BABY ON BOARD
NOTE: I RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT PART OF THE ROUTE DESCRIBED BELOW CROSSES PRIVATE PROPERTY. SPECIFICALLY, THE OLD ROAD FROM THE TOP OF BRIDAL VEIL FALLS ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE LITTLE RIVER IS NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC ACCESS. AS A RESULT, I CANNOT RECOMMEND HIKING THROUGH THIS AREA.
Last weekend, I managed to
talk my wife into joining me for a hike.
That’s a rarity in the winter, but a forecast that promised sunny skies
and seasonable temperatures helped.
Since she was coming, I
selected a “fun” waterfall hike in DuPont State Forest. She had been to DuPont once before, but that
had only been a short hike to Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls. On this occasion, I thought we’d explore a
different part of the forest, farther to the south. The route I had in mind would take us to some places I hadn’t
been, such as Lake Julia. It would also
feature some of my personal favorites from the area, including Bridal Veil
Falls and Cedar Rock.
Bob decided to join us, and
we all met at the Fawn Lake Trailhead just after 10 on Saturday morning. We took a different route to get there,
driving in on Green River Road from the town (?) of Tuxedo. That was the most direct route, but I’m not
sure it saved us much time. The last
few miles featured a one-lane dirt road with an endless series of blind
curves. It was a relief when we finally
reached the pavement of Reasonover Road.
A short distance later, we reached the Fawn Lake Trailhead, which now
features a trail information board and a portable toilet.
It was a chilly morning, so
Christy, Bob, Saucony and I didn’t linger at the trailhead for long. We started out on the Fawn Lake Loop Trail
(#22), which, like many of the trails in the area, is actually an old dirt
road. After a few minutes, we arrived
at Fawn Lake, which is really more of a pond.
It wasn’t anything to get excited about, so we continued on. A few minutes later, we picked up the
Airstrip Trail (#1), which took us out to an old runway. Apparently DuPont used it years ago for
private planes. For us, it provided a
fine view of Mount Pisgah and the surrounding peaks from its far end. There, we could hear the Little River
roaring over Bridal Veil Falls far below.
We backtracked to a house
that now appears to be a ranger’s residence.
From there, we descended on Camp Summit Road (#13) down to Lake
Julia. Here we found a beautiful
mountain lake. Scattered around the
lake are several buildings that used to be part of Camp Summit. One of them appeared to be undergoing
renovations, while another must’ve been hosting a large group. There were perhaps a dozen cars parked in
front of that one.
From there, we followed Lake
Julia Road (#47) out to Conservation Road (#18). Conservation Road is gated, but still sees some traffic. It’s the main road through the Forest, and
it provides access to the old DuPont factory in the middle of the Park. Part of the road is currently off-limits,
but the section southwest of Lake Julia is open to the public.
After a short distance, we
turned left on Bridal Veil Falls Road (#5).
At the end of the road, we picked up a trail, which we followed down to
the base of Bridal Veil Falls.
Bridal Veil Falls is a long
run of cascades and slides. At the
lower end, it fans out over a wide expanse of rock. I imagine this is where it gets its name. It’s a pretty sight, but unfortunately, you
can’t see the entire falls from a single spot.
We planned to see the rest of it, but decided to relax there for lunch first.
We found a nice, flat rock
in the sun near the bottom of the final slide.
While we were warming ourselves there, a couple hiked by. The man was carrying a backpack holding an
infant. When they started climbing up
the rock face alongside the falls, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Climbing along the falls is relatively safe,
as long as proper caution is used, but the rocks can be quite slippery. That was the route we were planning to take,
but none of us was carrying a baby! A
few minutes later they came back down, so I guess they must’ve had second
thoughts. Still, the man slipped and
nearly fell on his way down. It was a
relief when they finally reached the bottom.
After lunch, we followed in
their footsteps. For the most part the
footing was pretty good, but we had to take care to avoid the steep, slippery
areas. After the initial climb, the
grade eased, but the riverbed narrowed.
