December 29. 2015 - Little Bird Falls, Pisgah National Forest

Little Bird Falls - Pisgah National Forest

Today had to be a waterfall day.  There's been a LOT of rain here lately and the creeks are gushing!  My plan was to go to Moore Cove Falls, Little Moore Cove, then some smaller unnamed waterfalls nearby.  I got a late start and by the time I got to the Moore Cove Falls parking, it was full - dang.  I did have a Plan B, so I continued up 276 towards the Parkway.  Water was just pouring off of the mountains on the way up and there were creeks and waterfalls in places where there is normally nothing.

Plan B was to return to a small waterfall Harry and I had been to years ago - Little Bird Falls.  At the time, water flow was very low and I guess I thought it wasn't worth putting on my site.  That was a mistake.  It's on there now, and you can click here for directions and particulars.  The Parkway is still open because of all the warm weather, so I took it south to NC215 and headed north down the mountain.  Again, the mountains were oozing water.  Bubbling Spring Branch was a gusher, but I didn't stop for a picture.  First stop was going to be Little Bird Falls.  Parking is tricky because you just pull off along the road there Green Creek goes under 215.  The shoulders were very soft and I ended up parking down the road and walking back to the creek.  Green Creek is normally a low volume creek, but it was very full today.  The water was very clean and clear also.

I ended up spending a couple of hours here shooting stills and video and had the place to myself the entire time.  I used to shoot with a Sony a77 a-mount camera, but in June I switched to an a6000 which is Sony e-mount.  I recently bought and adapter so I could use my a-mount lenses on the a6000 and I was having fun testing the new combination.  Below are a few more shots and a video of Little Bird Falls.

From here, I headed back up 215 towards the Parkway.  I also passed Sunburst Falls on the way down and wanted to stop for shots there.  The creek and waterfall here were really flowing hard also.  There were other people here and cars stopping on the bridge so the drive-by shooters could get their shots, so I didn't stay long.

Sunburst Falls

 

I'm kind of glad Moore Cove was full when I came by earlier because now there were people parked all up and down the road and the visit would have been miserable.  If you like wildflowers also, put Little Bird Falls on your list for Spring hikes.  It looks like it will be a great spot!