Looking Glass Falls, Blue Ridge Mountains, NC
04 September, 2010
Last night I purchased Kevin Adam's book, North Carolina Waterfalls - A Hiking and Photography Guide. When I got home I skimmed through it to find some nice waterfalls that were easy to reach. (If you like to hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains you should get a copy of his book -- especially if you enjoy waterfalls and like to take pictures.)
We headed out fairly early this morning and drove to Looking Glass Falls...
Looking Glass Falls must be the easiest waterfall to reach in Kevin Adam's book. You simply drive up and park next to the creek, and then walk down the stairs to see it.
We drove a short distance to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, parked the car and then hiked about a mile into the woods to find Cedar Rock Falls...
While shopping at Diamond Brand Outdoors last night I picked up a can of mace -- just in case. And I spent much of our hike this morning looking into the woods for bears...
When we could clearly hear Cedar Rock Falls nearby, we approached a large wall of rocks...
I took a long look into the darkness to see if mamma and her cub were inside...
Fortunately, we didn't see any bears. Instead, we enjoyed beautiful weather, with temperatures in the upper 50s, no haze ... and very few hikers. (Although one young fellow ran by us -- barefooted!)
The most trecherous part of the hike was the steep bank that was covered with tree roots. It was very near the falls, which made it damp and slippery. Use caution when climbing down and back up this part of the path...
Once you get past that obstacle, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful view of the falls...
Here's the creek below the falls, with my most-excellent tour guide...
We worked up quite an appetite, so we headed back to civilization. On our way to Brevard we found a terrific place for lunch...
Inside we were greeted by our hosts Princess (our lunch) and Bart...
Hawg Wild serves some of the best pork barbecue I've eaten. When we were finished with lunch and leaving the restaurant, a gentleman walked up to us in the parking lot. He told me I looked like the the fellow who runs O.P. Taylor's Toy Store in Brevard, NC, and I just had to see for myself. So we drove into the big city and parked in front of Bracken Mountain Bakery next to the toy store. We went in for a cup of coffee and came out with a couple of cookies -- and coffee...
Afterward we headed for O.P. Taylor's Toy Store. It's definitely the coolest toy store on the planet...
On our way back to the car we walked by Rocky's Soda Shop and heard some great oldies. We wanted to stop, but decided to save it for another "perfect day in the Blue Ridge Mountains"...
Here's a map of our meandering today... A: Looking Glass Falls; B: Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Cedar Rock Falls; C: Shops in Brevard, NC...