Graveyard Fields: Second Falls

Second Falls

Graveyard Field is located at Milepost 418 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Brevard.  It is not really known for waterfalls, but there are three of them on the property. They are the Upper Falls, the Lower (Second) Falls, and Yellowstone Falls.  From my understanding, the latter is very difficult to get to and I have not attempted it.  The Upper Falls is easy enough to get to, but you will be walking for a while, and unless there is a lot of water flowing, you might not be impressed with this waterfall.  The Lower Falls, or Second Falls is definitely worth your time to see, and that is the focus of this entry.

As I mentioned, you will find Graveyard Fields at Milepost 418.  It is a great set of trails right off of the Blue Ridge Parkway and is usually full throughout the day during all seasons except for winter. It is particularly busy in the early Fall as Graveyard Fields is usually one of the first places to show Fall color.  Once you get to the parking lot you will see the restrooms to your right (looking from the Parkway).  They are positioned right at the entrance to the hiking trails.  After you come down the steps you will find a paved portion of the trail that starts you off.  For this waterfall, you will need to stay straight and follow the signs for "Lower Falls". 

Autumn Pool

You will run out of paved trail and you will find yourself on a more or less familiar surface for a very short amount of time.  You will then come to a boardwalk as you start your way down into the valley.  At the base of the steps, you will find yourself walking across a pool that has a nice little cascade at the head of it.  When I shot this photograph the Fall colors had just started  and it all worked together rather nicely for a picture.

Once you continue past this, you will climb back up a little bit before descending one more time down to the Second Falls  It is easy, but there are a lot of steps that you will have to climb to get back up to the trail.  I didn't count them, but it is not excessive by waterfall step counts.  Once you get to the base of the waterfall, you will see the issue with this particular waterfall.

There are a lot of boulders strewn about at the base.  They provide a visual obstruction that really prevents most photography from taking place from the viewing platform or directly below it.  There are no easy paths to take which will put you in a better position to photograph.  The only thing that I can suggest is that you come prepared to wade through the water (which is deeper than my mid calf boots, or do some rock hopping.  I opted for the latter and found a path that was workable to get to a higher location among the boulders.  It was relatively simple, but I have been rock hopping for years and know how to be really cautious to avoid slipping, or finding myself stepping on a loose rock.

When it comes to photography, after you are able to get in position, this is an impressive waterfall to work with.  It works well as a horizontal or a vertical shot.  It is also one of the few falls that works when lit by the sun.  The trick is to go early in the morning and catch first light on the waterfall.  When I went at the end of September, the sun was in the perfect position to light the waterfall evenly.  I assume at other times of the year that the sun will move to the left and right causing some shadows which will be very problematic.

Cascades on Cascades

Keep in mind that most overall shots here will include the sky, so keep that in mind.  Some interesting clouds give a nice bit of texture to the sky and might help to diffuse the light hitting the waterfall.  In the event of a fully overcast day, isolations will work very well here.  I didn't shoot any since the water flow was so heavy.  Under more typical conditions, I think that isolations would actually work better than the overall shots of this waterfall.

The hike back to the parking lot is just the reverse of getting here.  Then entire round trip will be about 2/3 of a mile.  The climb up the stairs will get your attention, but can be done relatively easy.  If you are wanting more, you can strike out to the right fork when you come to it to view Graveyard Fields, and ultimately the Upper Falls.  The trail will loop back to the parking lot after a couple of miles.  It makes for a nice day, but be sure to start early as this area fills up really quickly.  Also, pay attention to the "No Parking" signs on the Parkway as you will get a ticket if you park on the shoulder through here due to the amount of congestion that is present much of the year.

Whenever you do go though, be sure to be careful and have a good time.  There is a lot to see and do around Graveyard Fields.  

Pot Branch Falls

Scooped Rocks

This waterfall is probably not on your radar, but I assure you that you need to know about this one.  The name is kind of odd, but once you see Pot Branch Falls, the oddness doesn't stop at the name.  This is one of those great locations where erosion has really left a fingerprint on the landscape.  The three tiered waterfall is located in the South Mountains Game Land near South Mountains State Park.  Getting there will take you far off of the beaten path which will likely indicate that you won't be sharing this waterfall with a bunch of other hikers.  By Googling the location, your GPS should take you right there.

For those traveling on I-40, you will take the 103 exit which is for Hwy 64.  You will go East for 15 miles before turning on Hwy 226 headed East until you get to Jonestown Rd.  You will only be on Jonestown Rd for about a mile before turning left on Melton Rd which goes for about a half mile or so before you will turn onto Old CC Rd which is gravel and not overly well maintained.  This will go for about 3.5 miles or so.  You will have a small stream crossing, but you should have any problem with that if you have been able to handle the road conditions.  Shortly after passing a church (yes, there is a small church down this service road), you will come to a gate.  There is ample parking at the gate, and sometimes that first gate is left open.  You will need to get to the trailhead at a second gate to the right.

From here, you will walk down a very easy trail that used to be a road.  There are no markings but you won't have any problems at all finding your way.  There are a couple of places where you will need to cross small streams, but they shouldn't be more than ankle deep.  There are also rocks there that you can use to stay a little dryer if you choose.  The main thing to remember about this trail is that you want to stay to the right when given the option as there are some other spurs that continue on.  The entire hike is only about a half mile and is not problem at all.

Eroded Steps

This has been my first and only time to this waterfall, and I regret that I don't have any full shots of the main drop which is about 25 feet.  There was a tree that had recently fallen and blocked the view.  This tree still had green leaves attached, so I'm not sure how long it will remain there.  There is a bit of a scramble to get to the bottom of the falls, and it is very much worth it for the view.  The main shoot is carved between rocks and snakes down to a small pool below with another set of small cascades below that.  I can see both vertical and horizontal compositions working here.

