29 | 25 Tom's Creek Falls

Maddie Grace is so cute. How are babies so adorable? Just walked into the other room where she is napping to check on her and my heart melted. One simple movement of changing positions as she sleeps and I'm a complete goner. Man, oh man.

Yesterday we went hiking again, this time out to McDowell County to the Falls Branch trailhead in Marion. It's a short trail, less than a mile, to Tom's Creek Falls, which neither Joshua or I had hiked to before. It's a hefty drive out there (an hour and a half) but it's a beautiful drive over the escarpment that rises between Old Fort and Black Mountain. (There's that word again... Joshua says it's one of my new favorites.) The trail to Tom's Creek Falls is one of the easiest around; the forest service has done a good job with clearing the path and even built a bridge to cross the creek at one point. Halfway up the trail the ground starts to sparkle... thin pieces of mica are all over the place. Turns out there's an old mica mine entrance across the creek from the falls; we explored that, too!

Tom's Creek Falls

Aidan hiked the whole trail up to the falls on foot (rode in the pack on the way back to the car; man, he loves that thing). Joshua taught him how to use a walking stick which was super cute.

Aidan and his walking stick

Sadly, the trail and the base of the falls were the most littered I have ever seen any part of Pisgah National Forest. There were plastic bottles and trash everywhere on the trail... in fact, when we first spotted the mica we thought it was pieces of plastic. Someone even abandoned a tent near the falls. It was sad. But the falls themselves are beautiful. You can see them through the trees as you ascend the trail.

Can you spot the waterfall through the trees?

At the base of the falls is a small pool that's perfect for wading (especially for toddlers!). You can climb the rocks and explore a bit closer if you're daring. Joshua and Aidan did that part while Maddie and I watched from solid ground.

Hiking buddies again!

We had a picnic lunch there and then hiked around the surrounding area, and some locals came up to the falls as we were leaving and offered to show us the "cave." Just a few careful steps over the creek opposite the falls and there's a short trail that immediately takes you into the mountainside. Rock walls climb 50 feet on either side of you and then there is the mouth of the mine. It's filled with water and seems to be really deep. The guy that led us there said that divers went in one time and couldn't find the bottom.

The old mica mine entrance

On the way home we looked up what mica is used for and found out that it is used for a ton of things! Joshua guessed makeup, and that is one of its uses. The sparkle in your blush and eyeshadow is from ground mica. I didn't know it, but these mountains have been mined for many substances, especially in the area we were in.

It was a fun day and I would recommend the falls for families with young children and for bringing out-of-town visitors to if they aren't up for a lot of exertion but still want to see some waterfalls. Feels a little more legit than just driving up to Looking Glass Falls and parking the car to get out and look, but it's not difficult by any stretch.

Today we've stayed home. Sweet and somber day-- anniversary of 9/11 and all the thoughts that accompany that... and a nice quiet day spent making batches of soup and freezing them for the coming autumn. Today I've put away chicken noodle, garden vegetable, leek and potato, and curried butternut soups. My version of harvest, I guess. :)