This place is pretty up there on my favorite Preserve we have visited. It is fairly remote, so make sure you use the restroom before you get there. Remember to bring rain gear as there are no shelters and there are no benches for those who need to rest. There are also no dogs allowed.
The first mile all uphill, so take it easy. You are surrounded by rushing water and tall Rhododendron. Due to COVID, they advise that you do this one way. We took the yellow Knight Trail, which felt like lowlands marshes.
The walking was fairly easy and led to an amazing mill pond.
After the pond we went through some more rhododendron that looked like a mystical archway. We did not run into bears, but word was that there were some around. You can hear Bottom Creek to your left all of the time, taunting you. However, the hill is so steep you can not easily make it down to the water.
Knight Trail wraps around and follows the Bottom Creek. The sound of the continuous falls sounds like rolling thunder and at first I looked to the blue sky in confusion.
Toward the bottom, there is a spur that takes you directly to the water. This would make a great lunch break.
Make sure you are well rested. From here to the turn off to the Overlook you go from 2400 to 2600 feet in elevation. It feels pretty torturous and narrow at times to let others pass. At the time, the air was still and humid, I can only imagine how it will feel in mid summer. Turn left onto the red Johnston Trail to see the Overlook. It is very much worth the trip! Not to bad hiking wise, the Overlook area might be good for a food break too.
We started at 10 am and by the time we made it to the Overlook it was 12:30pm. We started to head back via the blue Duvall Trail. I took no more pictures or video because it suddenly started a thunderstorm that came in with a vengeance. To be honest, it was magical and the sound of the thunder, the feel of the warm rain was amazing and nice after the bug fest we had just been through.
There were some trees down on the way back, so keep that in mind. Again, an amazing trip.
Bea's Hive 