RICH & JOANNA

 

 

On Saturday I joined an official hike with the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC).  The hike was on private property, through Camp High Rocks in Cedar Mountain to the summit of Rich Mountain.  The CMLC described the hike as being strenuous, with 700’ of elevation gain over 3 miles.  That didn’t sound particularly strenuous to me, but I was eager to do the hike since it would allow me access to a place that isn’t open to the public.

 

Jack had already signed up for the hike, and Brenda decided to join the CMLC and participate, too.  I met Jack in Spartanburg and rode with him from there.  This was good, as I’d managed less than 6 hours of sleep the night before.  We arrived at the trailhead at 9:15, which turned out to be 15 minutes early.  The funny thing is that I thought we were late.  The CMLC website stated that the hike was at 9am, but it turns out that 9am was the time everyone was meeting in Hendersonville for the drive to the trailhead.

 

Brenda arrived a few minutes later, followed by lots of other hikers and our leader, Chet.  The hike started with an easy stroll through the camp.  We passed through an open pasture and enjoyed our first view of Rich Mountain.  From there, Rich Mountain looked much closer than 3 miles away.  It turns out that’s because it is less than 3 miles away.  The hike is actually 3 miles round trip, not one way.  Actually, per Brenda’s GPS, it was closer to 2 ½ miles, round trip.

 

From there, our group headed into the woods and up the mountain.  Our group was quite large – perhaps 20 hikers – and we were also accompanied by 2 dogs that had followed us from the camp.  Dogs generally aren’t allowed on CMLC hikes, so I’d left Boone at home that morning.  He’d been very unhappy about that, and coming home that evening smelling like other dogs wasn’t going to help.

 

The highlight of the hike was Cathedral Rocks.  Cathedral Rocks is an area of impressive boulders, and we took a break there before resuming the hike. 

 

We reached the summit a bit later.  The advertisement for the hike had suggested that the peak would provide us with nearly 360 degree views.  I’m not sure what that claim is based on, as most of the views from Rich Mountain are of the trees surrounding the peak.  The only exception was a narrow view between the trees to west.  That particular view was a highlight, as we could clearly see the bold cliffs of Whitesides Mountain some 40 miles away.

 

Aside from that view, Rich Mountain was pretty disappointing.  The peak used to have a fire tower, and the old caretakers house is still standing.  Unfortunately, the peak now has a giant cell tower and some other communications equipment.  All that technology detracted a bit from the summit experience.

 

We lounged in the sun for a bit before heading down.  Although the trail is steep in places, the descent was much quicker than the climb.  We returned to the cars by 11:30, less than 2 hours after setting out.

 

Jack, Brenda, and I all wanted to do another hike.  Since we were only a couple of miles from DuPont State Forest, I suggested heading over there.  Jack and Brenda liked that idea, and we decided to hike to Joanna Mountain.  Joanna Mountain is a rather obscure summit that doesn’t see much traffic.  The trail up it ends before the summit, so some scrambling and bushwhacking is required.  Jack had been up it twice before, but he was willing to do it again.

 

We parked at the Buck Forest access, which was pretty busy.  There were plenty of hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders in the area.  Fortunately the parking area is huge, and there were plenty of spaces near the newly constructed bathrooms.  From there we walked quickly to the covered bridge over the Little River.  From the bridge we could see the brink of High Falls a short distance downstream. 

 

After the bridge we turned onto Conservation Road.  After a couple of minutes, we picked up the Pitch Pine Trail, which was a nice change of pace from the dirt roads we’d been following.  The Pitch Pine Trail offered a pleasant, quiet walk in the woods.  At one point we passed an impressive boulder covered in neon green moss.

 

We eventually picked up the Lake Dense Trail, which took us to its namesake lake.  The lakeshore features a couple of docks, and we stopped at one for lunch in the sun.  From there we enjoyed a great view of Joanna Mountain, both beyond the lake and reflected in its still waters. 

 

After lunch we walked over to Lake Alford, which is just a small pond.  Although tiny, it’s a very pretty spot, and I’d like to return in overcast conditions to get better photos.

 

From there we doubled-back past Lake Dense and picked up Joanna Road.  Joanna Road took us part of the way up Joanna Mountain, and the Joanna Mountain Trail brought us just short of the summit.  From the end of the trail we followed a faint path to the base of steep rock face.  The rock was wet and slippery, and climbing it was tricky in those conditions.  The rock face features quite a bit of spongy moss, which we tried to avoid trampling. 

