2012-10-13 Raven Rock Falls

Raven Rock Falls

Lake Toxaway, NC

Saturday, October 17th, 2012

Andy arrived right on time at our meeting spot at the Lake Toxaway Fire Station.  Our main goal for the day was to get to Flat Creek Falls.  But first, we decided to take advantage of the nice morning light and warm up with a much shorter and easier waterfall hike.

The trail to Raven Rock Falls is only about a quarter mile and only descends about 100 feet making for a nice easy start to the day.  Because this waterfall is on private property, I am not going to post directions.  Fortunately we did not run across any no trespassing signs on the way to this beautiful waterfall.

Raven Rock Falls

Raven Rock Falls

There are also (2) other low flow waterfalls along the trail.  One of them is not very photogenic and I didn't bother with a picture.  But the trail actually goes underneath this next one making for a nice shot.

Waterfall on the Trail to Raven Rock Falls

Coming up next

Our Flat Creek Falls Adventure and the Shadow Bear!

2012-10-12 Day 1 - Waterfall Wandering and Camping Weekend

Waterfall Wandering and Camping Weekend

Day 1

Friday, October 12th, 2012

Highlands, NC area

My wife Amy was heading out of town this weekend, so I decided to plan my own trip.  At first, it didn't look like any of my hiking, photography, and/or camping buddies would be able to join me.  Fortunately Andy decided he would be able to meet me for some Saturday and Sunday Waterfall Wandering.

Andy suggested the Ammons Branch Campground near Highlands, NC.  I have never camped there, but it sounded good to me.  I didn't feel like waiting until Saturday, so I decided to leave work early on Friday and camp alone for the first evening.

I thought about making a few stops along the way, but since the Ammons Branch Campground only has five sites, I wanted to make sure I got one.  It was a good thing I didn't make any stops because I grabbed the last available site which certainly would have been taken if I had arrived any later.

I quickly set up my tent and put out a few camp chairs to claim the spot.  Several other vehicles drove though the small campground looking for campsites which reinforced my decision not to make any stops along the way.

After setting up camp, I decided there was time to visit a few waterfalls near Highlands, NC in good late afternoon light.  I decided to start with Cullasaja Falls, but unfortunately road construction along US64 had the only viewpoint closed off.  So instead my first waterfall of the weekend ended up being Quarry Falls a nice 15-foot roadside cascade.

Quarry Falls

Next up was Dry Falls, one of my favorites.  Not only did I have great light, but there was also some nice fall color.  Unfortunately there was a lot of people there making it difficult to get any shots without blurry humans in the photos!

Among all those people I ran into my buddy David Vanover.  I probably would have given up and headed on, but while chatting with Dave there was a short window of oppurnity to shoot a few human free photos of Dry Falls!

Dry Falls

Dry Falls

Since I was driving right by it, I decided to make a stop at Bridal Veil Falls another roadside waterfall.  It is not the most photogenic of all waterfalls, but pretty unique as you can actually drive underneath it.  When I arrived a motorcycle gang had lined up about 7 or 8 bikes underneath which made for an interesting photo.

Bridal Veil Falls

They soon left giving me the oppurtunity to get a few shots without any vehicles or people.

Bridal Veil Falls

Rather than going straight back to the campground, I decided there was enough light left for one more waterfall.

A few miles from the campground is the Waterfall on Scotsman Creek.  This requires a short but very steep scramble down the bank.  The path is a bit more established now than the last time I visited this one.  However, the butt slide manuver is still required in several spots in order to safely work your way down to the base.

Waterfall on Scotsman Creek

It was just about dark when I finished up, so I returned to the campground to build a fire, cook up some burgers, and settle in for the evening!

Me at the Ammons Branch Campground

Back from the Mountains

Andy and I had a great weekend of camping and waterfall wandering.  Here is a quick shot of some nice fall color at Flat Creek Falls.

Flat Creek Falls

2012 Squealin on the Square with Piglet Enemy

Piglet Enemy at

Squealin' on the Square

Laurens, SC

Friday, October 5th, 2012

Amy and I took a drive down to Laurens, SC last night to visit my buddies Steve, Jeff, and Ron at the Squealin' on the Square BBQ Festival.  Two years ago they took first place in the Pork Butt category and are hoping to repeat that this year.

