Mark's Photo Travels

On Sunday, the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed through the area, dumping a few inches of rain and some gusty breezes. The next day was cloudy, especially where in the mountains where I needed it to be, making it a perfect day to explore some normally low flow waterfalls at their best. I chose to visit Misty Falls, Evans Falls, and Mashbox Falls, three waterfalls clustered near each other near the portion of U.S. 276 that ascends Caesars Head Mountain. I parked at a pull-off within a short distance ahead of the intersection of U.S. 276 and old Oil Camp Creek Road. I got my gear, and walked down the side of the road to the intersection. An old fading stop sign remains from years past. Another parking area is located a few hundred feet down old Oil Camp Creek Road: A green gate prevents vehicles from passing through overgrowth would do that job just fine even if the gate was open. Some areas were so overgrown I almost thought I was bushwacking: I continued...

With clear skies and cool weather, for once I picked a perfect time last week to take a vacation to visit some waterfalls. This time I chose to visit Moonshine Falls and Confusion Falls, two waterfalls near each other in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in northern Greenville County near Caesars Head. Of the  four possible ways to get there , the one that appealed to me was the route from Caesars Head State Park where I could enjoy the fall view from the overlook before heading out. This route, one way, is about 4 miles according to OsmAnd+, one of my navigation apps I used to guide me to the falls. This route is downhill toward the waterfall, making it uphill on the way back. But first, the Caesars Head overlook. I took a quick tour of Devil's Kitchen, the namesake rock formation, before turning my attention to the overlook. I walked down the highway to meet up with Naturaland Trust Trail #14. Along the way, I walked by The Mountain House , once an Es...

I planned to visit several waterfalls on my recent visit to Jones Gap State Park , but due to time constraints I missed seeing one: Dargans Cascade. Yesterday I went on a loop hike to visit Dargans Cascade. Last time, I was pressed for time because I let the weather clear up first. This time I left nice and early with a gray overcast, but that was forecast to clear out shortly. Instead of parking at Jones Gap State Park, this time I parked at Raven Cliff Parking, just past Caesars Head State Park: View Larger Map Part way up Caesars Head on U.S. 276, the fog became thick making the twists and turns even more "fun" than usual. The visibility was so bad I had to depend on the navigation software on my tablet to help find me the parking entrance. I'm loathe to rely on GPS for something I should be able to see for myself, but in this case I'm thankful I had it or I would have missed the turn. In the short time it took me to park, pay the fee, and get my backp...