Such a dilemma – should I relax with a cup of coffee and the Sunday paper, or should I venture out once again? I decided on the adventure. My target for today would be the Dupont State Forest just over the state line in North Carolina. I’d heard about the abundance of waterfalls in the area, and was up for a hike.
The early morning drive up Highway 25 and through Flat Rock in the convertible was wonderful. I snapped a few shots along the way, with thoughts that I should bring Laura back for just a drive through this area again soon. I forget how nice the valleys on the back side of the Blue Ridge Escarpment can be.
I found the Hooker Falls parking lot with no problem, and it was early enough that there were only a couple of cars – fewer than I would have imagined. There were two obvious trails, and I started up the one I thought to be correct. After a bit of hiking, I reached Triple Falls, but had somehow missed Hooker Falls. Regardless, the views were outstanding, and the lighting was right to get one of those "silky" shots.
The trail had been very steep the last little portion up to Triple Falls. Despite complaining knees, I decided to head on up to High Falls, even though I had no clue how far that might be. Again, there were spectacular views. I hiked up to the covered bridge that runs across the top of the falls, then back down to the falls themselves. Along the way, I met up with a friendly little black snake.
A kind soul let me take a look at his map, and I saw that Hooker Falls was actually on downstream from the parking lot. I hiked on down to find that the lot had become a zoo, with folks parking on the roadside. I was glad I got there early. It turned out to be a short walk down a very wide trail to reach Hooker Falls. There was a wonderfully inviting swimming hole at the base of the falls, and I was surprised that there weren’t more people taking advantage of it.
It was lunch time and I hadn’t packed any food. I took a quick turn through Hendersonville to see Jump Off Rock, then a detour to the Green River to see how low it was flowing, then headed home.