I don't go down here very often. The reason? It is a gruling walk or climb back up and out of the gorge. Though today, being as how I have not been down there in a very long time, I decided to see how things have changed and indeed they have, for this is the first time I have been down there since hurricane Ivan moved across the Carolinas. Ivan brought massive amounts of rain and flooding to North Carolina, as well as other areas and volumes of water to massive to calculate roared over the falls and changed the landscape below.
The trip begins with a hike along and down the edge of a very large cliff area. People have fallen from the edge above here and right off hand I don't think any have lived to relate the experience. The trail is narrow, about four feet wide, just barely enough room to pass a fellow hiker. It is a steep trek downwards that involves a wood ladder taking you even farther down and of course back out.
Here at the base of the cliff, the trail widens and appears to be quite level and accomodating to the hiker but looks here are decieving. One is not yet down into the gorge and the terrain gets much worse as the decent continues. Why on earth would anyone put themselves through all this beats me?
Could this be the reason why? Unchanged by man and millions of years old, the falls originally began about 12 miles away to the south, where the river empties into Lake James, just the otherside of Table Rock mountain.
If one can manage a full pack, not one of those wimpy day packs now, bringing plenty of snacks and water, along with camera gear and binoculars, they can and should spend a few hours if not the whole day relaxing beneath the falls and enjoying the abundant wildlife to be had. It is against federal law to swim in this area, the undertow can be quite deadly but if you Google Linville Falls under the video catagory, you will see, teenagers of course, having made a video of themselves doing that which is not allowed. I wonder if they know there are people having not survived such foolishness as diving off the cliffs of the falls, into the plunge pool below.
Linville Gorge, N.C.
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- Planapo
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Phew, quite some steep rocks there, Ken. Your photos give a real good impression of this place. Do I get this right, that we are in the Appalachian Mountains here?
At the risk of repeating myself, I want to say that I enjoy these little "remote explorations" by good landscape photographs taken by the people here aboard I feel kind of acquainted with. Thanks.
--Betty
At the risk of repeating myself, I want to say that I enjoy these little "remote explorations" by good landscape photographs taken by the people here aboard I feel kind of acquainted with. Thanks.
--Betty
Betty asked:
Thanks Betty
Indeed we are Betty, the Appalachian Mountains are, to my knowledge, the oldest mountains in the world, having been formed some 700 million years ago but don't quote me on that. Not many people come down here in this place, the Linville Gorge, mainly because it is a bear to get back out of and if you get yourself hurt, it is a heliocopter ride back out if someone finds you. But that should not scare anyone off though, if you take your time and use a little common sense you can have a magnificent time down there. I have been down in the Gorge a good number of times, mainly fly fishing for brown trout there below the falls. What wonderful days those were.Do I get this right, that we are in the Appalachian Mountains here?
Thanks Betty
More Shots from the Gorge
Here are a couple of more shots that I took while I was down there.
More of Linville Falls above... The fall looks as though it is coming out of the face of the rock bluff but actually it spirals downwards from the river above, going through somewhat of a labyrinth before exiting through the gap in the bluff and cascading downwards in what is said to be a 40’ drop. I don’t know who measured the waterfall but that is the tallest 40 feet have ever seen.
There is no trail upto this lofty crag as I know of but I would not doubt that climbers have made it to the summit. This would be along the western wall of the Gorge and it looks as though it will not be around up there sometime in the next couple of hundred years, the way it is leaning. It would be interesting to see when that thing comes down, though I would not want to be in Gorge when it does, well not in its immediate area anyway.
More of Linville Falls above... The fall looks as though it is coming out of the face of the rock bluff but actually it spirals downwards from the river above, going through somewhat of a labyrinth before exiting through the gap in the bluff and cascading downwards in what is said to be a 40’ drop. I don’t know who measured the waterfall but that is the tallest 40 feet have ever seen.
There is no trail upto this lofty crag as I know of but I would not doubt that climbers have made it to the summit. This would be along the western wall of the Gorge and it looks as though it will not be around up there sometime in the next couple of hundred years, the way it is leaning. It would be interesting to see when that thing comes down, though I would not want to be in Gorge when it does, well not in its immediate area anyway.
- augusthouse
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Glad that you enjoyed the trip Craig, though I figure you were not as worn out and sweaty as I was after the climb back out. Despite the size of the waterfall, the roar which can be heard some distance away as you decend into the Gorge, is not as loud as one would imagine when you get to it.
Thanks Craig
Thanks Craig
- rjlittlefield
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