Graveyard Fields (Transylvania County, North Carolina)

Hearing the name Graveyard Fields, one might think this would be an outstanding hike to do around Halloween, but as I'm in the area a few weeks prior to the holiday, I decided to check it out as I make my way up the Blue Ridge Parkway. From the minor amount of research I've done, the area was given it's name because of a natural event that occurred several hundred years ago. Apparently, a tremendous wind-blow came through the shallow valley and uprooted much of the spruce forest. Over time, the uprooted trees rotted leaving odd mounds that appeared much like graves protruding from the ground. A major fire in 1925 wiped the land clean of many of these mounds, but the name had already taken root and remains to this day.

Pulling into the parking lot, I see this is a pretty popular trail system as there are many cars here, but I'm lucky enough to find a parking spot pretty quickly. I don my mask to make way from the parking lot to the trailhead, but soon remove it as I find myself on the trail all alone. Almost immediately after leaving the parking lot and maneuvering down a set of wooden steps, the trail crosses a small creek with a nice little waterfall just upstream.

There are a number of interconnecting trails here, as well as even more side trails made by over-enthusiastic and careless adventurers. It all makes for something of a maze, though in a place called the Graveyard Fields, this could be fun. I do my best to follow the trail to the the upper falls, but the numerous side trails, small stream crossings, and mud pits make it somewhat challenging. Though it hasn't rained here in days, the shade from the dense shrubbery seems to hold the moisture. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have to find a way around or through more than a dozen mud baths on my way to the upper falls.

Finally reaching the waterfall, I find several people already here and perched in various places on the rock faces around the waterfall. The waterfall itself is more of a water-slide as a steady stream of water flows down a smoothed piece of granite in which it has long since carved a trench. The trench is approximately thirty feet long and flows across the rocks which are roughly angled at about forty degrees. From here the water passes below where the trail meets the creek and continues over a second cascade dropping eight to ten feet before continue down the creek and likely meeting up with the creek I crossed at the beginning of the trail.

From there, I turn back the way I came and upon reaching the fork to enter the Graveyard Fields, I bid farewell to some fellow hikers that were politely taking advantage of my navigation skills to find their way back to the parking lot. I point them in the right direction and head down the side trail.

The flora here is pretty dense and I can make out the vague image of some of the mounds, or so I convince myself. This part of the trail is less adventurous than the trip to the waterfall and I quickly make my way back to the parking lot via this different route. It's unfortunate that the "graves" are either completely gone or just difficult to make out, but either way, it was still a good 3 mile hike. Now, onto the next adventure.