Little Bradley Falls
Green River Gamelands
Polk County, NC
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
Brenda, Amy, and Me at Little Bradley Falls
On Sunday, Amy and I met up with Brenda for some Easy Hiking, Beer Drinking, and Vegan Eating!
We started off with Little Bradley Falls, one of my favorite North Carolina Waterfalls. The hike is about a mile (2 miles total out and back) an fairly easy. The are a few moderate ups and downs, but overall it only gains about 150-feet of elevation.
There are a couple of creek crossings which most of the time can be easily rock hopped. However if the water is up a bit like it was today, you should plan on getting your feet wet.
Amy Crossing Cove Creek
Brenda Crossing Cove Creek
In addition to the creek crossing, there are a few other tricky areas along the trail, but for the most part this is a hike that just about anyone should be able to handle.
Amy and Brenda navigating through one of the rocky sections of trail
At a very leisurely pace, including a stop to de-boot and re-boot at the creek crossing it took us about 45 minutes to get to Little Bradley Falls. Photo conditions were just about perfect so Brenda and I took some photography time while Amy used the time to study for an exam.
Little Bradley Falls
Amy studying for an exam at Little Bradley Falls
Little Bradley Falls
Amy and Me at Little Bradley Falls
Brenda at Little Bradley Falls (look for the orange shirt)
After Little Bradley Falls, we decided to hike to the Big Bradley Falls cliff overlook area.
This is another short and easy hike of about a half mile (one mile out and back).
There is another creek crossing which involves a difficult rock hop or a much easier wet feet crossing which is what we went with.
A small tributary stream just upstream from the crossing offers up a nice little wet weather waterfall.
Small Waterfalls upstream from Big Bradley Falls
The cliff overlook area is pretty neat, but the view of Big Bradley Falls is not that great.
Big Bradley Falls from the cliff overlook area
You really need to get to the base for a good view of Big Bradley Falls. Both Brenda and I have recently been to the base of Big Bradley, and the scramble down from the cliffs is definitely not "Amy Approved", so we decided to pass on the base of Big Bradley.
After our hike, it was time to move on to the next item on our agenda. The Sanctuary Brewing Company in Hendersonville, NC.
Amy and Me at the Sanctuary Brewing Company
Brenda is a dedicated Vegan and the Sanctuary Brewing Company is a 100% Vegan Establishment. While I have no intentions of becoming a Vegan myself, I was definitely open to trying the Sunday Vegan Brunch at The Sanctuary Brewing Company. I have to say that the Tofu Taco I had was quite tasty!
Eventually the Sanctuary Brewing Company will be brewing their own beer, but currently they just offer a large variety of other local brews. It is a cool atmosphere and very pet friendly! There is even a pig named Ollie that wanders around the Brewery greeting guests!
Brenda with Ollie and friend
Brenda gets Licked
I also wanted to visited the other Hendersonville Brewery (Southern Appalachian Brewery). Since Brenda still had to drive home, she limited herself to one beer and decided not to come along to the second brewery with Amy and Me.
Amy and I decided to walk from Sanctuary Brewing to the Southern Appalachian Brewery. I think this was the first time I ever walked through downtown Hendersonville and it is definitely a more enjoyable way to experience they city than via car (I have always hated driving through Hendersonville).
We stopped off to get Amy some frozen yogurt and strolled through the Mast General Store before making our way to the next brewery.
I really enjoyed the Southern Appalachian Brewery. Great Atmosphere and the band that was playing was excellent! I don't consider myself a fan of Gospel Music, but this group was great! It was a bit too loud inside the brewery, but there is plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the experience without bursting your eardrums!
Redneck Mimosa with Asheville Second Line at the Southern Appalachian Brewery
Another Awesome Day! Thanks Amy and Brenda for sharing it with me!
The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157659765040245
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