Cathedral Falls and Laurel Leap Falls
with Jenni Johnson
Linville Gorge Wilderness
Burke County, NC
Saturday, January 4th, 2020
Jenni and Me at Cathedral Falls
For my first hike of 2020 I teamed up with Jenni Johnson to help her knock a few more waterfalls off her 500 North Carolina Waterfall Challenge list!
Driving up the Kistler Memorial Highway just after sunrise we couldn't help but notice all the cool clouds! So we we stopped at several viewpoints along the way to the Conley Cove trailhead.
Roadside view from the Kistler Memorial Highway
Jenni checking out the view!
Panorama!
Roadside view from the Kistler Memorial Highway
Roadside view from the Kistler Memorial Highway
Roadside view from the Kistler Memorial Highway
First up on our waterfall agenda was Cathedral Fall (Page 86 of Kevin Adam's North Carolina Waterfalls - 3rd Edition). This hike is all on trail. However, it does involve a descent/ascent of approximately 1,300 feet in elevation over a little over a mile.
Cathedral Falls
The Linville River at the Cathedral
Jenni at Cathedral Falls
After returning to the trailhead, we decided to drive up the road a few miles and hit Laurel Leap Falls (Page 83 of Kevin Adam's North Carolina Waterfalls - 3rd Edition).
This "hike" is 100% off trail bushwhack.
Basically it is just head to the creek and follow it downstream via the path of least resistance for about a mile and a half. And then it gets really hard if your goal is to get to the base!
There were several nice cascades along the way, but nothing overly noteworthy above the main drop.
Cascades along Laurel Branch
Cascades along Laurel Branch
Cascades along Laurel Branch
At the top of Laurel Leap Falls
View from near the top of Laurel Leap Falls
Laurel Leap Falls Selfie
Laurel Leap Falls
Laurel Leap Falls
Our "short cut" didn't work out too well,
but it felt good to get our feet back on the Kistler Memorial Highway!
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157712604552163
No comments:
Post a Comment