July 3, 2000: North Carolina Trip- Day 4
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Today there will be just one destination- Chimney Rock. We plan to visit there until early afternoon, and then head over to my sister's house again for a short stop and then on to Greensboro for our evening flight home.

Getting to Chimney Rock

Last night, we stayed out off Interstate 26 in Henderson, North Carolina, and this morning will drive over to Chimney Rock.

We left the Arboretum yesterday and came down I-26 to Hendersonville where we stayed last night (and had a nice supper at a local barbecue restaurant). Checking out this morning, we have taken US 64 over to Chimney Rock.

When we came along US 64 into the town of Chimney Rock, we found the Park Ticket Office right outside the Park gate, so we stopped to buy our tickets. The 6000-acre Chimney Rock State Park is located 25 miles southeast of Asheville, and is now owned by the state of North Carolina. At the ticket office, we learned that in addition to Chimney Rock itself, there were numerous hiking trails, a balancing rock and Hickory Nut Falls- a 400-foot waterfall. Of course, Chimney Rock, a 300-foot granite monolith, is the Park's main attraction, providing views of the park and surrounding countryside. Areas within the park as were the filming location for most of the final scenes of the 1992 adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans.

The History of Chimney Rock

After a long, slow drive up the switchbacked-road to the parking area beneath Chimney Rock, we got out to take a few pictures before starting out on any of the trails or visiting the Rock itself. The view from below was pretty neat.

Fred at Chimney Rock

That Chimney Rock State Park even has a history is due to one man— Dr. Lucius B. Morse— who demonstrated what uncompromising vision and foresight can accomplish. Born in 1871 in Missouri, Dr. Morse was a practicing physician when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Advised to seek a more healthful climate, he made his way to the thermal belt of Western North Carolina. He wandered the area, often riding on horseback to view the monolith that towers over the ten-mile gorge. He even paid a local man to take him by donkey to the top. It was there, surrounded by panoramic vistas, that his dream of developing the area for everyone's enjoyment took shape.

At the time, Jerome B. Freeman owned Chimney Rock, having purchased it and the surrounding 400 acres from a speculation company for $25.00 around 1870. It was Freeman who first thought of making a trail to the base and erecting a stairway to the top of the Rock; he opened it to the public in 1885. In 1902, with the financial backing of his brothers, Morse paid Freeman $5,000 for 64 acres of Chimney Rock Mountain, including the Chimney and cliffs. (Many small tracts purchased over the years expanded the Park to nearly 1000 acres.)

In those days, tourists arrived on horseback or in carriages from the railroad stations of Hendersonville and Rutherfordton. Dr. Morse and his brothers built a bridge across the Rocky Broad River and started a three-mile narrow dirt road up to the base of the Chimney. The bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1916, but was swept away that same fall by the Great Flood of 1916 (caused by hurricane Hilda). Morse and his brothers rebuilt it, and it tood until 1984, when a new steel bridge replaced it.

A local man, Guilford Nanney, engineered the first trail (the Cliff trail) as well as the complicated series of stairways that led from the parking lot around Pulpit Rock and the Rock Pile up to the top of the Chimney. Those stairways still exist, and were the beginning of the modern improvements, vantage points and trail system to Hickory Nut Falls that we see in the Park today.

Visitors got lazier over the years, so in 1947, construction began on an elevator to transport people to the top. Blasted out of the solid granite cliff, a 198-foot tunnel led into the mountain to the 258-foot elevator shaft. A massive piece of construction, it took eight tons of dynamite and 18 months to complete. The elevator was opened to the public in 1949, the same year the entrance parking lot, three-mile drive and upper parking lot were paved, and a "Sky Lounge" restaurant built. In the spring of 1963, a Jeep trail was added to the base of Hickory Nut Falls, ending just a few feet from the 404-foot drop. Jeeps were discontinued due to the energy crisis in 1977, and the trail became known as the Forest Stroll walking trail.

