AN UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITY
Here I was in Brevard, the land of over 250 waterfalls. However, I thought I would never see one except for the Connestee Falls on our property!
To reach the most spectaculr falls, involves quite a bit of mountain hiking which I could never negotiate. So, I bought paintings and photographs and videos of the waterfalls. I accepted the fact that I probably would never see them for myself.
Well, today, October 25th, 2003, provided a marvelous oppotunity to visit three of the largest, waterfalls and I was quick to take advantage of this "Tour".The volunteers." Friends of DuPont Forest", arranged a tour by large vans to take us through the forest to view these secluded beauties. What a rare opportunity for us!
When DuPont owned this property, thousands of acres of wilderness were all privately owned land.. The forest was used primarily as recreation area for the benefit of the employees. However, when DuPont closed their plant (it produced photographic camera film which is being abandoned for the new digital cameras), a large developer purchased the property. His intention was to build a community of upscale homes.
Lovely Lake Julia and the waterfalls would then be for the enjoyment of only those people who bought property in the development.
A large group of volunteers from our Transylvania County {and from neignboring North Carolina counties and the nearly state of South Carolina), formed an association to save the forest and its magnificent water features for the enjoyment of all citizens. These good folks volunteer their time to keep up the roads and trails and the forest, contriibuting many hours of devoted labor.
They lobbied the North Carolina government to purchase the land from the developer. They were successful and the DuPont Forest is now a state willderness area. As such it can be acesssed only by hikers,non-motrized bikers, non-motor boats and by fishermen using only artificial bait.
To drive a car into the forest, you have to be given a special permit and that is not easily obtainable. There is no camping in the forest. Everything is planned to keep it safe from fire and as pristine as possible, to preserve it for us and the generations of people who will follow us..
My friend, Alice, and I arrived at the gate to the forest early in the morning. In fact, we were the third couple in line when the tour opened.
The volunteers greeted us with hot apple cider and home-made cookies and cakes. We boarded the first van and were off on our long-awaited adventure. There were hundreds of people who arrived later in the day, but the early participants we encountered were all senior citizens. Like us, these were folks who never would have been able to hike those precipitous trails to see these magnificent falls.
We were in what looked like a brand new van holding 15 people. We drove up and down narrow, unpaved one-way dirt roads - seemingly right through the foresst. It certainly was a good thing that the driver knew where he was going and how to drive over wild land to get there.
The vans drove us to the best spots to view the falls for those of us who could not hike the trails..
Our first stop was at The Triple Falls.(150 feet of falling water in three sections); How glorious this was, surrounded by the multi-colored fall trees. An early morning mist still hung over the top falls area. None of us were able to scramble down the steep grainite walls to reach the water, but we had a tremendous view from the vantage point where our van drove us.
Back into the van. And that was a scramble in itself - we old gals did our best to jump in. Or scramgle unceremoniously, but we made it! We then visited High Falls. To reach the slope on foot would have been a 900 ft. steep cllimb to witness one waterfall drop of 120 ft. This was a spectacular, roaring sight. It was featured in the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" where the actors sought refuge by hiding behind the falls. I guess they must have been adept at mountain climbing.
Each year, the falls claim their victims (usually tourists) as folks gets into the water above the falls, not realizing that the force of the water will carry them over the precipice. The constant mist formed by the roaring water clothes the rocky banks, making them slippery and dangerous..
Back into the van. By this time, we know how ]ridiculous we look climbing to our seats, but we don't care. We are finally seeing the falls.
The third falls we viewed, Bridal Veil Falls, was completely different. The water drop fanned out into a bridal veil shape as it spilled over a huge granite rock.
We concluded our tour by visiting the large lodge that sits on the shores of Lake Julia. This placid lake had nary a ripple on it, as it mirrored the stand of multi-colored trees that surround the lake.
Again, we were treated to hot cider and home-made goodies.
Stuffed as we were with those diet-breakers, we barely made the climb back into the van. Which was quite a feat! We only banged our heads two or three times on the entire trip. The van then drove us back to the parking lot where our cars were awaiting us.
It was a thrilling, unforgettable experience on a beautiful day, filled with sunshine and bright blue skies. We were thrilled and thankful that we got to see nature's bounty in all its glory. This was all made possible through the efforts of volunteers who strive to protect our environmnt.
Lorraine
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