Smoky Quest: Waterfall Hunt

After finally arriving at our fantastic campsite, Imagination Mountain, and getting settled in, it was high time to get down to adventure business. There had been heavy rains leading up to this point in time, and this meant one thing needed to happen, and it needed to happen fast: a waterfall adventure day!!! We are both waterfall fans (Traci in a major way) and, waterfalls are conveniently scattered throughout the Smoky Mountains. Unfortunately, many of the falls require hikes of at least three miles or more. Due to our prior sedentary office lifestyle and feeble, atrophied legs, we opted to take it a little easy on our first hike… so a quest was devised to achieve a viewing of at least three waterfalls, with minimal hiking, in a single day. The plan was simple: we would first drive south through Newfound Gap into Cherokee, NC, then West toward Bryson City, then North, back into the park to hit the Deep Creek Trailhead. Following this, we would head East, back into Cherokee to hit Mingo falls, with plenty of day left to get back home. There was a problem, however. We knew that numerous, significant distractions awaited us on Newfound Gap Road. We would have to focus to make it through the pass and to complete both the Indian Creek Falls trail and the Mingo Falls trail prior to dark. We felt that we were up for the challenge, so at a fine late start of about 2:00 pm, we departed Imagination Mountain and began our journey. The result? Glorious derailment!

2:46 PM - 4:00 PM: Newfound Gap Delay

Shortly after entering the Smokies on US 441 S (Newfound Gap Road) we were quickly dazzled and easily distracted. Discovered as a hidden pass in 1872 by Arnold Guyot (a Swiss geologist that named loads of the mountains in the Smokies), and realized by the efforts of engineers and the CCC in 1932, Newfound Gap Road was built to replace the higher and more rugged Indian Pass. Newfound Gap Road is the only road that cuts completely through the Smoky Mountains, and it peaks at the Newfound Gap pass, which is located at the TN/NC border. The views along the road are nothing short of spectacular. We tried to get good shots along the way, but pictures cannot capture the immersive experience of the mountains. You’ll have to see it yourself! Nonetheless, we finally got through the pass into NC, only to spot another distraction along the way…

Our first sighting of the mountains driving along Newfound Gap!

Yeah. We’re both very glad that we went with the Jeep.

4:00 PM - 4:15 PM: Pretty Bridge Over Oconaluftee River

As we were nearing the exit of the park, we spotted a neat little bridge beside the road… so we stopped again at what we would later learn was the trailhead of the Kephart Prong trail. Nonetheless, it was a great little place to stop for a break and a few pictures and enjoy the beauty of the Oconaluftee River.

4:24 PM - 4:40 PM: Mingus Mill Delay

Shortly after we left the bridge we came across a sign, indicating that an old mill was in the area. We decided to take a quick peek, which turned into another significant delay, as the mill turned out to be far more engaging than anticipated. The old Migus Mill is typically a still-functional grist mill (they were sadly waiting on a belt replacement when we arrived, so it wasn’t running), and the old wooden infrastructure is both elegant and beautiful. We stuck around for a bit to marvel at the engineering of this wonderfully preserved piece of history in the Smokies.

6:00 PM - 6:20 PM: Finally Arrived at the First Waterfall Hike.. Found Tom Branch Falls!

At last! We escaped from the park and headed toward Bryson City to go on our first hike. Despite the fact that Google took us on a backroad adventure route, through the rural hills of Bryson City, along an isolated gravel road, we found our way to the Deep Creek Trailhead! The first waterfall that we saw was Tom Branch Falls. It did not disappoint. I have never seen a waterfall of this size dumping into a river running directly perpendicular to the drop. When we arrived, a couple of fishermen were trying their hand at fly fishing, which served as a beautiful flowing foreground to the waterfall. We spent some time appreciating the falls, but time was running short! We still needed to reach Indian Falls and Mingo Falls before dark, so we pushed on!

6:20 PM: Indian Creek Falls

We wound our way through the woods and found our way to our second waterfall of the day, Indian Creek Falls! More of a plunge perhaps than a waterfall, Indian Creek Falls was still a roaring delight to satiate our waterfall fix! After enjoying the falls for a short while, we doubled back to make a final scurry for our last waterfall of the day, Mingo Falls!

8:00 PM - 8:20 PM: Mingo Falls

Well, we rolled back from Bryson City and wound through Cherokee to arrive at the base of the Mingo Falls trail. After a brief, but arduous climb (maybe not so much for normal people; remember our feeble legs), we arrived at the base of the falls, and it is a beauty. At a towering 120 feet, Mingo Falls was the gem of the day and a great waterfall to close out our waterfall hunt. Since we arrived so late, there was not a soul around, and we had the fortune to appreciate and enjoy this wicked feat of nature all alone in the forest. Little did we know that, after leaving the falls, we would get one additional treat for the evening…

8:30 PM: Elk Spotting

Okay, first it should be stated that one of our greatest passions is nature in almost all forms, especially wild fauna. We dig critters from large to small, and we get giddy every chance that we get to see an animal in the wild. In 2001 and 2002 elk were reintroduced to the park, and little did we know, they can frequently be found grazing around the Oconaluftee Visitor on the south end of the Smokies in the evening. We rolled into a graze-fest, and the mellow elk were cool with Traci and I getting a quick photo shoot. The velvet antlers on the bulls are just starting to pop up out of their domes (so weird), and the females do not seem to be too impressed… yet. Just give this a few months and I would imagine that this field will likely be filled with fully formed horns, manly bull battles, and wooing cows. Nonetheless, for now it was a huge treat for Traci and I to enjoy the beauty of these strong, gentle beasts. After our shoot, we climbed back up through the gap to our temporary home in Cosby, TN, for a rest after an immersive, impressive seven hours of fun, and what was the first of many amazing memories that we would create in our time in The Great Smoky Mountains!