Chimney Rock from Above

During the 1970s and 80s, the grandson and great-grandson of Hiram Morse were actively involved as the directors of the Park, and they focused on improvements to make the grounds and trails safer and more convenient. They replaced bridges and stairs, improved trails, added scenic view points and refurbished the buildings and elevator. The Sky Lounge was destroyed by fire on Labor Day weekend in 1981, but a new facility was ready for Park visitors in June of 1982.

In addition to making the Park safer and more convenient, the Morses placed an even greater emphasis on the preservation of plants and wildlife in Hickory Nut Gorge. In 1978, two University of North Carolina at Charlotte professors had surveyed the Park and discovered an astonishing diversity of plants and many unique geological features. Based on that initial study, the Park opened its gates to botany, geology and other natural science students and professors. Through the work of these scholars, educational trail guides were developed, and many rare and endangered plant and animal species were identified within the Park’s nearly 1,000 acres. Chimney Rock Park hired a botanist in 1986 and an ornithologist in 1989 to supplement the work of the students and professors and to provide guided walks and educational presentations. These efforts culminated in the construction of a large Nature Center in 1992.

In 1999, the Park celebrated the 50th anniversary of the elevator, and in November 2002, two years after our visit, it celebrated 100 years of the Morse family dream to “acquire, protect and share this natural wonder with the world.” The Morse family would continue to operate the park for another four years until the passing of the last family member actively involved in its operation. As a result of certain estate plans, the family decided to list the Park for sale in 2006. The very next year, the Governor of North Carolina announced that the State, with the help of several partners, would purchase Chimney Rock Park and make it the centerpiece of a new state park under development in Hickory Nut Gorge. So the dream of Hiram Morse lives on.

We spent a good part of the day here at Chimney Rock, and did quite a lot. Some of the major things we did are covered in the following sections.

Hike to the Base of Hickory Nut Falls

One of the hikes that we took was called the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, and it took us from the parking area below Chimney Rock to the base of these falls.

Hickory Nut Fallss

The hike to the base of Hickory Nut Falls was a 3/4-mile, fairly leisurely walking trail offered a lot of different things to see. First was the forest itself- a mix of oak, hickory, maple, beech, poplar, locust and basswood, Second was all the different plant life harbored by the forest, including rare and endangered wildflowers as well as old favorites like Jack-in-the-pulpit and Solomon's-seal. Then you had the wildlife- most commonly the resident and migrant birds (too many to mention here) that take cover high above in the forest canopy. And there were a number of overlooks where you could stop and admire the falls ahead of and above you.

The trail stairstepped along the cliff face down below chimney rock. There was even a little footbridge acrosss Hickory Nut Creek, which brought us to the grand finale: Hickory Nut Falls, all 404 feet of it! In the mist of the waterfall were dainty white blossoms of Lady Rue and fronds of Deerhair Bulrush that thrive in that moist environment. Deerhair Bulrush, a grass-like plant with small knobs at the end of shiny, wiry leaves, is found growing out of the cracks along the rock and cliff wall at the Hickory Nut Falls.

Below are clickable thumbnails for some of the pictures that we took at the base of Hickory Nut Falls:

The trail down to the base of the falls was indeed a very pleasant walk- particularly through the shady forest on this quite warm day.

Right down at the base of the falls you could stand in the pool made by the waterfall; at this time of year, the water flow was not great, and we understood that if you tried to stand here in the Spring, you'd likely be drenched. But standing down here allowed us to look straight up the cliff face and get some really good shots. You can use the clickable thumbnails at left to see a couple of these pictures.

From the base of the falls, we headed back to the parking area for a different, shorter hike.

The Four Seasons Trail

Back at the parking area, we saw a couple of signs for a short, half-mile trail that some folks use instead of driving up to the parking area. We were already here, but thought we would go see what we could find on the Four Seasons Trail.

This was a moderate-to-strenuous trail that begins down below at the Meadows to provide access to the parking area, but we just hiked a way down the trail to get a little workout and enjoy more of the nature of the area. The Four Seasons trail winds through hardwood trees, past thickets of Carolina Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel and alongside abundant wildflowers and indigenous plants, some species not found along the Park's other trails. Although we didn't see any of them, there are often deer and wild turkeys along this trail.

