Memorable waterfalls in our region … plus one

Having visited High Shoals Falls at South Mountains State Park, the mighty Linville Falls in the far northern end of the county, and McGalliard Falls in between in Valdese, McGalliard holds a special place in my heart since that was exactly the falls where I introduced my 2-month-old son to the tranquility of flowing water. 

It was his very first outdoors experience. My wife was somewhat nervous because I was precariously standing in the water atop several slick rocks. 

“Be very careful,” she almost whispered. I assured her that I would, as he was our first-born precious baby boy.  

I carefully lowered him close enough to the flow so that he could take in the sights and sounds of his first waterfall. The seed was planted as he has never deviated from his quest to explore this great land of ours: fishing, hiking, camping, and seeking waterfalls from here to Colorado.

Another memorable waterfall is Toms Creek Falls which is located in our neighbor McDowell County. I had the pleasure of visiting the falls last year by heartily accepting an invitation from professional photographer Tim Ambrose. 

With Ambrose as my guide and navigator, we took the 37-minute, 31.8-mile cruise on a delightful Saturday in mid-August. 

Before our trip to the falls, my online research held me to low expectations, but the falls certainly exceeded them.  The position of it in the landscape is a perfect fit, an unexpected pleasure. Being a hardcore fly fisherman, I carried my faithful 7-weight graphite fly rod, but to my dismay, the water level was so low that the trout were wearing sunglasses.

The milky liquid begins as two individual flows, Further down the two split into four, and continuing down, there’s another split only on the left side. 

Unlike other waterfalls, it has a gentle, subdued flow as it descends down the partially moss-covered rock face. The more I gazed at the falls, the more my admiration of it increased. No adjective can adequately describe the falls. Maybe mesmerizing would come close, but it’s more of a feeling, a feeling of tranquility.

Waterfalls are the ultimate in tranquility. You do not simply see them or hear them, you feel them, deep inside your soul, the ultimate daydream. 

Flowing water goes beyond your senses. This happens ever so slowly in a gentle manner, seeping into every pore, every molecule in your body. Could they be a division of space and time or something more subtle? 

Maybe we seek utopia in them. Surreal … Only you can decide.

For a large portion of the past 40 years, Paul Shell has covered the outdoors for various newspapers and magazines, including Sports Afield and The Angler, and is the former owner of the Rod & Fly in Morganton. He can be reached at 828-443-4157 or rodfly82@gmail.com.