Tumblin' Fun Falls on Mill Creek
and High Falls on the Thompson River
with Scott Burns (aka The Professor), Dillon Senn, and Blizzy
Transylvania County, NC
Tuesday, July 14th, 2020
and High Falls on the Thompson River
with Scott Burns (aka The Professor), Dillon Senn, and Blizzy
Transylvania County, NC
Tuesday, July 14th, 2020
Group Photo at Tumblin' Fun Falls
L to R: The Professor (Scott), Blizzy, Dillon, Me
I first visited Tumblin' Fun Falls about a month ago with Brenda Wiley. It was awesome then, but I remembered thinking that once all those Rhododendron bushes alongside start popping with blooms it will make it even more special!
Dillon had a rare weekday off and mentioned Tumblin' Fun was on his to do list. I figured the Rhododendrons at that elevation should be at about peak bloom and set the plan into action. The Professor (Scott Burns) would also be joining in on this adventure.
Group Selfie at Brenda's Rocks
We decided to take Brenda's route (see GPS track below) to check our a cool formation of boulders which will forever be known as Brenda's Rocks (at least in my mind).
The Professor at Brenda's Rocks
Dillon at Brenda's Rocks
We did a little further exploration around this boulder field and found another impressive feature that will forever be known as Greenwall Rock!
Dillon and Blizzy hiking alongside Greenwall Rock
Blizzy, Dillon, and Scott at Greenwall Rock
There is an amazing array awe-inspiring rocks hidden away on this inconspicuous little mountain!
Scott, Dillon, and Blizzy exploring around the rocks
From the rocks we worked our way down the mountainside via the path of least resistance.
Unfortunately the route we chose did involve a little Yellow Jacket encounter. Blizzy got the worst of it, but both Dillon and Scott also sustained multiple stings. For the first time in history, I was the only one of the group that did not get stung!
We hooked up with the High Falls trail and followed that upstream to where it crosses the Thompson River about 300 yards upstream from High Falls.
Rhododendron Blooms along the Thompson River
An obvious trail continues upstream, but that heads into private property. Instead we bushwhacked up the hillside and followed an old roadbed most of the way to Mill Creek. Note: the roadbed is so overgrown it was usually easier to bushwhack through the open forest above the road.
Once within earshot, we bushwhacked down to Mill Creek avoiding the pie shaped wedge of private property.
Once we arrived at Mill Creek a short and easy creekwalk upstream took us to the base of Tumblin' Fun Falls!
With the bright sun and virtually no clouds, it really was a horrible day for photography, but we didn't let that get in the way of some fun times at Tumblin' Fun!
Scott, Blizzy, and Dillon at Tumblin' Fun Falls
Toad Rock at Tumblin' Fun Falls
Tumblin' Fun Falls
Blizzy looking on as Dillon strikes a pose on Toad Rock at Tumblin' Fun Falls
Blizzy looking on as Dillon strikes a pose on Toad Rock at Tumblin' Fun Falls
Tumblin' Fun Falls on Mill Creek
Group Photo at Tumblin' Fun Falls
After a nice long break we backtracked to the High Falls trail. We followed that for a short distance and picked up the side trail down to the base of High Falls which is always a treat!
High Falls on the Thompson River
Rhododendron Blooms at High Falls
The Professor at High Falls
We returned to the Brewer Road trailhead via the main trail. Here is the GPS Track from our Adventure.
There are easier ways to get to Tumblin' Fun Falls, but they all involve trespassing. If you want to get to Tumblin' Fun legally, you are going to have to do some bushwhacking and creek walking. Fortunately I didn't earn the nickname Bushwhack Jack by going the easy way!
It was a fun day with great friends! And we did not encounter any other humans all day long!
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157715155172228/with/50129133092/
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