Look Who it Was Random video

Middle Creek Falls - Pisgah National Forest, NC

1,164 views · Published 15 June 2018 · 8:02 · Indexed 11 October 2026

Channel: Zachary Robbins · 2018 · Travel & Events

Watch on YouTube

Last month I met up with Thomas Mabry, Andy Kunkle, and Christy Kunkle to hike to Middle Creek Falls in Pisgah National Forest, NC. Middle Creek originates on the east side of Balsam Cone and Cattail Peak in the Black Mountains and is home to 9 named waterfalls. Two are located on Middle Creek, 5 are located on the North Prong, and the namesake waterfall is located on the South Prong immediately above the confluence. Our goal was to see Middle Creek Falls and then explore the South Prong, which to our knowledge had not been documented. We started on the Buncombe Horse Range Trail off of Colberts Creek Rd, and then followed an unofficial but easy-to-follow trail paralleling Middle Creek. 

After a half-mile on the unofficial trail we came across an excellent campsite surrounded by massive old-growth hardwoods. Andy and Christy dropped most of their gear, since they were camping for the night. This area of Middle Creek boasted numerous massive trees along the trail, probably the second most impressive stand I've encountered outside of Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. I have always read that there are only a few pockets left in Joyce Kilmer, GSMNP, and Curtis Creek watershed, but this was surprising. There is an equally impressive collection of standing dead hemlocks in this area. They are tall, ghostly, and sad, and an incredible nuisance once fallen. Obvious foreshadowing...

You can see Middle Creek Falls before you reach the North/South Prong confluence, and it looks tall from a distance compared to its actual height. The 50-60 foot falls is a great place for lunch, and boasts flat rocks and a nice plunge pool. From there we were on our own, bushwhacking through a rhododendron jungle straight up the river right slope. It took around 30 min to get to the top. From the top, the creek was full of hemlock deadfall and enclosed by thick rhododendrons on both sides. This was a jungle-like endeavor and much slower than anticipated. 

Our first new "waterfall" was a series of large cascades and slides, completely marred by a massive dead hemlock in the center and more upstream. This was jokingly dubbed Major Wood Falls. Trying to scale one of the middle cascades I slipped and landed on my butt, so we proceeded back into the rhododendron jungle. Not too far above this waterfall, we encountered the best new falls of the day. It was a near freefall double-drop with a wide cliff and shallow pool. Around 35-45 feet, it was dubbed Ozymandias Falls. By the way, I suck at names and left it to the waterfall pros. We also bushwhacked up the river right side of this waterfall, and continued upstream close to the 4,360-foot contour where we encountered a long slide completely blocked by a large dead spruce. We decided that was enough and turned around. Using CalTopo gradient shading we were probably correct, it does not seem like there are any significant waterfalls upstream from our turnaround point. 

On the way down we decided to try bushwhacking river left above Middle Creek Falls over the cliff, which may have been a bad decision. Too tired and short on time, we skipped the other falls downstream. We left Andy and Christy at camp and finished around 8:45 PM. Overall we were hiking for more than 10.5 hours in the watershed, including 6 hours off-trail. It is nearly impossible to clear up the GPS track, after some trimming the track is around 8.9 miles with 2,408 feet elevation gain. It was great hiking with Andy, Christy, Thomas, Boone, and Kona. Also big thanks to Kevin Adams for the detailed info on this watershed.

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/PRkSEhR2Y3r

More from this channel