Above Rainbow Falls
Oct. 9th, 2023 07:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerNorth Carolina Travelog #27
Gorges State Park, NC - Sat, 23 Sep 2023. 12:30pm
Seeing Rainbow Falls and scrambling to the rocks at the bottom (previous blog) was pretty awesome. It would've been an awesome hike just for that, even with having to ascend a few hundred feet on the way out. But the Rainbow Falls Trail isn't over just because we got to Rainbow Falls. There are still two more falls to go, not to mention enjoying Rainbow Falls from the top!
The trail continues up over the granite ledge that Rainbow Falls pours over then sticks close to the stream. It was a short walk off the main trail to climb onto the granite slabs that form the stream bed. In the photo above I'm looking over the falls. For a sense of scale, try making out the person on flat, rocky area at the bottom (left side of the picture). That's where I was when I made photos from the bottom (see previous blog).
BTW, the perch I'm standing on isn't quite as vertiginous as it may look from the photo. One, I'm on solid granite. It's not slippery. Two, I'm an adult with skill at navigating rocks safely. I wouldn't advise letting your little kids play around out here.
While I was peering over the falls and waving to the people far below, Hawk was exploring the granite slickrock further upstream. We both like the exposed rock next to rushing streams like this. It reminds us so much of California and the Sierra Nevada.
Oh, did I mention waving at the people below the falls? Yeah, I couldn't resist doing that.
It's funny that people at the bottom didn't always seem to notice me at first. Of course, that's because they're likely looking down at their footing so they don't stumble, trip, or slip on the uneven rocks. Once they find a steady place to stand they turn and look up, and then they see me waving from the top and wave back. I mean, I'd wave back from the bottom. Then I'd wait for top-me to stop goofing around so I could take a picture of the falls. 😅
After a few minutes of goofing at the top of the falls I saw that Hawk had picked out a sitting spot on the granite near the stream. I sat down next to her, but not before positioning my camera on a granite slab with the timer set. Granite rock, a flowing stream, waterfall nearby.... This is our happy place.
Gorges State Park, NC - Sat, 23 Sep 2023. 12:30pm
Seeing Rainbow Falls and scrambling to the rocks at the bottom (previous blog) was pretty awesome. It would've been an awesome hike just for that, even with having to ascend a few hundred feet on the way out. But the Rainbow Falls Trail isn't over just because we got to Rainbow Falls. There are still two more falls to go, not to mention enjoying Rainbow Falls from the top!
The trail continues up over the granite ledge that Rainbow Falls pours over then sticks close to the stream. It was a short walk off the main trail to climb onto the granite slabs that form the stream bed. In the photo above I'm looking over the falls. For a sense of scale, try making out the person on flat, rocky area at the bottom (left side of the picture). That's where I was when I made photos from the bottom (see previous blog).
BTW, the perch I'm standing on isn't quite as vertiginous as it may look from the photo. One, I'm on solid granite. It's not slippery. Two, I'm an adult with skill at navigating rocks safely. I wouldn't advise letting your little kids play around out here.
While I was peering over the falls and waving to the people far below, Hawk was exploring the granite slickrock further upstream. We both like the exposed rock next to rushing streams like this. It reminds us so much of California and the Sierra Nevada.
Oh, did I mention waving at the people below the falls? Yeah, I couldn't resist doing that.
It's funny that people at the bottom didn't always seem to notice me at first. Of course, that's because they're likely looking down at their footing so they don't stumble, trip, or slip on the uneven rocks. Once they find a steady place to stand they turn and look up, and then they see me waving from the top and wave back. I mean, I'd wave back from the bottom. Then I'd wait for top-me to stop goofing around so I could take a picture of the falls. 😅
After a few minutes of goofing at the top of the falls I saw that Hawk had picked out a sitting spot on the granite near the stream. I sat down next to her, but not before positioning my camera on a granite slab with the timer set. Granite rock, a flowing stream, waterfall nearby.... This is our happy place.
