Why didn't I go all the way to the end? Four reasons: (1) I hit serious paving on the drive up in two places, which added 50 minutes to the drive. (2) We had made plans to go out at 7:00 so I had a firm time of 5PM to get home by (3) I decided to use thin liner socks, and on my right boot, I forgot to put a real hiking sock over the liner when I put my boots on at the trail head. Yeah, I know, how does that happen? (4) When I waded across a stream, I knew there would be another stream crossing in about a half mile, so I hiked without socks in my Tevas to save some time drying my feet, putting boots back on, etc. This laziness cost me when the Tevas wore away skin on two parts of my left foot. Multiple lessons learned, again, from this hike.
I saw two deer on the drive in. Other than that, I didn't see any major wildlife on the hike. I did hear a number of birds, including hooded warbler, Acadian flycatcher, eastern wood pewee, wood thrush, pileated woodpecker, and oven bird.
The first part of the trail, about 1.6 miles, is an old woods road, and it is very pretty. For about a half mile of this, you actually leave the park. The mountain laurel were in bloom, and there was the sound of a stream nearly every step along the way.
There are a lot of streams to cross on this hike, about 10 crossings each way. A few are very easy, most of the others can be rock hopped with care, but two involved wet feet. Here they are. Maybe in the summer, these can be rock hopped, but not this time of year. They came up about mid-calf as I carefully waded across.
After the second crossing, I semi-dried my feet and put my boots back on, regretting that I had hiked over a half mile in my Tevas with no socks. But from this point on, the trail was gentle and absolutely beautiful as it followed the North Fork Moorman River. The river ran along trail left, and much of the time, there were rapids and pools. It was simply beautiful, and all of the stream crossings after this point were fairly easy, although trekking poles always help.
Can the snail read? Is it snail braille? I did hear him mutter at one point, "1.5 miles? You've got to be kidding me!"
I reached my destination, and marveled at how beautiful Big Branch is.
I turned right, and started hiking up to the falls, first to the Lower Falls, which included two pools and a natural water slide....
....and then to the spectacular 30 foot tall Upper Falls. I stayed here for a while and admired the beauty.
At this point, I considered going to the end but knew I would miss my return time and damage my feet more. Time to go back. I had lunch on a bluff along the river, and noticed what looks to be a perfect camping spot on the opposite bank. On a future overnight trip, I think that I will wade across the river and camp there.
On the hike out, I noticed this old remains of a bridge that I had walked past on the way in and hadn't seen.
This is an example of how the trail follows the river, now on the right for the hike out.
I found this beautiful salamander on the hike out, but unfortunately, he is dead. I don't know if a hiker stepped on it my mistake or if someone deliberately killed it. This is known as the red salamander. I'd never seen one.
Well, foot issues and all, I had a great time hiking here. I will be back, both to clock the few remaining miles on this trail, and to enjoy the river again, and hopefully, camp out.
Great hike, beautiful photos. So glad you are enjoying your retirement. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks, Happy-K. I plan on coming back on this trail for an overnight trip. It is a lovely area. Yes indeed, I love being retired. I had dinner with a former co-worker last night, and she brought me up to date about all the problems they are having. I feel for them, but it is not my issue any more.
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