Mountain Birthday Extravaganza - Day 2

So we walked out of the hotel to find it thunderstorming. The entire day was to be spent outside so that was slight problem. We decided to drive out to Chimney Rock and see if it would pass so we could at least see the Chimney Rock part of the park. After sitting in the car an hour it stopped thunderstorming and we decided to put on the ponchos and hike and play anyway. We still managed to have a good time, even in the pouring rain. We hiked around a little and then went to the top of the Chimney thing. Isaiah was amazed by how high we were. We walked all over the rock and that was fun. Finally, after wandering about for an hour in the rain we headed back.

We hung out at the hotel for a couple hours while the rain kept coming down. Finally, about 2, it stopped. I checked the radar and it appeared to have moved out of the area. So we packed up and drove back out to DuPont State Park. We went back up to the High Falls trail, determined to actually get all the way to the waterfall.  This time we were appropriately dressed and had water. So we headed off down the trail.

The waterfall is majestic. I'm sure there are better waterfalls on earth, but this was Isaiah's first. He was totally freaked out at the roar of the water as we got closer. Our first glimpse was through the trees. Then, as we rounded a bend, there was a clearing and we could see the waterfall from top to bottom. It was massive. Isaiah was wide-eyed as we watched the water rushing down the rocks and into the pool below. This was as far as he intended to hike. Until we saw that you could go to the base of the falls. So we kept going down.

The trail sucked from all the rain, but we made it through and around the puddles and the mud. I was really glad we had picked up trekking poles earlier in the day so we could use them to  help climb over rocks, the sides of the trail, trees, etc. We finally made it down to the base of the falls and got to see the rapids as the water plunged into the pool and then raced to the river.  We played on the rocks and in the water, which was really fun. After taking it all in, we headed back up to the parking area - straight uphill.

It was like doing the Buttmaster 3000 and I will be feeling it tomorrow, but it was so worth it. When we got back to the car we were a sweaty, dirty, muddy mess, but we accomplished what we set out to do and actually made it much further than I thought we would. This was my first real mountain hike without anyone other than Isaiah and we weren't eaten by a bear (my greatest fear when hiking). We also didn't get lost (YAY) or die (obviously). I would call that a success. Isaiah finished out the day swimming in the hotel pool while I sipped on wine and watched him.

Tomorrow, Biltmore and Asheville. Woot!