Since I was unable to access the view of the main part of the waterfall, I stuck with the top sections which were actually quite interesting.  The photo directly above showcases the upper set of cascades which are less than two feet tall, but the way the rocks have been cut over time makes this really interesting.  From here, there is a small pool that then leads to another set of cascades that can be seen in the opening image.  This is probably the best part of the upper sections, and until the tree is removed, this view is worth the drive out there.  Just past the collection pool at the base of the cascades is the opening for the top of the main drop.  A Google search of Pot Branch Falls will show you what this main drop looks like.

With the Curve

From a purely photographic standpoint, there are a lot of options with how to represent this waterfall.  My favorite cascade at the top of the waterfall yielded this fantastic vertical image.  You can see how the rocks have been eroded away, and there are even pot holes in the surface of the rock.  This waterfall is like the English Muffin of waterfalls.  You will see all sorts of nooks and crannies.

Even though I was unable to get to the lower section on this trip, I was still there for about an hour working on different compositions.  I could see easily spending two hours here.  The nice thing is that at least in the Summer months when the trees are full, there is plenty of shade to work with early in the morning.  This is one that direct light will pose some major problems for.  I would recommend a fully cloudy day just to make sure that the lighting is consistent.  I have a feeling if the trees were not as full, I would have had a hard time with my photographs.

I am not sure if the tree will be removed any time soon.  I'm not really sure how this waterfall is maintained.  It might just be another natural act that pushes the tree on down stream, but that would take a very long time.  I do intend on keeping my ears open to find out when this view will be open again so I can take full advantage of the waterfall which I do believe is quite impressive and visually interesting.

Catawba Falls: Old Fort, NC

Catawba Falls

This is the first "new" waterfall that I have visited in many years.  I don't know why I haven't done more exploring of different waterfalls, but I seem to be content with my favorites for the most part.  However, I've recently seen some pictures of a waterfall that I remember thinking about visiting a long time ago, but never did.  The pictures made me really want to give it a try.  This is Catawba Falls, which is in the town of Old Fort, NC, and in conveniently located off of I-40 at the Old Fort exit.

Directions are fairly simple, and you can actually Google them.  For simplicity, you would come in on I-40, and take the Old Fort exit from either direction.  If you are coming from Westbound 40, you would take a left and cross I-40 before taking the right that is the ramp from Eastbound.  Just after entering the ramp, you would take a quick left onto Catawba River Rd.  If you are coming Eastbound, you would just turn off of the exit onto Catawba River Rd before coming to the main intersection.  At this point, you just follow the road until it ends.  You will pass the camp grounds on your left which is an indication that you are almost there.  It isn't far at all.  The parking area is at the end of the road and is a gravel loop.

Catawba Cascades

Once you get parked, the trail head is easily seen by the "information boards".  The trail is relatively simple and you should be able to make good time on it.  It is a constant incline so you will get tired quickly, but there aren't any real technical sections to work through until the end of the hike.  When I went, I made the mistake of not researching the distance of the hike, other than knowing it was not excessive.  After I had been moving with a purpose for about 30 minutes, I had to stop and catch my breath and used that time to figure out how long the hike actually was.  This is the nice part about a trail being so close to the highway, you actually have Internet connection.  I found that it was around 1.5 miles which meant that I should be getting close based on my pace.

Remember when I said that the only technical part came at the end of the trail.  Well, I crossed a bridge and the trail turned to the right and it was nothing but rocks.  It was not difficult, but there was a little bit of climbing involved to get up the trail, and it almost appears that you are off trail at that point.  Just after the rocks, you are there at the base of Catawba Falls.  Had I waited about 150 feet to look at the phone, I would have been there.

As you can see from the leading image here, Catawba Falls is a rather large waterfall, standing at 100 feet for the main falls.  However, unless there has been a tremendous amount of rain, it does not present as a waterfall of this size should.  On my visit here, there had been average rainfall recently, and I suppose that this is the "normal" state of the falls with swings in either direction due to water levels.

Saturated Moss

When it comes to photography, you will actually have a great time at this waterfall.  There are a lot of different ways to shoot it, and when I was here, I used everything from 16mm to 400mm to capture the images.  There are lots of trees which provide cover from the sun, but for the best experience I would suggest going on a cloudy day, with maybe a bit of rain.  During the Summer, the moss takes on a very vibrant color which really makes this waterfall stand out when you look at the individual elements.

Water Cairn

This is one of those waterfalls that you can get up close and personal with.  The cairn left by a hiker is evidence of that.  For the experience hiker, there is another section about 50 ft up which provides a view of the very top of the waterfall.  It is a difficult scramble to get to from what I have read.  I have also read that it is not really that worth it, so I haven't made the attempt as of yet.  Speaking of other options, there are plenty of features along the trail getting to the waterfall which might interest a photographer.  Some are very difficult to get to, and don't appear very safe.  I did not risk it for those scenes as the photographic outcome would have been marginal at best.  That isn't to say that under different conditions that you might not have better luck.

Foot of the Falls

As you can see from the pictures here, there is a lot to work with when visiting this waterfall.  To make the most of it though, you need to keep two things in mind. You will be standing in water that might be up to your shins to get the compositions that you want.  Also, you need to get there early in order to miss the crowds.  Apparently, this waterfall sees a constant swarm of visitors all year round.  This could be due to the fact that it just recently became open to the public, and it might taper off eventually.  It pays to get there before the crowds because there isn't much area to work when people start to show up.

I would say that this waterfall is very worth visiting if for nothing else, it is very pretty, and the hike is really simple to make.  Be prepared to shoot a range of focal lengths as the magic of this waterfall is in the details.