Buckeye Creek Adventure
Middle Prong Wilderness Area
Pisgah National Forest
Haywood County, NC
Saturday, July 11th, 2020
Middle Prong Wilderness Area
Pisgah National Forest
Haywood County, NC
Saturday, July 11th, 2020
Jennifer and Me at Buckeye Falls
I just love getting up to the higher elevations to escape the heat of the intense Carolina Summers. So when Jennifer suggested Buckeye Creek high up in the Middle Prong Wilderness of North Carolina, I did not hesitate to join in on this adventure.
With full sun in the forecast, we decided on an early start so we could at least get the lower drops in good light
An early start also means a good opportunity to catch a sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway!
Sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway Sunrise Panorama
I met Jennifer at Haywood Gap (Mile 426.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway) and we hiked the Haywood Gap Trail to the confluence of Middle Prong and Buckeye Creek.
I've done a lot of creek walks over the years and Buckeye Creek is one of my favorites. We were successful in capturing the lower drops before the sun rose above the ridge and the Rhododendron blooms was an added bonus.
But even for my color-blind eyes the highlight of this adventure was he endless green moss! When my color-blind eyes can see all the green, you know its about as green as it gets!
Here are some of the photos from our adventure:
Jennifer relaxing by a nice Cascade on Buckeye Creek
Nice cascade on Buckeye Creek
Jennifer Heading up Buckeye Creek
Lower Buckeye Falls
Lower Buckeye Falls
Buckeye Falls
Jennifer in a Magical Forest of Green
As we neared the headwaters below Sheephead Falls and Upper Buckeye Falls, we somehow ended up following a tributary instead of the main branch of Buckeye Creek. We were rewarded with this impressive waterfall.
Waterfall on Tributary of Buckeye Creek
We backtracked to and continued up the main branch of Buckeye Creek to Sheephead Falls.
Jennifer and Me at Sheephead Falls
There are some other drops above Sheephead Falls, but the sun was too harsh to capture them in photos.
We continued upstream to the Mountains-to-Sea trail and hiked that back to Haywood Gap to complete our loop. Here is the GPS Track from our adventure
I think we were about a week early for peak Rhododendron bloom, but neither one of us were complaining! Another incredible day in the North Carolina Mountains!
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157715113787993
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