Some of my favorite diaries are written by Ojibwa and others who visit some of the world's most beautiful places! I've 'travelled' with them to Yosemite, to Glacier Park, to other unfathomably beautiful areas, shaking my head in wonder at the majesty and magnificence of natural landscapes. Of the really 'great' parks, I have been only to Yellowstone, and that in winter, twice.
Yet, in its way, nature's beauty may be found in countless other places. Tonight I want to share one of those with you. Unknown by most (and certainly not comparable to the places I mentioned above) is a small park in northwestern South Carolina called Jones Gap State Park, where I hiked on Saturday with my wonderful sister, Jo Ann.
I want to share a few pictures of the hike with you, not professional quality, by any means, but my own.
More below, but first, a word from our sponsor ...
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The first photo is of the stream along the lower portion of the trail. The trail starts out very gradually, crosses the stream via a small bridge, heading east, then begins a sharper climb up the escarpment that defines the border between North and South Carolina in that area. The hike to Rainbow Falls goes generally easterly to northeasterly up that 'face.' It is a significant climb, probably of about 1500 feet. There are much steeper hiking options in the area, but the steepest sections of this trail are either stone or short log steps in the mountain, usually followed by much milder grades in between, which allowed for consistent, reliable recovery.
This second photo, higher up on the mountainside, shows the stream a few feet to our west, a place where the water running down the rock collects in a line of white water actually perpendicular to the prevailing flow of the stream. It moves toward us 20 feet or so, then resumes its trip down the mountain.
The third photo shows the rather dense forest. We wore sunscreen, but the shade was wonderful the entire length of the route. I am sure we did not ascend higher than 3,000 feet above sea level, so there was no concern about getting above any 'tree line.' (I don't think that happens anywhere east of the Mississippi. Mt. Mitchell, in NC, is the highest point east of the Mississippi. And, though there is some thinning of the forest in that area, some stunting of the growth, even there there is no 'tree line.’)
This photo actually looks across to an adjacent mountain ridge to our west. The camera resolution (from my phone) could not focus clearly enough to capture that visual nuance.
This photo was taken higher up, where the neighboring mountain may be more clearly seen. There were nice views, at higher altitude, and in winter they would be clearer, still, as almost all of the trees are deciduous.
In the center of this photo (looking this time more to the northwest) there is a pretty (and secluded!) rock outcropping.
Looking in a more southerly direction here, trees frame the view of the mountain to our west.
We have had good rains this year, so the vegetation is beautiful, dense and lush!
This was our first glimpse of Rainbow Falls on the approach. The last half mile is relatively flat. The sound of the falls grows louder as you walk around natural rock formations. The trail does steepen again as you reach the falls. In addition, the rocks can be damp from the mist and the spray, so caution must be taken with footing.
This photo shows the lower section of the falls.
In this photo, you may be able to see a young woman meditating on a flat rock just below and to the left of the main waterfall, back to us. She passed us on the way up (moving quickly). But we greeted her politely when she passed us on her way back down, even so. ::wink::
This shows our closest approach to the waterfall. From here, the force of the water's movement creates a marvelously cool breeze, complete with mist, to reward hikers still warm from the long climb.
I liked this photo because it showed the deep shadows on the exposed rock, contrasted with the fine sunlight on the foliage.
This picture shows the top of the waterfall. As I understand it, the fall got its name from the rainbow created when light would pass through the ever-present mist. We did not see that angle during our visit, but could easily imagine it. Maybe next time! (And there will be a next time, too!)
This is a picture of a natural stone staircase, viewed from the top on our way down. There were also sections of log steps the park service installed on steeper slopes.
The last photo is of a separate waterfall to the west of Rainbow Falls. This is called the Jones Gap Waterfall, and is probably not more than a few hundred yards west of Rainbow, though it is accessed off a totally separate trail. Taking that trail added only a mile or so to the total distance covered. We wound up the entire hike just shy of 7.1 miles. Beautiful!
Thank you for viewing photos of our special hike! And thanks particularly to those of you who have posted such stunning diaries of so many beautiful places in our world! I am still in your debt!
On to tonight’s comments!
From Angie in WA State:
In Dante Atkins' FP diary on the gestalt takeaway from the #BundyRanch debacle and #Ferguson was this little gem of a comment by Susan from 29.
From JayRaye:
I am nominating this fine comment by jasan. They want to bring up the pot smoking of a teenager whom they executed??
Fine! Then let them submit to drug testing for steroid use STAT!
From Gwennedd:
I'm recommending this entirely fishy thread between slksfca and The Marti in the Moondai Furbutts diary. It begins here!
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August 18, 2014
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