March 13, 2018
Well, I'm almost a year late with this blog! That's what happens when you have a great winter spent with good friends. Better late than never, right?!!
Friday, April 7, 2017
We have arrived in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, just outside of Brevard. Brevard is a small, touristy city (population 7,600) located in southwestern North Carolina in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Brevard is about 35 miles from Asheville and 55 miles from Greenville, South Carolina.
While here, we will be volunteering at the Ranger Station/Visitors Center of the Pisgah District of the Pisgah National Forest. We'll be volunteering three days a week, giving visitors trail and waterfall information. It's a busy visitors center ~ during the summer months there are over 1,000 visitors during the weekend.
The national forest is so large, (500,000 acres, 12 times larger than the Great Smokey National Park) that it is divided into three Ranger Districts ~ Pisgah, Grandfather and Appalachian. Pisgah National Forest is a land of mile-high peaks, cascading waterfalls (over 400) and heavily forested slopes. Pisgah is primarily a hardwood forest with whitewater rivers and hundreds of miles (over 300) of trails.
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Looking Glass Falls ~ the easiest accessible as well as the most
popular waterfall in the Pisgah District |
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| Moore Cove Falls, another popular waterfall |
We will be volunteering here, in the Pisgah District, until the end of October. We have been looking forward to this for quite awhile; we're very happy to be here.
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Pisgah District. visitors center/ranger station is located 14 miles from
the Blue Ridge Parkway |
Volunteer Village is located across the parking lot from the visitors center in the forest. There are room for four rv's.
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| we're tucked into the forest |
The main draw for families (other than camping and hiking) is Sliding Rock.
Sliding Rock is just that ~ a rock in the Davidson River that you slide down. The force of the water pushes you down the rock into a pool of water that is eight feet deep. The temperature of the water is 55-60 degrees year 'round.
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| sliding rock. view from the bottom up |
When not volunteering, we spent the majority of our time hiking the trails. Trails in the Pisgah District range in length from 7/10 of mile to 30 miles. There's usually a reward at the end of the trail; you'll see a waterfall or a great vista. Coop loved hiking on all the trails with us.
His favorite trail was Andy Cove, a short, .7 of a mile trail located behind the visitors center. We walked this one everyday...
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| a nice boardwalk along the trail |
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Coop waiting for us at the other side
of the swinging bridge |
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Coop loved getting drinks out of any and
all streams! |
A few of our favorite hikes were...
Daniel Ridge Trail...
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| Daniel Ridge ~ a five mile loop |
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as the name implies, we hiked along
a ridge line |
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one of the prettiest trails in the forest. this is where the headwaters
of the Davidson River begin. we walked along cascading
waterfalls |
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one of the prettiest trails in the forest. this is where the headwaters
of the Davidson River begin. we walked along cascading
waterfalls |
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| gotta find another way around |
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| off we go. checking the compass |
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water coming down the side of the
mountain |
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| waiting for us to catch up |
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| taking a break |
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| our reward ~ Daniel Ridge waterfall |
Pilot Cove/Slate Rock Trail
This trail took us to a fabulous vista. The easiest way to hike to the vista is to hike Slate Rock to Pilot Cove. It's also a bit longer. We, on the other hand, decided to hike the shorter, harder way to the vista...
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| the trail starts off fairly flat... |
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| soon we began to climb. |
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| the trail, as are most trails in Pisgah, was rooty. |
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| the higher we climbed, the denser the trail became |
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Ron, who was in front of me, walked out of
the forest. I heard him say... |
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| OH! WOW!!! |
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| we kept Coop leashed...there's quite a drop off |
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| with the binoculars, we can see the Blue Ridge Parkway |
Sam Nob Summit...
Spring is a beautiful time in the mountains. This trail is located along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It starts off easy and fairly flat. Until you arrive at the nob. Then it becomes fairly steep and rocky with many switchbacks...
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| once again the trail starts off level |
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| spring is beautiful in the mountains |
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we came to steps leading us down to a
large, open field... |
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| Sam Nob in front of us |
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| it was hot walking through here |
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| getting closer |
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we left the open field and entered the forest.
the trail became narrow and rocky |
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| getting closer to the top... |
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| beautiful view |
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| once again, we held tightly onto Cooper |
Stayed tuned for Part Two of Cooper's Best. Vacation. Ever.!!
Dawn, Ron & Cooper
