Pam, Darla and I set out to see Eastatoe Falls near Brevard, North Carolina. Eastatoe Falls is a privately owned waterfall in the backyard of the owner’s home. For years the owner has graciously welcomed people wanting to see the waterfall. But the word on the Internet is that the owner has sold the waterfall and the new owner plans to close it to the public. We decided to see it while we could. We drove up to the driveway and parked on the side of the road. Imagine our disappointment when we walked up and saw this sign... We had come a long way so we began walking up the driveway hoping we could hike around the bridge area. The owner met us and told us we couldn’t go further. We told him that we had learned that the waterfall had been sold and would soon be closed to the public. Then we thanked him for his generous sharing of his gorgeous waterfall all these years. He asked if we could come back next week to see the waterfall before the sale was closed and we jumped at his offer! So there will be another Girls Only Hike next week. Yay! But have no fear— Pam had lined up a visit to other falls in the area. Our first stop was on NC 215 at Living Waters— a private religious retreat which allows public access to three water falls: French Broad Falls, Mill Shoals Falls, and Cathedral Falls. We took a short walk down a path and emerged at an old mill house which is now part of the retreat. Mill Shoals Falls is below the old mill house. Off to the left is the French Broad Falls pictured below. The video below will allow you to see where the two falls are in relation to each other. And this is the view downstream... Pam wanted us to see Cathedral Falls downstream so we started down the walking path. We stopped often to take in the lovely views... ...and then we would walk a little further. A beautiful sight should have welcomed us around this rock corner, but instead it had been vandalized with graffiti. How can someone do this to such a lovely spot? We kept walking and soon we focused on more beautiful spots. I love big rocks and water existing side-by-side in nature! And I love my hiking buddies, too! We quickly arrived at Cathedral Falls. There was beauty around us all the way to the end of the path. But Pam had another stop planned for us so we returned to the car to travel on. Our last hiking destination was to Courthouse Falls. It’s located in the Pisgah National Forest just off of NC Highway 215. The trailhead is three miles up a bumpy forest service road (FR 140). The hike was pleasant as we walked alongside a nice babbling brook. We came to a log with “falls” written in white paint which marked our turn off the main trail. We began our descent to the bottom of the falls. Steep stairs took us the rest of the way down to the base of the falls. The water plunges about 45 feet from a narrow chute into a deep pool. A small group of teenagers/young adults were leaping off the top into the pool below! Watch the video of these daredevils! After watching the group jump one by one, we returned to the trail to hike back to the car. Next we drove onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for a short drive as we headed to the Pisgah Inn for a late lunch. It was 2:30 so we thought the lunch crowds must be over. We arrived to discover a one hour wait. Not today! We were hungry! So we enjoyed the views and decided to try again next week when we visit Eastatoe Falls. Maybe this group decided to relax and enjoy the view as they waited for a table. We decided to drive on into Brevard where we ate at a good little BBQ place, Hog Wild. We enjoyed our late lunch and started planning our next hike together.
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Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
December 2019
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