Today we did a lot of hiking and a lot of driving between hikes. Our first hike was a three mile hike that took us to Long Point. In addition to being a long narrow point, Long Point also gives you long views in several directions.
When we arrived, we saw about a dozen people just sitting looking at the bridge. With everything else to see, it seemed a little odd. Then we found ourselves doing the same thing. In addition to being an amazing engineering feat, the bridge is almost a work of art. From each different vantage point you see something different. It is not a surprise that there is an annual bridge day that celebrates the bridge.
Once we broke the spell of the bridge, we discovered that we also had a new perspective on our Endless Wall hike from yesterday. We got a larger, but not complete, view of the wall. Some close up photos of the opposite side of the gorge revealed an interesting rock structure and an impressive waterfall.
We also noticed that the New River is still rushing by with all the water and debris.
When we returned to the car, we drove toward the Big Branch Trail. On the way, we passed by Brooks Falls. The speed of the river made the falls even more interesting.
If you notice the road on the opposite side of the falls, you will see where we took our second picture of Brooks Falls.
The parking lot for our hike is also a parking lot for having a picnic at Brooks Falls. We spent some time enjoying the falls at a much closer distance.
Then it was time for the Big Branch Trail. This turned out to be a challenging and adventure filled hike. We decided to hike the steep section first. Normally, we set a limit of 500 feet of elevation change in a mile. On the map, it looked to be a little bit over that limit. In reality, it was a lot over that. Most of the climb was in the first third of a mile. This photo gives you a good idea of what the climb was like.
We finally made it to the top. Then we could smile and be tired at the same time.
The next section of the hike was gently rolling hills. It was an easy part of the hike. We were wondering when we would see the waterfalls because we had not seen much water. That was about to change!
The trail made a sharp turn into a deep and somewhat steep gully. Fortunately, the rest of the hike was downhill. The first portion of the downhill hike was a wide, well marked trail. It quickly changed into following a stream downhill without much in the way of trail markers. The trail was now marked by flowing water and waterfalls. We were literally hiking Big Branch Creek.
Big Branch Falls was the largest, but not the only, waterfall on the creek. We saw many, some a few feet high, some more like water running over a large rock. We had plenty of time to look at them because at every turn we needed to plan a path to continue down the creek. Considering the terrain on this part of the hike, we stayed fairly dry.
Unless you decided to climb the sides of the ravine (it was no longer a gully!) it would be hard to get lost, but you might need to bushwhack. Just keep going down hill. Fortunately, as we approached the river below, we saw a trail marker that pointed our way back to the car. Our GPS trail map on the phone was a great backup today.
After our Big Branch adventure, it was time to head to the Sandstone Falls and Island Loop Trail. It was a short drive, but the scenery changed dramatically. We went from a steep ravine with a small creek to a flat area surrounded by a raging river.
The trail takes you close to Sandstone Falls on the New River. Today, it was almost too close. The island we hiked was a little smaller than it is on most days because of the flooding of the river. Notice how high the water is on some of the trees that are normally not in the river.
It was not as noisy as the pictures would indicate. People were more awed by the power of the water than afraid to be on the hike.
After three hikes, we were ready for a good dinner. We had several people recommend Cheddar’s Restaurant. They made a good recommendation. We truly enjoyed our dinner.