Karen
and Lee Duquette's FLASHBACK
 
to Graveyard Fields Waterfall
on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina
September 6, 2004 and August 3, 2005
(plus links to the same area and
different experiences in 2020 and 2021) |
Graveyard Fields Directions:
Do NOT rely on your GPS. Simply drive the Blue Ridge Parkway south from
Asheville, NC to Milepost 418.8, about 37 miles southwest of downtown.
It's about 10 miles past Mt. Pisgah. (Heads up: This section of the
Parkway is often closed in the winter for ice and snow.)
The Yellowstone Prong is the water source for two waterfalls in a
mile-high valley filled with wildflowers and surrounded by the 6,000-foot
peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Graveyard Fields is a very popular hiking trail on the Blue Ridge
Parkway (Milepost 418.8) south of Asheville, North Carolina. The Yellowstone
Prong is the water source for two waterfalls in a mile-high valley filled
with wildflowers and surrounded by the 6,000-ft. peaks of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. The area got its name years ago from the tree stumps that
looked like grave stones in a graveyard setting. The trees were toppled
by a huge wind several hundred years ago. Then in 1925, an intense fire
burned the recently logged area, and the forest has been slow in recovering
since.
The two RV Gypsies started their 1/3 of a mile hike to the Lower Falls
from the overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was a map on the
sign at the parking area. They took the trail at the lower end (right
side looking away from Parkway) of the parking area and descended down
a paved path through a thick patch of rhododendron, then down some steps
and to a bridge. They crossed the bridge, turned right along the trail
and hiked to the first trail intersection to the right. They they descended
a long flight of steps to a viewing platform for Lower Falls to get
a closer look from the boulders at the base of the falls.
Note: From Lower Falls, it is possible to continue on the 4-mile Graveyard
Fields Loop. Karen and Lee Duquette did not do this on either trip.
It was a rainy, cloudy day in 2004, but much better weather when Karen
and Lee Duquette returned here in 2005. |
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Below: Time for Lee and Karen Duquette to hike down
to the waterfall - a 1/3 mile hike to the Lower Falls. |
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Below: Lee Duquette bent down to feel the temperature
of the water. Yes, of course it was cold. |
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Below: Karen Duquette at the Graveyard Fields Waterfall |
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Below: Karen and Lee Duquette returned to the the waterfall
at Graveyard Fields in 2005. The weather was much nicer. |
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 There
are two navigational choices below.
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In
2020 and again in 2021, Karen and Lee Duquette (who became known
as The Two RV Gypsies) went to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoyed
several overlooks, before arriving at GRAVEYARD FIELDS and a
trail down to the falls. But It was too far of a walk, too
steep of a trail, and too late in the day for them to attempt hiking
the trail, either time, since they knew they had been there before,
when they were a lot younger. But they enjoyed the overlooks and
scenery on these two trips.