Glen Falls

From a drop of water, a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other.

—Sherlock Holmes, who would later have his own waterfall moment in Switzerland

Glen Falls is actually a series of three major waterfalls along the East Fork of Overflow Creek in the Nantahala National Forest near Highlands. The trail joins the top falls where the creek has already begun a steep slide down the rock, then drops over a distinct ledge.

[Here it comes...]

[...and there it goes.]

Seen from below, the top falls resolves into a glorious cascade.

The middle falls is an even more complex wedding-cake cascade.

The lower falls, by comparison, is smaller, simpler, but in some ways more "user-friendly"—certainly safer to explore.

And from here, the creek keeps tumbling on down toward the piedmont.

As attractive as the waterfalls are in toto, some of my favourite photos (most of these shot by Jessa) are close-ups of the timeless interplay of water and rock.

Particularly eye-catching are the spots where the water has eroded round potholes in the rock.

Jessa also spotted some herps along the trail: Desmognathus (I think) and Bufo.

A few bonus photos to round things out...