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| The entrance to the Cascades Trail parking lot. |
This four mile loop trail is located in Pembroke, Va
and takes you along a beautiful creek
up to the 66 foot Cascades waterfall.
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| The Cascades trailhead near the picnic area. |
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A Map of the Cascades Trail
We ascended along Little Stony Creek on the "Lower Trail,"
and descended using the "Upper Trail." |
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| This was a perfect day for an autumn hike! |
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| Little Stony Creek on the right. |
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| The first bridge crossing the Little Stony Creek. |
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The View from the Bridge
It rained all night, resulting in this almost flooding flow of water. |
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| There are many steps like these along the way. |
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We were now walking on the right side of the creek,
called "The Lower Trail." |
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This fungus (Hericium) looks
like a frozen waterfall.
An Autumn Hokku
Fungal waterfall;
As if cascading down
A dead tree trunk.
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| I wish you could hear this! |
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| What an unbelievably beautiful walk. |
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Lone mushroom on
a mossy fallen tree. |
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It was right around here where Kai
heard and spotted a Hooded Warbler. |
The photo was taken from this site.
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| We saw many species of fungi on this walk. |
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| If it were a hot summer day I might have jumped in here. |
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A neat little harmless millipede
(~ 4 inches long) |
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| It was gorgeous the entire way!!! |
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Ferns with some mushrooms
tucked away in the dead tree. |
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| Kai is approaching the second bridge. |
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| Moss and Mushrooms. |
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Kai hears and spots a Black-throated Blue Warbler.
What a beauty!!!! |
This photo was taken from this site.
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| A neat sign telling us we're at the half-way point. |
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| I wonder who made the steps on the left. |
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| A stunningly gorgeous ascent!! |
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| Take a short break here and savor the beauty! |
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| A small waterfall before the big one. |
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| We can finally see the huge Cascades Waterfall. Wow!!! |
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| You must be there to appreciate it. Fantastic!! |
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Take a long break here and just observe your surroundings.
The strenuous hike was well worth it. |
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| Looking downstream from the platform. |
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| Now the descent. |
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We took the "Lower Trail" all the up to this waterfall, and
the "Upper Trail" all the way down to the parking lot. |
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| This Upper Trail is meters above the creek the entire way. |
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| Beautiful Autumn colors. |
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| Grape vine. |
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The trail downward looks like this the entire way.
A very easy and beautiful walk. |
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| The Little Stony Creek is many meters below us. |
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| One of the many quiet streams flowing into the creek. |
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| We saw and heard many chipmunks along the trail. |
This hike was one of the most beautiful hikes
I've ever been on. I believe this is one that
everyone needs to see sometime in their lives.
Try it; I think you'll love it.