Hiking Up to Chimney Rock: The Outcroppings Trail

From the parking area, most tourists take the elevator up to the top of Chimney Rock. The height of the elevator is approximately equivalent to a 25-storey building. We, however, thought that we would rather take a combination of trails and stairways outside up to the rock.

Looking Up at Chimney Rock

The Outcroppings Trail is the adventurous route to the chimney. It is a network of stairs and boardwalks either to or from the Chimney level. The Outcroppings Trail offers some of the most interesting views in the Park, including a great view of Hickory Nut Falls. Plus, hiking the trail is a great way to get in a little extra exercise – it's the ultimate Stairmaster, after all.

But the greatest reward of hiking the Outcroppings trail is certainly bragging to your friends and family that you "took the road less traveled."

We took a good selection of pictures as we went along the boardwalks and trails, and climbed stairs- inluding some good views of Chimney Rock itself. Use the clickable thumbnails below to see some of these pictures:

Hiking up to the final set of stairs leading up to Chimney Rock took us the better part of an hour, but now we were ready to ascend to the top of the chimney.

On Top of Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock is not the highest point in the park, but it is the most iconic, and so we were anxious to get out there and see the views.

Chimney Rock did not disappoint. We climbed the last few flights of stairs to stand on the top of the bare rock tower, and hear the American flag flapping in the breeze above us. We walked all around the top of the rock, protected by the chain link fence that kept us from getting too close to the edge. Fred got a really good picture of me with Hickory Nut Gorge in the background, and you can see that picture here. I might also point out that there was another, incredible view of Hickory Nut Falls from the top of Chimney Rock.

I suppose we spent 45 minutes on the top of Chimney Rock; the views were really incredible (and the breeze was nice as well). You can use the clickable thumbnails below to see some of the views that we saw:

The last hike was really a continuation of the Skyline Trail, and it led up above Chimney Rock to Exclamation Point- the highest point in the Park.

The Skyline Trail to the Top of Hickory Nut Falls

From the top of Chimney Rock, we descended the wood stairs back down to the Skyline Trail, and then continued up this trail to the top of the mountain.

The Opera Box Above Chimney Rock

As we climbed the trail, incredible vistas opened up. Most people have seen Chimney Rock from below, or from the top of the rock itself, but looking down on it is a view that only the hikers on the Skyline Trail have access to.

This half-hour, moderate-to-strenuous hike not only looks down on Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, but there were numerous overlooks that provided wonderful views out across Hickory Nut Gorge. The trail also wound its way through lush woodland on natural cliffs, up stairs and along switchbacks to such geologic spectacles as the menacing Devil’s Head, the remarkable overhang and panoramic vistas at the Opera Box (see the Opera Box from Chimney Rock at left), to the highest peak in the Park- 2,480-ft. Exclamation Point. The hike ends up above Hickory Nut Falls, and you can walk out across Grassy Creek (which, at this point, ought better to be called "Rocky Creek."

Below are clickable thumbnails for some of the pictures we took here above Hickory Nut Falls:

The dramatic beauty of Hickory Nut Gorge with its breathtaking sheer cliffs made the jaunt to Exclamation Point well worth the effort. The name of this lookout speaks for itself! It’s no wonder that 20th Century Fox chose these views as the backdrop for several scenes in their 1992 release of the movie The Last of the Mohicans.

Our hike up to the top of Hickory Nut Falls brought our visit to Chimney Rock to a close, and we returned to the parking lot to head off back to my sister's house in Elon.

A Second Visit to My Sister

The exact route we took to get back to my sister's isn't really important, but we took US 64 over past Rutherfordton, where it angles back up to I-40. This we simply took eastward past Greensboro towards Elon.

My Sister and I

We spent the late afternoon hanging out with Judy, much as we had done four days earlier, and we took a few more pictures; I have put clickable thumbnails for these pictures below:

About six o'clock, we took our leave from Judy and drove back towards the airport in Greensboro to turn in our rental car and check in for our flight home.

This trip to North Carolina was all too short, but it was a fun time.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	July 3, 2000: North Carolina Trip- Day 4
	Return to the Master Index for the North Carolina Trip