Steve, Jeff, and Ron (aka Piglet Enemy)

Win or Lose, it is always fun to hang out, drink a few FABs and enjoy some awesome BBQ!

 

Ron Checking on the BBQ

 

Hanging out with friends

 

My wife Amy

Ron taking a stand-up nap

2012-09-16 Mountain Bridge Passage Hike

Mountain Bridge Passage Hike

Mountain Bridge Wilderness

Greenville County, SC

Sunday, September 16th, 2012

The Mountain Bridge Passage is one of the newest trails in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness of South Carolina.  For the last few years my buddy Darrin has "adopted" this trail, which means he volunteers his time to help maintain it. 

I decided to join Darrin and Brenda on a Sunday afternoon hike along his trail.

As usual, I was running a bit early so I made a stop at Wildcat Falls. The overcast sky made for nice lighting however it was swarming with people. I wasn’t able to get any shots without people, but at least they give a sense of scale to the waterfall.

Wildcat Falls

Our plan was to meet at the old Camp Spearhead Gate along US276/Hwy11 which would be the ending point of our hike. We would do a short shuttle and start the hike at the Oil Camp Creek trailhead. While waiting for the others to show up, I passed the time by photographing the Bees and Flowers.

Bee on a Flower

Brenda showed up first and then Darrin arrived with his buddy Bob, Bob’s Son, Darrin’s Son, and a dog! We all managed to pile into Bob’s truck for the 15 minute drive to the Oil Camp Creek trailhead.
 

The trail starts off as an easy stroll along a wide track forest service road that follows Oil Camp Creek heading upstream for about a mile. There are many scenic cascades along the creek and several low-flow waterfalls on some of the tributary streams. These really need a lot of rain to make them photo worthy and since the area is still in a mild drought and it hadn’t rained all week, I didn’t bother stopping for any photos.

Eventually they Forest Service Road joins up with the Pinnacle Pass Trail. The Mountain Bridge Passage starts about a half mile later. We would hike the entire 4-mile long Mountain Bridge Passage making for about a 5.5 mile hike.

Our Hike Route (from Brenda's GPS)

This trail starts out all uphill until it crosses over Campbell Mountain, and then it is just about all downhill from there. We would stop on occasion to clear some minor deadfall from the trail, but there were several areas that were too much to handle with a small hand saw. Darrin made note of these areas with plans on coming back with his chainsaw.

On the downhill stretch, the trail passes by several waterfalls. Most are fairly low flow and cluttered with deadfall making them not very photogenic. However, the last one was worth a closer look.

Hamlin Falls

According to Darrin, this one does not have a name, so I am calling it Hamlin Falls. I figure since Darrin puts in many volunteer hours maintaining this trail, this waterfall should be named after him! We will see if this sticks!

The trail eventually leaves the Mountain Bridge Wilderness and enters into the Ashmore Heritage Preserve. There are several other trails that branch off in this area if you are looking to add a few more miles to the hike, but we just stuck with the main trail.

The trail finishes up by passing through the old Camp Spearhead which was shut down several years ago. I believe this land has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy. Hopefully they will do something about some of the old camp buildings, because they are definitely an eyesore right now!

It was definitely an enjoyable Sunday Afternoon Hike!

Elevation Profile (from Brenda's GPS)

The complete set of photos is posted here:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583408649ypWfVF

The Pink Cadillac Diner

The Pink Cadillac Diner

Fancy Hill, VA

Saturday, September 8th, 2012

Well, I finally finished all the trip reports and photos from our vacation to Shenandoah Nation Park.

However, I have one more quick post.  The Pink Cadillac Diner!

On the last morning of our vacation we didn't feel like waiting until 9:00am to get breakfast at the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at so we took off with plans on getting breakfast on the road.

We could have gone with fast food or one of the typical breakfast chain restaurants.  Instead we opted for a more unique experience when we saw the signs for the Pink Cadillac Diner!

Located right off I-81 at the Fancy Hill Exit (Exit #180) it was conveniently located.  The food was excellent, the service was fast, and it was definitely a more interesting eating experience than a McDonalds or Waffle House!

