My very first National Forest! How exciting! I’ve been and out of Asheville a lot over the last two years, but this is my first time venturing into the woods themselves. I’m kicking myself for not going sooner, because LOOK AT THIS!
This isn’t even real, right? I mean, this is pretend, pre-rendered forest, right? To say my heart was happy would be an understatement. Welcome to Pisgah National Forest outside of Asheville, North Carolina. I am in love with it now, and I think I might marry it.
I gave myself a whole day to do some hiking while I was here, and after a quick stop at the Ranger station to buy a sweet topographical map, I was on my way. Pisgah is huge, and before I even went in I had to figure out which road to take. I opted to go through Brevard, because I wanted to visit the Rangers for both the map and my precious hiking medallion. Those things are important!
I had no clear idea of what I was in the mood to see, so I took a look at the map, and decided I’d stop at Looking Glass Falls first. It’s right off of the road, so all I had to do was park and head down some stairs. I was not disappointed.
That’s a little pathway you take down from the road to the falls. It was amazing – I love waterfalls. It’s so many senses at once – the roar of the falls, the mist on your face, the rocks all slick and pretty, and the ferns! So many hanging plants all around. I love it.
On the way back up, I was visited by a SLEW of black and yellow butterflies as well, which was adorable. They’re far too fast for me to get a picture, sadly. It was amazing seeing the butterflies. A few years ago, I went to Costa Rica to shoot an entire documentary about butterflies. Seeing them in North Carolina was like visiting old friends again. They were all clustered around a fallen, decaying tree right on the edge of the river, looking all the world like another tumble-down fairy house.
It was a bit overcast, so all of the greens and browns became more luminous than normal. I’ve been in California for the past few years, which just recently escaped from a terrible, multi-year drought. It does my heart good to walk around through deep, varied greens again.
After playing with the butterflies and poking around inside the tree trunk, I made my way farther up the road to Moore’s Cove. This is a little hike – around 1.7 miles round trip – to another waterfall. It seemed like a great place to stop and get a good feel for the forest. The section of Pisgah I was exploring is set between the hills and mountains, with a lot of the more difficult climbs going up to the ridges, and the smaller hikes winding through the valleys. Since I was without my serious gear, sticking to the valleys was a good choice.
The trail begins by crossing one of the many, many streams that wind through the park. The sound of rushing water is so constant from hidden and streams and brooks you are hard pressed along the roads to find a quiet spot.
The trail is well-maintained and well-marked, with wooden bridges taking you over the various creeks along the way. I was there on a Thursday, so the trails were fairly quiet. This was the most crowded of the hikes I took, and I saw maybe a handful of people each direction.
The first half mile is a windy trail through the trees, up the side of the hill to take you into the cove itself. Because of the light, everything was still and glowing. I wonder if the leaves will get deeper and darker as the year goes on? Mental note: come back and check again in August, and then in October.
It’s still fairly early in the season, so there were not a ton of flowers in bloom, but the ones I found were all pale white and tiny! This one looks like a bottle brush, but I’m not sure what it actually is. Same with this branch full of little tiny white flower-bells. I saw these all over the place, and I think they’re just adorable. I really need to up my game for plant and fungus identification.
It was at this point that I started thinking about trying to teach myself to draw again. Pictures are lovely, but I’ve always been in love with the old inked botanical books from the 18-19th Century. Perhaps I’ll get myself a sketchbook and try to draw one per trip?
This plant just struck me for how clear and brilliant it’s veins were. And the shape! I’d love to have a whole fairy skirt based on this. It’s beautiful!
After the path hugs the edge of the hill and plunges into the valley between, you start to find and cross all manner of little streams and brooks. There had been some recent rain, so they were all full and very bubbly! The water is so incredibly clear, and very cold. I didn’t have to stray off a path to get a few fingers into the water – it was close enough for me to touch it.
Just like the earlier sections of the trail, this part was raised up on wooden platforms whenever it got muddy, letting you pitter-pat across the stream without worry. A few of the paths later would not be so forgiving, and several would, as we’d say in tabletop gaming, call for a dex check.
I will admit to moving through this section a little faster than I would like, because there was a very large, very loud family that was taking up the entire path through the little streams. They were very occupied with taking pictures in the stream, and I didn’t want to get in their way, so I hurried through. It’s always nice to see everyone outside. The more people that can get out into the nature and see the beauty, the easier it is to convince them that conservation is necessary and worthwhile.
Finally, after crossing a few more bridges, I came to Moore’s Cove. What a treat!
Just like Ash Cave and Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills, you can climb around behind the falls and let the spray fall all over you. For once, I did my best to keep myself mostly dry, since I knew I had several more hours ahead of me. It was, however, a great time to have a snack. I’d neglected to bring anything more substantial than Cliff Bars, sadly, so a blueberry crisp would have to do. Listening to the water splash down made it taste better.
Waterfall caves are neat regardless, but the rock patterns on the back wall have always fascinated me. It’s pretty amazing to think about it, but the rivers do slice through the bedrock like knives over thousands of years. When the rivers and creeks flood, it fills the basins up and creates these fantastic rock formations on the back walls.
The nerd in me also always thinks about Henneth Annûn, the Window of the West, that Faramir takes Frodo and Sam to while they are in Ithilien. Somewhere, there has to be a cave like that behind a waterfall. I’d like to see it someday, if there is.
After crawling around on the rocks for a bit, I decided that it was time to make my way onto the next hike. I was able, this time, to get a great picture of these huge fallen trees on the way. 
And down at the bottom of the bigger, fatter tree?
Love it! These are my favorite things to find. I love keeping my eyes open when I backtrack on a trail. There’s always something I didn’t see before. After a quick stop to look at the fresh, growing tips of a pine tree, it was back to my car for the next adventure: Pink Beds Trail, my big hike for the day.
