“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
John Muir

In 2013 I had some medical issues which in turn created other issues, which in turn; well we all have versions of that story. But as a result, I felt completely unanchored. It was an odd feeling. It was not one of fear, pain or any type of anguish. It was more like floating or drifting through time and space. It was one of curiousty. Everything was both absolutely and completely the same, while being absolutely and completely different. My family, friends, where I lived, the streets I traveled; all known and at the same time all totally new. I was in awe of everything. It was as if I was seeing everything for the first time, really seeing everything.

Shortly afterwards that summer, we went to visit my daughter in North Carolina. As always the visit was great. We have a great time with her, her husband and the awesome granddaughter. We stayed a few days and when it was time to go we decided to travel west to Asheville. We spent a night there, looking around the city and enjoying the sights. We decide to go more west and even though we did not know it, the mountains were calling. My wife made some inquires and we ended up with a room in the Pisgah Inn for a couple of nights. Off we went to the Pisgah National Forest.

Before we reached the inn we passed through the city of Brevard where we decided to visit Dupont State Forest. This became our first real encounter with hiking. We found the parking lot for the trails to Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and High Falls. On this trip we did not go on the Hooker Falls trail. We started the trek up the path to Triple Falls. We were looking forward to seeing it.

The trail was a good walk for me. For a number of reasons that I might go into at a later date, this type of activity is difficult. However, while difficult, it was exhilarating. In truth, the hike is ranked as easy.

The day was overcast and there were not many people. The silence broken only by the occasional word or the crunch of the path underfoot was soothing. At other times, the path would wind next to the stream and the sound of rushing water would seem to wash my mind of all thought, leaving me a clean awareness of the present, focused.

As we got closer to the falls the sound increased until finally we rounded a bend in the trail and we could see Triple Falls. Unbelievable to the eyes as we stood and took the view into our hearts. Three distinct falls, cascading down the cliffs. Powerful and beautiful was all I could think as my awareness was totally present.

A little more up the path we found the stairway that leads to the base of the falls themselves. The water was so loud it was difficult to talk. The pounding of the water entering the pool at the bottom was captivating. We climbed around and I took pictures. Photography has become one of my favorite things to do and this spot offered so many possibilities. I was completely lost to the present. Hiking and waterfalls have this effect on me.

After a while we climbed the long stairway back to the path, and I do mean long stairway with around 140 steps. We picked up the trail that continued to High Falls. After a while we reached a point where we could see the falls from the path. Again, a very impressive sight as the water poured down the 150 foot drop. On a trip there this year we found it is possible to go the base of the falls but on our first trip we did not know this.

We followed the Covered Bridge Trail which took us to the top of the falls. It is a pretty wooden covered bridge which allows passage over the stream. The funny thing is that from the bridge there is no evidence of just how tall and powerful the falls is. It is very calm and peaceful. Aren’t things often like that: calm and peaceful on one side and loud, wild and turbulent on the other. One source, two perspectives and absolutely opposing realities.

We hiked back to the car and headed to the inn. As we approached night was falling and the fog was so thick we could not see the end of the car. Fog, the Blue Ridge Parkway with steep cliffs and no guardrail for protection was both our path and our beacon.

This was our beginning of our adventure into hiking and being in the mountains. We were hooked.