Last Hike (for a while, anyway)

Courtney's month-long Christmas break ends next Friday. This was our last weekend to do some hiking, so we were praying that the mercurial mountain weather would give us one more decent opportunity. We awoke to cloudy skies, but the Friday forecast said the rain would hold off until early afternoon. Putting faith in the local forecast is often foolhardy, but off we went to the Middle Prong Wilderness Area.

We were in search of two waterfalls, the Upper and Lower Falls of Bubbling Spring Branch. The hike was relatively short, but included several stream crossings. Fortunately, the water levels were at normal levels, allowing us to rock-hop each crossing instead of having to wade. There were also some boggy areas that were too big to go around, so slightly wet feet were hard to avoid.

Lower Fall, Bubbling Spring Branch, Middle Prong Wilderness, NC  -  2015

The Lower Fall is the first one we encountered. Even though water levels weren't very high, there was enough water volume for a decent photo. A short, but steep trail led from there up to the Upper Fall.

Upper Fall, Bubbling Spring Branch, Middle Prong Wilderness, NC  -  2015

As usual, Courtney refused to cooperate for any picture with her in it, so you'll have to take my word for it that she made the hike. I did get her to take a couple of me, one which I used for a new Facebook profile picture. Below is one more of me. 

The photographer in front of the camera

The rain held out, and we made it back to the truck with only slightly damp feet. Just a few hours out in the beauty of God's creation did us both some good. I look forward to doing some hiking with both of my daughters sometime next Spring. (Click on photos to enlarge.)