Here are the last shots from our vacation (taken with my I-Phone since my camera was packed away):

 The Pink Cadillac Diner

 

Me at the Pink Cadillac Diner

 

 Amy eating breakfast

 Not sure why there was a giant Gorilla in the Parking Lot

 
And in case you missed any, here is a summary of our trip with all the links in one place:

Blog Posts:

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-1-shenandoah-national-park.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-2-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-3-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-4a-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-4b-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-4c-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-5-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-6-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

http://scjack.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-7-shenandoah-national-park-vacation.html

Photos:

Day 1: http://family.webshots.com/album/583368828pdzAib

Day 2: http://family.webshots.com/album/583369755LALOSB

Day 3: http://family.webshots.com/album/583374745tjlbwC

Day 4: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583380027TnZthA

Day 5: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583395992JoaLdG

Day 6: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583399675IRWrck

Day 7: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583401113VQIoHu

Day 7 - Shenandoah National Park Vacation

Shenandoah National Park Vacation

Day 7

Blue Ridge Sunrise and

Saint Marys Falls

George Washington National Forest, VA

and some Nelson County, VA Breweries!

Friday, September 7th, 2012

Amy and I enjoy the unique aspects of staying a Bed and Breakfasts when we travel.  The Belle Hearth Bed and Breakfast was OK but definite not one of our favorites.  Our room was nice, but we didn't have control of the thermostat and the room was quite warmer than we prefer.  Also, they were not very accommodating as to when we like to eat!  Breakfast was at 9:00am - take it or leave it.

I generally don't like to wait that late to get my day started, so I didn't.  I got up early, left Amy in Bed and hit the road to catch a sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway!  It was not the greatest sunrise I have ever experienced, but definitely worth getting up early for!

Just before Sunrise

Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Sunrise along the Blue Ridge Parkway

After sunrise I returned back to the Belle Hearth Bed and Breakfast to meet back up with Amy and enjoy a nice breakfast.  After breakfast, we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway heading south.  Our first stop was White Rock Falls at around mile marker #20.  Amy decided to sit this one out.

Kevin Adam's guidebook lists the hike at 0.6 miles, but based on how long it took me (about a half hour), I think it is a little over a mile to get to White Rock Falls.  This was a neat little spot, but the waterfall was less than impressive.  Maybe with a good bit more waterflow it would be worthwhile, but today I was not impressed with this one.

White Rock Falls

After a few quick less than spectacular photos, I returned back to Amy and we continued on.  My next plan was Saint Mary's Falls which definitely sounded like an Amy approved hike!

The Saint Mary's trail is about 2.2 miles long with only a few hundred feet of elevation gain.  However, like most wilderness areas the trails are not blazed.  Also, the trail experienced significant erosion and destruction from the Hurricanes 10 years ago and has not been repaired.

As a result there are many sections where it is questionable which way you should be going.  However, if you just head upstream it really isn't that difficult.  We did end up crossing back and forth across the river more than the three times that Kevin Adam's guidebook says.

Amy crossing the Saint Marys River

If I remember correctly, we had to cross back and forth a total of 5 times each way.  Fortunately with the low waterflow, the river crossings were not very difficult.  Another good thing is that Saint Mary's Falls is still very nice even with low flow.

Saint Marys Falls

I actually think this turned out to be the most photogenic of all the waterfalls I saw during our entire trip!

Saint Marys Falls

Jack and Amy at Saint Marys Falls

It also helped that despite the earlier sun, some nice cloud cover rolled in just as we arrived at the falls making photo conditions just about perfect!

Saint Marys Falls

I took us about an hour and a half to hike to the falls, with much of that time spent trying to figure out when and where to cross the creek!  Since we would hike back the same way we came, there was not that uncertainty and we were able to make the return hike in about an hour.

I really enjoyed the hike and Saint Mary's Falls!

Jack and Amy at Saint Marys Falls

Originally I had also planned on checking out Crabtree Falls, VA but there really wasn't enough time.  Especially since I was eager and more than ready for what we had planned next!

Highway 151 in Nelson County, VA is a hot spot for Wineries and Micro Breweries!  There are (7) wineries and (3) Breweries located along this 25 mile section of road that runs through rural western Virginia.  With my designated driver at my side, I wanted to check out the (3) Breweries.

This was a very enjoyable ending to our vacation and a fun way to do dinner.  Each of the Breweries also has a restaurant.  In additional to sampling some of the beers at each location, we had appetizers at the first two restaurants and our main meal at the third.  The Wild Wolf Brewery was my favorite of the three!

The complete set of photos from Day 7 of our Vacation is posted here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/583401113VQIoHu