{"id":5185,"date":"2011-04-12T11:11:34","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T16:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/?p=5185"},"modified":"2011-05-08T12:32:40","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T17:32:40","slug":"first-hike-to-rainbow-falls-in-gorges-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/index.php\/2011\/04\/12\/first-hike-to-rainbow-falls-in-gorges-state-park\/","title":{"rendered":"First hike to Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Looking<\/a><\/p>\n

The first time I landed in Transylvania County<\/a>, I figured the “Land of Waterfalls” signs represented the typical rural region overselling its meager asserts. Well, two awesome waterfall hikes in two visits has turned me around. <\/p>\n

\"Rainbow<\/a><\/div>\n

This week’s source of wonder: Rainbow Falls in Gorges State Park, North Carolina’s remotest state park, about 55 miles southwest of Asheville. Gorges is a work in progress — the Rainbow Falls Trail is the only must-see amenity on the park’s western side, which I visited Sunday (only PortaPotties for your bodily duties; no running water, alas). I checked out the Upper Bearwallow Falls, but I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to see it. <\/p>\n

Still, seven hours of driving and $60 bucks worth of gas later, all I can think of is how soon I get back out there to see which Transylvania County experience bests this one. <\/p>\n

\"Parking<\/a><\/p>\n

About the hike: I drove to the eastern entrance about a mile south of the hamlet of Sapphire, and drove past one under-construction parking lot and parked in a big lot where the park road ended, above. It’s around 3,000 feet here, not super high by the standards of the Smokies, but there are some pretty impressive peaks nearby — some of which have transmission towers, so the cell-phone reception is good.<\/p>\n

\"Tricky<\/a><\/p>\n

Trail maps rate the Rainbow Falls hike as a strenuous three-miler. Note that’s a mile and a half each way if you hike to the falls and turn back. The trail descends for about three-quarters of a mile to this creek crossing (be ready to get your feet wet), then heads up the canyon, eventually tracking the Horsepasture River. <\/p>\n

\"Horsepasture<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the river. Pretty enough in its own right. Just when the climb has you almost out of breath….<\/p>\n

\"Rainbow<\/a><\/p>\n

…. you turn a corner onto this breathtaking view. Look closely and you can see the faint rainbow at the bottom right. A decent (but steep) use path goes down near the base of the falls, but it starts getting extremely muddy and slippery. I was tempted to break out my rain poncho. <\/p>\n

Pictures can’t do justice to the experience of standing less than 20 yards from the pounding behemoth of a waterfall like this one. There’s nothing like the sensation of cool mist hitting the skin after a hot, steep ascent. <\/p>\n

The waterfalls I’ve seen in Transylvania County would not put Yosemite out of business, of course, but they do have some of that spine-tingling greatness. <\/p>\n

\"Sky<\/a><\/p>\n

Another Gorges State Park trail goes down to Upper Bearwallow Falls. I walked a paved road that was closed to motorized traffic, so I had this part of the park all to myself. The pic here is just some sky along the way. <\/p>\n

\"Upper<\/a><\/p>\n

The road continued down to a crosswalk with a right turn down to Bearwallow Falls, above, and a left turn to an observation deck overlooking the nearby terrain. OK, so after Rainbow Falls it was a bit of a letdown. <\/p>\n

\"Overlooking<\/a><\/p>\n

And the view up here was less than stupendous — mainly because there’s a clear-cut for power lines that I’ve cropped out of the image. <\/p>\n

The west side of Gorges State Park is promising and will no doubt improve in the years to come; a trail from the east side looks like it dives deep into some rugged wilderness, so it could be worthy of extended explorations. <\/p>\n

Links for this hike<\/strong><\/p>\n