I shared with my friend, Pam, that I was developing a case of cabin fever after recuperating from a recent bout of pancreatitis and surgery to remove my gallbladder and remaining gallstones. A long string of cold days wasn’t helping either. So Pam got to work planning a winter hike for us and I started walking everyday to prepare for it. We settled on Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park just down the mountain in Sapphire, North Carolina. A fellow hiker and waterfaller who I like to follow intrigued me with his rating of this waterfall— a rare score of a perfect 10. Pam put out the call for other Mirror Lake ladies to join us on the hike. Kelly, who is prepping for hiking the Appalachian Trail with her husband, was sitting on ready! We met at 10:00 AM and took our traditional selfie... And then we were off to Gorges State Park. I didn’t even notice how long the drive was as we talked the entire time. I just love these ladies. But soon we arrived, parked the car, and were ready to embark on the trail. We set off down the trail and before long the trail reached a dead end, left to the Raymond Fisher Trail which was marked in blue meaning an easy hike. Right led to Rainbow Falls, our destination, which was marked in orange meaning “Go the other way, idiots.” I’m kidding of course. But it did signify this was a more difficult hike. This was a beautiful hike with lots of gorgeous scenery along the way even in winter... maybe I should say especially in winter because the winter scenes were drop dead gorgeous as the pictures will soon show. Plus, we had the trail pretty much to ourselves as we only encountered another couple and, as we were nearing our exit, we met three young ladies just beginning their hike. We ran into some icy spots as you can see up ahead in this picture... And no hike would be complete without having to cross a stream or two! Soon we were exiting the park and continuing on into the surrounding Pisgah National Forest. The trail remained in good shape. And soon we had a wider, deeper stream to cross. We definitely recommend hiking poles on this hike! We made Pam go slower at these spots as the fall she took on our last hike is still fresh on our minds. And her knee is still a bit sore! On the other side of the stream there is a large flat area. It appeared to be a campsite favorite with a nice fire pit there ready for use. But we read the sign and continued on. We heard rushing water for most of this hike, but we came to our first close-up view soon after crossing the second stream. We lingered there a bit and enjoyed the beauty. And then it was back up to the trail where we climbed up, up, up... And down, down, down... Kelly spotted a massive rock which jutted out over a steep embankment and beckoned us to come over and check out the view it afforded. Just a little further down the trail we came to the most beautiful spot we had seen to this point... You can bet the cellphone cameras were clicking! We returned to the trail and walked and walked. Finally we came to one last ascent to what we hoped would be Rainbow Falls. A little higher... We emerged at an opening which was a winter wonderland! Frost and ice were everywhere! And what’s this just to the left? Rainbow Falls, of course! But before I show you the falls, take a look at the winter scene we enjoyed. And now enjoy the beauty of the falls which most certainly earned its 10-star rating! We lingered awhile longer enjoying Rainbow Falls and hoping a rainbow would give us a perfect ending, but it was not to be today. We are already planning to return in late spring. Maybe we’ll catch that elusive rainbow then! On the way back I was struggling, but my wonderful hiking buddies made sure I had lots of time to stop and rest. We finished the hike and felt like we really accomplished something when we noted the sign labeling this hike as strenuous! I checked my trusty Map My Walk app for the stats on this hike. (I was just a tad late turning on the app and missed the beginning of the hike.) We were in the woods about four hours and burned 660 calories! Woot! Time to celebrate! So we stopped in Cashiers on the way home to eat a late lunch at Slabtown Pizza. And we all three ate a great big....salad with water to drink. Hey— we’re in training for our next Girls Only Hike!
2 Comments
Larry O Elder
2/1/2019 08:09:30 pm
Great report on your hike! I recommend continuing on to Turtleback Falls, 1/4-mile or so on up the trail, on your next trip to Rainbow.
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Sharon
2/1/2019 09:14:49 pm
We most certainly will!
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Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
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