Good Friday- started the day at 5:15 a.m., hitting the road at 6:00. We met Vance at Walmart in Sparta, then carpooled to Virgin Falls trailhead, about 15 miles out of Sparta. We hit the trail at about 9:40 a.m. while the temperature was in the 60s, but by the time we finished, it was near 80. It took us right at 3 hours to reach Virgin Falls, and we had a nice long lunch break there, including a short nap. The way back was grueling, as usual, a lot of uphill, rocky climbing, and it took a bit of a toll on us. We stopped for a fairly long rest at Big Laurel Falls on the return, but it was barely enough to revive us, as the steepest climb is from there, out. We got back to the car around 5:30, thoroughly worn out, but with a camera full of good stuff. It had been bright and sunny all day, and the trees had not yet begun to leaf out, so we had clear views in every direction. Apparently it had not rained up there for a couple of weeks because the path was nice and dry, but there was more than enough water in the creeks to make all the falls impressive. Stopping at Big Laurel and at Virgin Falls felt like moving into an air-conditioned room, the spray cooled the surrounding air so much.