 

From the top of the rock we enjoyed an easy stroll to the wooded summit.  We descended the far side a short distance to a series of cliffs.  From those cliffs we were treated to a spectacular view to the north and west.  In the distance we could see the high peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Mount Pisgah in the east to Mount Hardy in the west.  We could also see Black Balsam, Tennent Mountain, and more.  Closer at hand was Looking Glass Rock and Cedar Rock, above the Pisgah Fish Hatchery.  Closer still was Rich Mountain, where we’d been that morning.  Within DuPont State Forest were the open cliffs of another (different) Cedar Rock as well as Lake Julia and Lake Dense.  In fact, from our perch we could clearly see the dock where we’d eaten lunch.

 

Unfortunately, the view also includes the old DuPont industrial site, which is still being cleaned up.  It’s a bit of an eyesore, but even that couldn’t completely mar such a fantastic view.  We explored around the cliffs a bit taking photos before finding a nice rock where we could relax in the sun.  As we rested, we watched big puffy clouds rolling in from the west.

 

Eventually we headed back down.  Getting down the rock face required some butt-sliding, and I regretted wearing a nice pair of pants. 

 

We returned by a different route.  We descended the Oak Tree Trail (a faint old road) to the Chestnut Oak Road.  This took us back to Buck Forest Road.  At that point, we decided to add one more side trip to our hike.

 

We followed Buck Forest Road to a bridge over lovely Grassy Creek.  Just after the bridge we turned left on the Lake Imaging Trail (a road), and then left again on the Grassy Creek Falls Trail.  This path took us to the top of Grassy Creek Falls, which is a steep, sliding cascade.  We continued ahead in search of a better view.  The main trail led us to the creek downstream from the falls, but we couldn’t see anything from there, and the water was too high to allow us to hike back upstream.  We backtracked to a faint path, which we followed down to the creek at the base of the falls.  From there we had a really good view of the waterfall.

 

Jack had visited Grassy Creek Falls previously, but hadn’t been impressed.  I was actually pleasantly surprised, as Grassy Creek Falls exceeded my expectations.  The water was up from recent rains, which added a lot to the view.  Jack and I took turns taking photos, and Jack graciously let me borrow his tripod.  Somehow I’d left mine in my garage that morning.

 

After another break there we headed back.  We followed the Buck Forest Road back to the trailhead.  We parted ways with Brenda there and began the long drive home.

 

That evening Christy and I went to a birthday party at our neighbor’s house.  Matt and Brandi had invited Boone and our puppy, Kona, too, as they frequently play with their dog, Dakota.  We ended up in their garage, eating, drinking and relaxing.  Hanging out in their garage was appropriate since Boone is very familiar with it.

 

Last week, I’d taken Boone and Kona outside for some exercise.  We were playing ball in the back yard when Boone decided to go over to the neighbor’s house to see if Dakota was out.  I called Boone several times, but he didn’t return.  This was very unusual, so I walked over to their house.  Brandi was just pulling out of the driveway when I arrived, but there was no sign of Boone.  I walked around their house, calling for him.  There was no sign of him, but when I returned to the front of the house I distinctly heard barking coming from their garage.  It sounded like Boone, though I wasn’t immediately certain.  But if it was Boone, what was he doing in their garage?

 

Christy eventually got a hold of Brandi.  She gave us the secret password to open the garage door, and Boone came running out.  Apparently he’d gone in there looking for Dakota as Brandi was leaving.  The door must’ve closed behind him!  Although this caused some heartburn for Christy and me, it ended up being good for a laugh for everyone on our street.

 

Boone got even with me for leaving him home while I went hiking.  While we were hanging out, Boone helped himself to Brandi’s birthday cake.  He didn’t eat much of it, but did manage to make a pretty impressive mess.  Christy and I were shocked, as Boone had never attempted to steal food before.

 

Other than that incident the party was fun.  We enjoyed some good food and hung in there with a younger crowd for a few hours.  Eventually the serious beer drinking games started, and we quickly realized that we were too old for that behavior.  We headed home before midnight, after an enjoyable evening with our neighbors.




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