Just before the base of the upper drop, the footing got dicey. After watching Christy and Bob tiptoe their
way up the rocks, I decided to bail. I
headed into the woods, where I found a primitive path running through the
Rhododendron parallel to the falls. A
couple of minutes later I reached the base of the upper drop, where Bob and
Christy were waiting for me.
This was the crux of the
route for us. Crossing the river
anywhere along Bridal Veil Falls is dangerous.
There is a ford just upstream from the first drop, but a slip there
could be fatal. Plus, in January, even
on a sunny day, any sort of ford is highly unpleasant. Fortunately, I was aware of a more appealing
alternative.
It’s not obvious at first
glance, but there is a small cave behind the upper drop on Bridal Veil
Falls. By crouching, we were able to
squeeze into the cave behind the falls.
Once inside, the cave opens up a bit, and it’s fairly easy walking to
the other side. There is a bit of
spray, and the roar from the falls makes any sort of verbal communication
impossible, but the whole experience is really cool. It’s especially rewarding when you reach the far side completely
dry. It’s certainly the most
interesting, and unique, way of crossing a river that I’ve ever experienced.
Once across, we scrambled up
to a path, and climbed up to the top of the upper drop. Here we picked up a path that runs upstream
along the river. This old road is an
ugly, eroded mess, but it leads to another of the Forest’s gems. After a few minutes, we reached a junction
with the Cedar Rock Trail (#16). We
followed this footpath uphill, through scattered forest and across open slabs
of granite. A moderate climb brought us
to the broad summit, which features lots of scattered rocks and a few nice
views. The best vistas, though, are
actually down the Big Rock Trail (#3) a short distance.
We headed that way, and
arrived at an open granite face a few minutes later. Here we had a great view north to Mount Pisgah and Looking Glass
Rock. Beyond Looking Glass Rock, we
could see the Blue Ridge Parkway, and high peaks including Black Balsam,
Shining Rock, and Cold Mountain.
We lingered there for a
while, but we still had a long way to go to get back to the car. We doubled-back to the summit, and followed
the other end of the Cedar Rock Trail down the mountain. This stretch of trail is a fun hike, as it
descends steeply across open granite slabs.
We were treated to more fine views as we plunged back down towards the
river.
At the bottom, we turned
left on the Bridal Veil Trail (#6). We
followed this old road along the lazy meanders of the Little River. The River really changes character between
this point and the falls, which are only a couple hundred yards downstream!
We eventually passed the
junction with the north end of the Cedar Rock Trail, and backtracked down the
old road to Bridal Veil Falls. At the
falls we crossed back through the cave.
On the far side, we climbed up to the brink and reached an old
road. I thought this was Corn Mill
Shoals Road (#19), and we headed up it.
It wasn’t long before I
realized that the road we were following didn’t match the one shown on the
map. We hiked out to the power lines,
and followed them to the top of a ridge.
From there, we continued to follow them loosely, heading southeast. I was pretty sure we were actually northwest
of Corn Mill Shoals Road, so we pressed on.
Luckily I was right, as we descended to meet that road at a junction a
few minutes later. Apparently the path
we had been following was the Bridal Veil Falls Overlook Trail. That one isn’t noted on my (dated) map. I guess it’s past time for me to pick up a
copy of the latest trail map.
We followed Corn Mill Shoals
Road up a hearty climb before turning onto the Laurel Ridge Trail (#48). We followed this one along a wooded ridge
before turning onto the Cart Trail (#14).
This path provided a shortcut, although it required climbing steeply
over a knob. Beyond, we joined the Mine
Mountain Trail (#56), which we followed high above Fawn Lake. This footpath brought us down to the Fawn
Lake Loop, which returned us to the parking area. We got back around 5pm, which was still well before dark.
Our hike was good one,
featuring highlights such as the airstrip, Lake Julia, Bridal Veil Falls, and
Cedar Rock. I enjoyed showing these
places to Christy, while embracing the opportunity to hike some new
trails. During the course of our hike,
we probably covered 8 or 9 miles. There
are many other trails in DuPont State Forest that I haven’t hiked, so I’m sure
we’ll be back soon to check out some new territory.
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