WORLD’S EDGE… & BEYOND
Recently
I had a rare opportunity to hike somewhere that would normally be
off-limits. I’m on the mailing list for
the Rutherford Outdoor Coalition, and I saw a notice that the Carolina Mountain
Land Conservancy (CMLC) was offering a hike to Big Pool Falls in World’s
Edge. Big Pool Falls is now included in
the new Chimney Rock State Park.
However, there is currently no easy legal access to the falls. The waterfall can be reached via a long,
difficult hike that is almost entirely on public property. However, for the guided hike, the CMLC had
obtained permission to cross private land downstream from the falls.
The
CMLC is heavily involved in the ongoing effort to protect Hickory Nut Gorge and
surrounding areas, including Rumbling Bald, World’s Edge, and the upper
gorge. They have already protected key
areas such as Bearwallow Mountain, the Florence
Nature Preserve, and parts of World’s Edge.
Some of those areas, such as World’s Edge, have been transferred to the
North Carolina State Parks for inclusion in the new Chimney Rock State Park.
The
guided hike was offered to CMLC members only.
Technically I wasn’t a member, but I contacted the CMLC anyway. The hike was limited to 15 people and was
fully booked, but as luck would have it, someone had just cancelled. I joined the organization and made plans to
meet the group in Lake Lure on Saturday morning.
Part
of my motivation for joining the hike was to meet one of the hike leaders,
Peter Barr. Actually, I felt like I’d
known Peter for years, though we’d never technically met. We first got to know each other about five
years ago, when Peter was planning a hike with the Nature Conservancy at Bluff
Mountain in Ashe County. I had signed up
for Peter’s hike then, but had picked up the flu the day before. I missed out on the hike, and although Peter
and I kept up with each other’s adventures on the interwebs,
we never actually crossed paths. Until Saturday.
Boone
was not happy with me on Saturday morning.
After watching me pack my hiking gear on Friday
night, he (incorrectly) assumed that he would be joining me for a hike the
following day. Unfortunately I wasn’t
able to bring him on this particular hike.
I
made the drive to Lake Lure, which took a bit less than 2 hours from
Charlotte. I met the CMLC group at the
Lake Lure Inn, including our guides, Chet and Peter, as well as the new ranger
at Chimney Rock State Park. It seemed
like a good group, though I’m certainly not used to hiking with 17 other
people! We carpooled from there and made
a quick detour to visit the home of the CMLC member who had been instrumental
in organizing the hike. From there it
was on to the “trailhead”, which in this case was someone’s front yard.
We
followed a footpath to an old roadbed.
We followed this to the state park boundary, which we passed shortly
before reaching the first crossing of Big Pool Creek. We rock hopped the creek, which claimed only
one casualty. A second crossing on
slippery rocks followed before we began to climb in earnest. The hiking was fairly easy overall, though
the trail did feature a lot of deadfall.
We
reached the base of Big Pool Falls in just under an hour. Big Pool Falls is impressive, but
unfortunately it isn’t terribly photogenic.
The best perspective I found for photos was actually well
downstream. Unfortunately there was a
fair bit of rhododendron in the way, and there was just enough of a breeze to
make for blurry photos.
Some
of the group had lunch at the falls, but it was only 11am and I hadn’t worked
up an appetite yet. I was itching to
explore upstream from Big Pool Falls, as I’d heard that there was another
waterfall up that way. However, that was
outside of the scope of the hike that was planned. I’ll have to return another time to check it
out. While I’m at it, I’d like to
explore Wolf Creek also, as there is a waterfall in that drainage, too.
We
returned by the same route, and shuttled back to the Inn. At that point most of the hikers scattered,
but it was only noon and I wasn’t in any hurry to head home. Peter had a few free hours that afternoon,
and he suggested another hike. He had a
couple of ideas, including a hike to Bearwallow
Mountain on a trail recently constructed by the CMLC. However, his second suggestion really caught
my attention.
Peter
is the CMLC’s trails and outreach coordinator.
Currently the CMLC is developing a 15-mile loop trail in the upper part
of the Hickory Nut Gorge. The route will
connect the Florence Nature Preserve, Little Pisgah Mountain, and Bearwallow Mountain.
The new trail will eventually be incorporated in a larger trail network
in the gorge encompassing Chimney Rock, Rumbling Bald, World’s Edge, and
surrounding areas.
Peter’s
second suggestion was a scouting hike along part of the proposed route. The hike would be on private property, but he
had already obtained permission from the landowner. That sounded like an exciting adventure to
me, so we drove highway 74 west to Hickory Nut Gap.
From
the gap we hiked south, following a good trail with switchbacks out of the gap. Early on we passed some hunters with dogs
heading the other way. Before long we
crested a ridge. We continued to follow
a good trail, which led us to a nice campsite at the summit of Ferguson
Mountain. Ferguson Mountain was a
pleasant surprise, as it featured a great view to the west of a pastoral valley
dotted with houses and farms.
We
continued following good trail beyond Ferguson Mountain. The trail was actually blazed, and Peter
theorized that it originated at a horse farm down in the valley we’d seen from
Ferguson Mountain. Eventually the trail
began heading down, which seemed to validate that theory. We doubled-back to a faint junction and took
a less-traveled trail. This path took us
where we wanted to go. We followed the
trail through the woods until we arrived in the grassy meadow of Blue Ridge
Pastures. From there we were treated to
outstanding views of Hickory Nut Gorge, which unfolded below us. At the lower end, the rugged cliffs of
Rumbling Bald and Chimney Rock formed a portal leading to Lake Lure and
beyond. Above Rumbling Bald was the
impressive pinnacle of Shumont Mountain. Closer still, we could easily see the tower
on top of Little Pisgah Mountain.
Immediately above us was the grassy bald of Bearwallow
Mountain.
The
view to the north was equally impressive.
In that direction we spotted High Windy and High Top. Beyond, the Black Mountains and the Craggy
Mountains unfolded. In the farthest
distance I thought I spotted Roan Mountain, though I can’t be sure about that.
We
briefly considered continuing along the ridge towards Bearwallow
Mountain. Instead of backtracking, we
could follow Bearwallow Mountain Road back down to
highway 74. However, that would’ve left
us a good distance down the road from the car.
Also, we would walk right past a house that was on a different piece of
private property from the one we’d obtained permission to cross. Instead we headed back the way we came,
thrilled with what we’d found in only a few short hours. Blue Ridge Pastures features the best view of
the gorge that I’ve seen.
On
the way back, Peter and I told stories and shared some of our favorite (or
otherwise memorable) adventures. It was
great to catch up with Peter, even though we’d never actually met prior to that
morning! We’re looking forward to
planning more hikes together in the future.
I’m sure some of those will be in the Hickory Nut Gorge. That’s one area where I’ve really only
scratched the surface.
For more information about the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, check out their website at: http://www.carolinamountain.org/
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