The Adventures of Bushwhack Jack: July 2012

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

DEW Falls and Johns Jump

DEW Falls

and Johns Jump

Transylvania County, NC

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

We decided to finish up our day of Waterfall Wandering with two roadside waterfalls. We parked at the large grassy area where Mill Creek crosses under Hwy 281. We started out with DEW falls which is located just upstream from the Bridge.

Its about a 5 minute walk on a gated forest service road to this small but very scenic waterfall.

DEW Falls

Wide Angle Shot of Andy Photographing DEW Falls

Next we hit Johns Jump which involves a short but steep scramble downstream from the bridge.

Johns Jump

Side view of Johns Jump

Both of these are well worth the quick visit if you are in the area and made for the perfect ending to our day of Waterfall Wandering.

The complete set of photos from our days adventures are posted here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583154525WZBBmx

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

High Falls and the Waterfall on Reid Branch

High Falls on the Thompson River

and The Waterfall on Reid Branch

Transylvania County, NC

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

This area of Transylvania County is loaded with waterfalls and I have visited the area about a dozen times on various waterfall wandering adventures. However, for some reason I can't explain, I have never done the relatively short hike to High Falls on the Thompson River. So that is what we would do!

It is a little less than 3 miles round trip of fairly easy hiking. Along the way, Andy suggested we take a little side scramble path down to another waterfall that neither of us has ever seen. The Waterfall on Reid Branch turned out to be much nicer than either of us was expecting!

The Waterfall on Reid Branch

Andy Photographing the Waterfall on Reid Branch

Making it even better was that we hit it at a time of excellent water flow and perfect lighting! The only negative was that it did start raining on us while we were there. Fortunately it wasn't raining very hard and it wasn't blowing sideways, so it wasn't a problem keeping the raindrops off the lens.

The Waterfall on Reid Branch from Downstream

After enjoying the Waterfall on Reid Branch, we continued on towards High Falls. The only difficult part of the hike is the steep scramble at the end and the creek crossing required to get to the optimal viewing spots. Since our boots were already saturated from spending much of the day in various creeks, it was not a problem getting across.

High Falls is one of those waterfalls that is much more impressive in person than any photos I have seen. My shots do not do this one justice!

High Falls on the Thompson River

Me at High Falls

After High Falls, we returned back the way we came to my truck and decided to hit a few more waterfalls before calling it a day.

Coming up in Tomorrow's Blog Post:
DEW Falls and Johns Jump

Monday, July 23, 2012

Twin Falls and Slippery Witch Falls

Twin Falls on the Thompson River

Slippery Witch Falls on Mill Creek

Transylvania County, NC

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

After our CMLC hike, the rain eventually stopped leaving us plenty of time left in the day for some more Waterfall Wandering! Since we were almost certain to get more rain showers, we decided to stick with a series of short waterfall hikes.

We drove a few miles down the road to the top of Twin Falls on the Thompson River. This is one of my favorite waterfalls in the area. Unfortunately it is on private property. On one side of the creek a new Multi-Million Dollar McMansion has recently been erected. However, we were still able to make our way to the base on the opposite side of the creek without running into any no trespassing signs.

The spray from the waterfall made it almost impossible to photograph up close, but that didn't stop me from trying. Line up the shot, remove the spray droplets with the lens cloth, and fire the shot as quick as possible before the droplets accumulate again.

Twin Falls

Eventually, I gave up on this and moved back out of the spray for a more distant angle.

Me at Twin Falls

Twin Falls

Despite a good number of clouds in the sky, none of them seemed to want to move in front of the sun so we never really got that perfect lighting we were hoping for. When we got tired of waiting, we decided to give up and more on. And of course some nice cloud cover moved in once we drove away.

At least those nice clouds stuck around for our next stop, Slippery Witch Falls! Again, this one is on private property, but we did not encounter any no trespassing signs, so we made our way down to the base of the falls.

The lighting was perfect and the water flow was excellent making for the best photos I have ever gotten of this waterfall!

Slippery Witch Falls

Wide Angle Shot of Andy Photographing Slippery Witch Falls

Slippery Witch Falls

Coming up in tomorrow's Blog Post:
High Falls on the Thompson River and the Waterfall on Reid Branch

Sunday, July 22, 2012

CMLC Tumbling Fun Falls Hike

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy

Tumbling Fun Falls Hike

Transylvania County, NC

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Tumbling Fun Falls is one of those waterfalls that is not accessible to the general public. So Andy and I were excited to see the CMLC offering up the chance for us to visit a waterfall that we have not be able to check out in the past.

However, it turns out that there is a second Tumbling Fun Falls located in the same general area of Translvania County. This Tumbling Fun Falls that we did not even know existed would be the one we would be visiting today.

Andy and I were ahead of schedule and arrived about a half hour before of the rest of the group. This worked out perfectly, because the property owners allowed us the opportunity to check out Tumbling Fun Falls before the rest of the group arrived.

Tumbling Fun Falls

This is a nice waterfall, but it falls through a lot of dense foliage making it difficult to really capture in photos. fortunately there were a few nice Rhododendron Blooms to add a little extra something into the shots.

Tumbling Fun Falls

The property also features a small pond and several gardens filled with a wide variety of plants and flowers.

Andy by the Pond

Once the rest of the group arrived, we began the hike through the property. The area has been hit with a lot of rain this summer making for some impressive displays of mushrooms including this one that I have never seen before:

Chicken of the Woods

The hike was cut a bit shorter than planned due to a heavy thunder shower, but not before we got the opportunity to check out another waterfall on the property.

Dorothy's Falls

While I am not a huge fan of these large group hikes, I love the opportunity to check out places that are normally not accessible to the public. I thank the CMLC and the property owners (Patrick and Noel) for giving us the chance to check out a bit of their beautiful land.

Coming up in tomorrow's Blog Post:
The rain eventually did stop and it was still early enough in the day for Andy and I to do a good bit more waterfall wandering.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Another Great Day of Waterfall Wandering!

Andy and I had another excellent day of Waterfall Wandering! Here is a quick shot from one of the (8) waterfalls we visited today!

Andy and Me at "John's Jump"

Plenty more to come over the next few days!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

2012-07-14 Larry and Krist's Pool Party

Larry and Kristi's Pool Part

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

This past Saturday, our friends Larry and Kristi invited us over to their house for a little pool party. A fun time was had by all! Here are a few shots:

Larry and Kristi's Children