NC05 — Dupont Forest State Park

Today's outing was on the milder side but with some impressive river sights.  The Dupont Forest State Park is about 45 minutes south of Arden, NC, where we are staying.  With easy hiking, perhaps 6 miles altogether, we visited three impressive waterfalls: High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls.  The third one had a nice swimming hole beneath the broad and not too high plunge.  The water was cold, but the air was very warm so we all went in.  We also visited (too briefly, because it closed shortly after our arrival) the Cradle of Forestry in American Heritage Site, which memorializes the establishment of science-based forest management on the George and Edith Vanderbilt estate, which later became the Pisgah National Forest (established in 1916).