After visiting Toxaway Falls,
we headed west again
to Whitewater Falls,
our last destination on our trip.
Whitewater Falls is part of the
Whitewater River in the Jocassee Gorge area
of North Carolina,
near the South Carolina border,
and is tucked away in the
Nantahala National Forest.
On US 64 West, we traveled to Sapphire
and turned onto NC 281,
going south about eight miles to the
entrance of Whitewater Falls.
We parked and followed the paved walkway
(about 1/4 mile)
to the upper overlook.
Enjoy the views along the way.
Here are Whitewater Falls
from the upper level.
This is the highest waterfall east of
the Rocky Mountains,
falling 411 feet.
Check out this picture of the
Whitewater Falls,
taken on October 10.
Four inches of rain
makes quite a difference.
We went down to the lower overlook,
at the bottom of 154 steps.
These are the only full views
of the falls from the two overlooks,
however some people venture off the
trail for better views.
Hiking off-trail is strongly discouraged
by park rangers
as the area surrounding the falls
is treacherous.
Tragically, several people
have fallen to their deaths or suffered serious injuries.
Whitewater Falls claims more lives than any other
waterfalls in the state.
I have a hard time understanding stupidity.
I overheard one gentleman saying,
"There's just a whole lot of scenery here."
Yup.
There is.
Upon leaving Whitewater Falls,
I looked at the clock and
it was around 1:30 PM.
I turned to Mr. Hawthorne,
"You know, if we'd gone on
the Great Pumpkin Patch Fiasco
on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad
we'd just be getting back to Bryson City
right about now."
Although, on the plus side,
we would have our individual pumpkins.
1 comment:
More nice weather. Gorgeous pictures.
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