julie Hall Bosch

Indexer: Ann W. Cassar / Cassar Technical Services

Cover photos: Johnny Molloy (front cover) and Nicole Blouin (background)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Blouin, Nicole, 1966

Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge: a hiking guide to the cascades of the Blue Ridge Mountains / Nicole Blouin, Steve Bordonaro, Marilou Wier Bordonaro, Johnny MolloyFourth edition.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-89732-994-1 (pbk.) ISBN 0-89732-994-5 eISBN 978-0-89732-995-8

1. HikingBlue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)Guidebooks. 2. TrailsBlue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)Guidebooks. 3. WaterfallsVirginiaGuidebooks. 4. WaterfallsNorth CarolinaGuidebooks. 5. Blue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.B65B56 2014

796.51'09755dc23

2013047496

Manufactured in the United States of America

MENASHA RIDGE PRESS

An imprint of Keen Communications, LLC

P.O. Box 43673

Birmingham, AL 35243

800-443-7227

Visit menasharidge.com for a complete listing of our books and for ordering information.

Distributed by Publishers Group West

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

SAFETY NOTICE

Although Menasha Ridge Press and the authors have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur while using this bookyou are responsible for your own safety and health in the wilderness. Be aware that trail conditions can change from day to day. Always check local conditions, know your own limitations, and consult a map and compass.

APPENDIXES

A REA M APS :

Thanks to Menasha Ridge Press for the opportunity to bring this book up to date and add more than 30 waterfalls. Thanks also to all the outdoors enthusiasts among us who hike the trails, take the photographs, and revel in being near one of Gods great joys of naturethe waterfall.

Johnny Molloy

I would like to give credit to those who helped make the previous editions of this book possible. My role was primarily to tie together the contributions of the many people who were involved. Thanks to Joanne Amberson, Joan Leake, Lori Nealis, Kathy Hall, Edward Farr, Howard Gray, Peter Givens, Randy Sutton, Tina Charlebois, Michele Maertans, Anita Aaron, Jerry Jacobsen, Forrest Gladden, Kim Woodson, Dick Schaddelee, Nancy Gray, Chrissy Arch, Jaye Dow, Nancy Issac, Michael Rouse, Rod Birdsong, Peggy Hinckle, Marla Tambellini, Paul Bradley, Derek Ibarguen, Jeff Jennings, Steve Pagano, Chad Boniface, Sally Browning, Sue Bumgarner, Tim Lee, Joe Anderson, Beth Carden, Diane Bolt, and Greg Wilson.

Nicole Blouin

A project of this magnitude required the assistance of people too numerous to mention. There are a few, however, whose help proved invaluable in producing the first edition, and to whom we wish to express our appreciation.

Thanks to Jim Bob and Dottie Tinsley for leading us to the waterfalls and inspiring us to keep on trekking; Skip Dunn for leading us to the Tinsleys; Jack Hall of the Lake Toxaway Company for his valuable input and his generous gift of time; Sue Elderkin and Don Dyer of the U.S. Forest Service, Pisgah District of Pisgah National Forest, for their facts and directions; Patricia and Clark Grosvenor of the Key Falls Inn for their gracious hospitality and Beth Womble for hers; Esther Wesley of the Brevard Chamber of Commerce for her guidance; Tim and Peg Hansen of Highland Books in Brevard for their resources and assistance; and John Barbour of the Nantahala Outdoor Center for his input.

We would also like to thank our parents, Tommy and Marianne Wier, as well as Laura, Jerry, and Jennifer Jackson, for entertaining Megan and Cory those many weekends we were working on the book. And thanks to Megan and Cory, who have shared a lot of our explorations and who have displayed patience far beyond their years.

Finally, thanks to Nicole Blouin and Michael Jones for allowing us to be involved in this project. It opened our eyes to our own backyard.

Steve and Marilou Bordonaro

Waterfalls are perhaps natures most captivating wonder. They are magical, holding all the secrets of the woods. Although they seem simplefalling waterwe are astonished at finding one of these moving spectacles hidden within the folds of the forest.

Mountain streams leave their birthplace, stretching and rushing toward the sea. They are fed by springs and rains as they travel down ancient slopes, following channels carved out centuries before. Reaching a precipice, they fall, creating an enchanting place.

For some people, waterfalls are simply excellent places to picnic. For others, waterfalls are the moving focus of all wild places. Whichever the case, waterfalls make you feel good. Their therapeutic powers are similar to the cozy glow of a toasty fire, the endless rolling of the ocean surf, or a drumming rainstorm.

Add hiking to a waterfall and you double your pleasure. Most hikes in this book could stand alone, but they are even better when combined with the chance to visit a waterfall. Waterfall hiking in the mountains of the Blue Ridge is a marvelous way to experience the outdoors.

With this guide as your reference, you can seek out a different waterfall every time or hike to a favorite falls over and over, bringing friends and family. During an early morning walk, you might catch a glimpse of a wild animal drinking from a pool below the falls. Or you could camp beside a waterfall and fall asleep to the sound of rushing water.

Waterfalls often have interesting names, sometimes more mysterious than telling. Silver Run Falls has a beautiful name; Schoolhouse Falls has an unusual name. Like many waterfalls, Soco Falls and Lower Cullasaja Falls get their names from American Indian words. Others share common names, such as Upper Falls or Cascades. When setting off to a waterfall, keep in mind that there may be another with the same name elsewhere and the falls may be known locally by a different name, or none at allsimply as the waterfall.

Each waterfall has its own personality. Some are exceptional for the water volume they command; others for the tremendous height from which they fall. The personality of a waterfall changes with each rainfall. Rain saturates the ground and feeds the creeks and rivers. Falls swell with an abundance of watera delicate cascade might be a raging waterfall on the next visit, and vice versa. Thus, waterfalls invite visitors to return again and again.

The personality of a waterfall also changes with the seasons. The colors reflected in a clear mountain stream shift from pastels and greens to shades of autumn and earth tones. As the months progress, foliage around the falls blooms, flourishes, and withers away. One month, a flower grows out of a crack in the rock, watered by the constant spray of the falls; another, an icicle hangs overhead.