Some routes I hike once. Others play on repeat, especially if they’re close to my home in Waynesville, North Carolina and provide a good workout with outstanding scenery. The 5.1 mile stretch of the Mountains to Sea Trail from Woodfin Cascades to Waterrock Knob is one of my “regulars,” and I’ve yet to grow tired of it. This hike is part of the popular 100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and Carolina Blue Ridge Map and its associated challenge hosted by Carolina Mountain Club.
If you’re not familiar with this map, it’s been around since 1966 and was updated in 2020 by Great Smoky Mountains Association and Carolina Mountain Club.
The trailhead for the hike is on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Woodfin Cascades Overlook. It’s easy to set up as a quick shuttle hike, but since I’m often solo I usually complete it as an out-and-back (which bumps the mileage to 10.2 miles). If you do it as a shuttle, make sure to choose the direction that suits your abilities–starting from Woodfin Cascades is the more challenging direction if you don’t enjoy uphill hiking.
Whichever way you hike it, there’s a 0.5-mile stretch of road walking on the Blue Ridge Parkway close to the midway point of the route. Otherwise you’re tucked away in the forest for about the first three miles. If you’re hiking in summer, be on the lookout for brambles with ripe berries. I had my fill of blackberries in both directions.
This isn’t a super popular hike, but you’ll probably encounter more people the closer you get to Waterrock Knob and especially when you turn onto the paved path leading toward its summit. The climb is steep to Waterrock, but thankfully it’s short (about 1.2 miles round trip). And yes, this is the beginning of the route that takes you to the now famous plane wreckage on Browning Knob. If you visit the site, please be respectful. Two men lost their lives here in 1983.
On a lighter note, if you wear a hiking dress and stop to pee, make sure you don’t entrap the hem of that dress underneath your backpack before proceeding. Yep, one of my biggest fears since wearing hiking dresses finally happened as I was walking the half-mile stretch on the Blue Ridge Parkway during my descent!
I had stopped to pee shortly before reaching the parkway and hastily stood up after squatting, thinking I heard hikers approaching. Turns out, the voices came from an overlook on the parkway but they distracted me enough to forget to check my dress!
This happened once before to me, but at a much higher elevation than Waterrock Knob and in a plane much larger than the Cessna on Browning Knob. When I was in 5th grade, Eastern Airlines offered Atlanta area schools a cheaper-than-dirt round-trip field trip to Orlando. Lucky me, my school jumped at the chance to give their students the opportunity to sip a Coke with a friend at 30,000 feet.
After drinking that delicious Coke, I visited the plane’s lavatory and unknowingly tucked the hem of my dress into my tights. As I walked down the aisle toward my seat, I heard Scooter Dawkins guffaw as I walked by him. Scooter was the type of kid who thought his shit didn’t stink, but he loved pointing out that everyone else’s did. “What the heck is dumb ol’ Scooter laughing about this time,” I wondered.
I discovered exactly what as I reached back to drape my dress against my legs while I sat down. The hem was entrapped in the top of my pantyhose. I wonder now if Scooter remembers the scene, but I don’t have to wonder if I was mortified at the revelation!
Forty years later, only one car worth of people got to see my undies before I felt a cool breeze against my bare legs and made the discovery. This time though, I reacted with humor instead of embarrassment. After two months of caring for our terminally ill dog (who’s beating the statistical odds, but still declining), I needed a good laugh, even at my own expense!
I scurried down the last couple of miles of trail with a lighter heart. I noticed lots more mushrooms and flowers than I did while ascending, perhaps for no other reason than my lighter heart. The trail provides in mysterious but effective ways.
I finished in time to stop by Barber’s Orchard for a refreshing cider slushy and a huge bag of Honey Crisp apples. While waiting in the long line, I was far more embarrassed about my body odor competing with the delightful smells wafting from the orchard’s bakery. At least Scooter wasn’t there this time. 🙂
Happy Trails,
Nancy “Seal Mom”
P.S. Have you ever had an embarrassing experience like this on trail? Drop a comment if you’d like to share it!
P.P.S. If you’d like to purchase this map and start chipping away at this amazing hiking challenge, it’s available for purchase in several retailers surrounding the Smokies. Or you can purchase it online right here (and you’ll get free shipping if you order it with my book, Chasing the Smokies Moon: An audacious 948-mile hike–fueled by love, loss, laughter and lunacy).