2020-07-05 The Waterfalls of Dark Prong

The Waterfalls of Dark Prong

with Jennifer Loow 

Shining Rock Wilderness Area

Pisgah National Forest

Sunday, July 5th, 2020

Jennifer and Me at Upper Dark Prong Falls

I first visited Dark Prong back in the fall of 2016 and loved it!  So when Jennifer suggested Dark Prong for the days destination, I was quick to join in on the adventure.

I got a nice early start to capture some morning/sunrise views along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway 

Dandelion Puff at Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway 

Blue Ridge Parkway Panorama 

Morning Mist

We started from the Blue Ridge Parkway along the Bridges Camp Gap trail and hiked that down to the confluence of Yellowstone Prong and Dark Prong.  From there we just followed Dark Prong upstream.

You can find additional information in Kevin Adams "North Carolina Waterfalls - 3rd Edition" pages 209-210.   Here are some of the photos from Jennifer and my adventure up Dark Prong.

Here are some of the photos from Jennifer and my adventure up the Dark Prong.

Dark Prong Falls 

Jennifer and Me at Dark Prong Falls 

Nice Cascade, Cool Rocks, and an awesome Swimming Hole 

Serpentine Falls along Dark Prong

Along Dark Prong 

Jennifer pointing out some impressive Mountain Laurel along Dark Prong 

Mountain Laurel, Jennifer, and an awesome swimming hole 

Jennifer cooling off in another amazing swimming hole 

Upper Dark Prong Falls

Jennifer cooling off at Upper Dark Prong Falls 

Cooling off  at Upper Dark Prong Falls 

Upper Dark Prong Falls

 At the brink of Upper Dark Prong Falls

We left Dark Prong once we got to the point where the creek got choked in and bushwhacking appeared to be the easier route.  We bushwhacked up to the Graveyard Ridge Trail.  I definitely can't guarantee that we found the best route, but it wasn't too. 

Here is the GPS Track from our adventure:

GPS Track from our Adventure

Click here for interactive link

From the Graveyard Ridge Trail we enjoyed a delightful section of the the Mountains-to-Sea Trail with the most beautiful Mountain Laurel bush either of us has ever seen and several monster trees!

 Mountain Laurel Selfie with Jennifer

 The most beautiful Mountain Laurel Bush either of us has ever seen!

King of the Forest!  

Impressive Roots!

We decided to add a little bit of bushwhacking at the end to avoid the overly touristy Skinny Dip Falls area.  As a result we were able to keep social distancing to the max and complete our adventure without encountering other humans.

It was the perfect day to enjoy natures beauty!

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157715067191443