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Discovery Falls. Trail Signs.
Sep. 27th, 2023 05:09 pmNorth Carolina Travelog #10
Pisgah National Forest - Thu, 21 Sep 2023. 2:15pm
Our next hike today required driving several miles on gravel roads to reach the backcountry trailhead. It occurs to me that I mention trailheads— arriving at them, coming back to them— in almost every hiking blog assuming you know (or can imagine) what they look like. Here's an example of this trail's trailhead:
This trail starts as an overgrown fire road that's gated off. The tiny trail sign to the right of the gate isn't particularly informative.... It reads "To Seniard Ridge". Seniard Ridge? WTF is that? The reason pretty much anybody comes to this trailhead is because of the waterfalls: Discovery Falls, Lower and Upper Log Hollow Falls, and Logging Falls. Though maybe it's a good thing this trailhead isn't properly signed because if it were there'd be a lot more people here than the tiny parking area— really more of a wide spot on a sharp bend in a gravel road— can accommodate.
The first falls in this area, Discovery Falls, is on a spur trail off the main trail. The spur trail isn't marked at all. We knew to explore it because I read about it on AllTrails.com and tracked a contour map on my phone. It's not even as simple as, "Oh, there's a side creek, let's check if there's a waterfall nearby..." because the waterfall is not nearby. It's up a grueling, 400 foot climb on the spur trail.
What's at the end of that grueling ascent is worth the effort, though. It's Discovery Falls. We scrambled up downed trees and boulders to the foot of the slickrock wall. The falls go up at least 80 feet from here. It's really hard to see them all; once you step back far enough to see the higher tiers there are too many trees in the way to see more than a glimpse. Nonetheless we enjoyed spending time here at the base of Discovery Falls.
Pisgah National Forest - Thu, 21 Sep 2023. 2:15pm
Our next hike today required driving several miles on gravel roads to reach the backcountry trailhead. It occurs to me that I mention trailheads— arriving at them, coming back to them— in almost every hiking blog assuming you know (or can imagine) what they look like. Here's an example of this trail's trailhead:
This trail starts as an overgrown fire road that's gated off. The tiny trail sign to the right of the gate isn't particularly informative.... It reads "To Seniard Ridge". Seniard Ridge? WTF is that? The reason pretty much anybody comes to this trailhead is because of the waterfalls: Discovery Falls, Lower and Upper Log Hollow Falls, and Logging Falls. Though maybe it's a good thing this trailhead isn't properly signed because if it were there'd be a lot more people here than the tiny parking area— really more of a wide spot on a sharp bend in a gravel road— can accommodate.
The first falls in this area, Discovery Falls, is on a spur trail off the main trail. The spur trail isn't marked at all. We knew to explore it because I read about it on AllTrails.com and tracked a contour map on my phone. It's not even as simple as, "Oh, there's a side creek, let's check if there's a waterfall nearby..." because the waterfall is not nearby. It's up a grueling, 400 foot climb on the spur trail.
What's at the end of that grueling ascent is worth the effort, though. It's Discovery Falls. We scrambled up downed trees and boulders to the foot of the slickrock wall. The falls go up at least 80 feet from here. It's really hard to see them all; once you step back far enough to see the higher tiers there are too many trees in the way to see more than a glimpse. Nonetheless we enjoyed spending time here at the base of Discovery Falls.
