Discovery Blue Ridge Mountain Waterfalls
I can certainly see why this mountain range is called the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had heard about these waterfalls, but it seemed difficult to find them.
After we stopped and talked with a fire marshall from the Falling Springs fire department we were able to find these waterfalls with his directions.
The amazing part about these waterfalls is not only that they are 150 feet high some of the highest in the Blue Ridge mountains, but that they are spring fed from a clean natural mountain spring high above any pollution or run off from homes and businesses.
When we first arrived here it was raining and for the sake of preserving my camera equipment we waited to climb down into the ravine. But after we saw that the rain was not going to subside we decided to go ahead and climb down into the gorge.
The trail down to the bottom of the waterfalls is very steep and rugged and I highly recommend that if you are going to attempt this that you do not go alone. I had my son stay at the top while I climbed down through the boulders and rocks, just in case one that he climbed on slipped and came tumbling down. Once I was so far down I motioned for him to come on.
Although we were not equipped to climb down this steep area (shorts and hiking/walking shoes) we could not pass up this present opportunity. Once at the bottom we found that the canopy of trees over head sheltered us mostly from the rain and gave me ample opportunity to get some pictures and video of the falls from below.
But the part which was the most fun was the pool of water below the falls that was literally shaped like a natural jacuzzi. After I had exhausted all of my photography opportunities I had to entertain my boy and get in the water with him. After all it was his birthday and this was the reason for our little trip in the mountains together.
I am considering posting our video of swimming in the pool of water but I am not sure. Since we did not have swimming trunks I went in my underwear and he in his sweat pants! :o) Oh! well that is what makes life fun, just using what you have when you can. May as well post an edited version!
In case you are wondering what we are looking at while in the pool of water check out this video. It seems we could feel the minerals and nutrients nourishing our skin. The reason the water has a bluish green tint is because of the minerals from the spring.
It started raining fairly hard so we decided we needed to go ahead and climb back up especially before it got dark. And we wanted to try climbing up another way that seemed a little less dangerous.
We decided to climb up the other side of the gorge from the waterfalls which was literally about a 75-80 degree mountainside. After loading up my camera gear and grabbing my hiking stick I took off up the mountain, I wanted to get a little head start on my boy cause again it was safer than something sliding down the hill and hitting him, if he was directly behind.
The further I got to the top the steeper it became and it eventually got so steep I had to literally crawl, then after checking to make sure my boy was following behind I began to wonder if he was going to be able to make it all the way up. After I got to the top it was a big relief, but I still wondered how he would make it when it was pretty difficult for me and I am in decent shape.
Never the less my 11 year old son made it to the top and to see my boy brave something like this without whining or complaining was a real blessing. He toughed it out the whole way and this was one of the best days we ever had together.