Exploring North Carolina

[cschlosser01]

Did Hurricane Creek today with a couple other Jeeps from another group. Its a bit rougher than some make it out to be. Definitely quite a few slick mud holes and some rock out cropping that you can get high centered on.

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[UNC Rubicon]

I decided to take my kiddos to the mountains this week after a mix up in vacation requests allowed me to have an unexpected week off.

We loaded up the Jeep and headed to Green Mountain, NC. Got here late yesterday and spent the evening getting settled in.

This morning we woke up to a crisp 63 degree foggy morning. Once the fog cleared, we headed back down to Spruce Pine and hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We ended up at the Crabtree Falls trailhead and we spent the next several hours hiking to and enjoying the falls.

Got back to the cabin just before a storm rolled in.

With any luck, we will be exploring forest roads tomorrow.

 

[Ran4]

This is a great thread, Bret. My wife and I love to find new places to hike..

 

[mgroeger]

I decided to take my kiddos to the mountains this week after a mix up in vacation requests allowed me to have an unexpected week off.

We loaded up the Jeep and headed to Green Mountain, NC. Got here late yesterday and spent the evening getting settled in.

This morning we woke up to a crisp 63 degree foggy morning. Once the fog cleared, we headed back down to Spruce Pine and hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We ended up at the Crabtree Falls trailhead and we spent the next several hours hiking to and enjoying the falls.

Got back to the cabin just before a storm rolled in.

With any luck, we will be exploring forest roads tomorrow.

Nice!! I'm 99% sure I've hiked Crabtree Falls as well. Is there a sort of catwalk down by the falls that you took those pics from. I recognize the falls from that lonesome tree
BTW... we are moving our daughter in to WCU this weekend which means I'm going to be 15 mins from Hurricane Creek while at my in-laws. Will you be around on Saturday for a run?

 

[UNC Rubicon]

I have a confession. Today...we stepped out...we crossed the NC/TN border and visited Martin’s Creek Falls in Erwin, TN.

We rode into TN via 197 and 395. We drove through Erwin, which appeared to have been laid out by a toddler. We passed the local high school in a roundabout. I briefly thought to myself...am I on school grounds or a road?

We drove to the end of Martin Creek road to find a gate. No signs indicating a trail head. Just a small sign that stated we had entered the Cherokee National Forest. We were the only vehicle in the parking lot.

We bypassed the gate and hiked into the falls - an easy 1 mile trek. The hike down to the falls was more tedious, but completely worth it. We were the only folks there for roughly an hour.

After, we met some friends at Carolina Hemlocks campground where the kiddos jumped off rock ledges, swam, and tubed until their lips turned blue. After, we had supper and enjoyed the thunderstorm.

All in all, another good day.

 

[Tar Heel Wrangler]

Man, you need to take a fly rod up in there.

 

[Jason Oliver]

Nice thread. We can't do much hiking anymore, but love to explore being in the forest on dirt roads...

 

[UNC Rubicon]

Today, we headed south down 80 towards Mount Mitchell. We found a trail to Setrock Creek Falls. It wasn’t as spectacular as the last two waterfalls we found but it was fun nonetheless. The parking lot was packed and we expected the falls to be packed as well. Once again, we lucked up and had the falls to ourselves for the better part of an hour.

On the way back, we found a suspension bridge over the North Toe River. My youngest had a blast running and bouncing back and forth across it.

Excited to see what tomorrow brings.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

Today (yesterday?) we ventured out to the Appalachian Trail and hiked to High Rocks Vista. No waterfalls today - just a hike through the forest. This was one of, if not, my favorite, hikes I’ve ever been on. Nothing technical - just a lot of elevation gain.

Unfortunately, I have to head home tomorrow. This coming weekend should be good, though. We will be headed to Hurricane Creek, Harmon Den, Buzzard’s Roost and the surrounding areas.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted in here but haven’t had much time to explore. This weekend we headed to Grayson Highlands (I know it’s not NC but it’s close enough).

We got to the campground Friday afternoon and set up camp. The rain began around 1am on Saturday and never let up. One of our tents gave up on life and let close to an inch of water inside. I couldn’t put the kids through another cool and wet night, so we packed up yesterday evening and came home.

We hiked Twin Pinnacles trail and Haw Flats/Split Rock trail in the fog and rain. It was a new experience but probably a little much for the kiddos. Hopefully the weather will be better next time we go.

We took the Jeep north to Barton’s Gap (a 7 and 1/2 mile forest road with a water crossing at the begining.) It was essentially a dirt road but it got us out of the rain and allowed us to warm up some. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of Barton’s Gap but there wasn’t a ton to see.

 

[df007]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted in here but haven’t had much time to explore. This weekend we headed to Grayson Highlands (I know it’s not NC but it’s close enough).

We got to the campground Friday afternoon and set up camp. The rain began around 1am on Saturday and never let up. One of our tents gave up on life and let close to an inch of water inside. I couldn’t put the kids through another cool and wet night, so we packed up yesterday evening and came home.

We hiked Twin Pinnacles trail and Haw Flats/Split Rock trail in the fog and rain. It was a new experience but probably a little much for the kiddos. Hopefully the weather will be better next time we go.

We took the Jeep north to Barton’s Gap (a 7 and 1/2 mile forest road with a water crossing at the begining.) It was essentially a dirt road but it got us out of the rain and allowed us to warm up some. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of Barton’s Gap but there wasn’t a ton to see.

Too bad the weather was not great for you guys. We went there last year and had a great time checking out the wild horses and the kids loved climbing on all the massive rocks and boulders.

 

[rancej]

You're making memories with your kids that will last a lifetime. Kudos to you.

 

[mgroeger]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted in here but haven’t had much time to explore. This weekend we headed to Grayson Highlands (I know it’s not NC but it’s close enough).

We got to the campground Friday afternoon and set up camp. The rain began around 1am on Saturday and never let up. One of our tents gave up on life and let close to an inch of water inside. I couldn’t put the kids through another cool and wet night, so we packed up yesterday evening and came home.

We hiked Twin Pinnacles trail and Haw Flats/Split Rock trail in the fog and rain. It was a new experience but probably a little much for the kiddos. Hopefully the weather will be better next time we go.

We took the Jeep north to Barton’s Gap (a 7 and 1/2 mile forest road with a water crossing at the begining.) It was essentially a dirt road but it got us out of the rain and allowed us to warm up some. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of Barton’s Gap but there wasn’t a ton to see.

Check out Grayson Highlands up in VA on teh border... you won't regret it and the kids will LOVE seeing the wild ponies.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

Check out Grayson Highlands up in VA on teh border... you won't regret it and the kids will LOVE seeing the wild ponies.

That’s where we were. I guess the ponies were hunkered down this weekend.

 

[mgroeger]

That’s where we were. I guess the ponies were hunkered down this weekend.

LOL, I thought it looked familiar but wasn't sure. If you get there in early summer you can see the babies. We were there once standing on a large roack crop and a massive cloud blew in and engulfed us, it was crazy. That place is so cool.

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