THE BACK SIDE
J
Bob and I had originally planned to backpack last weekend. Initially he was cleared to take Saturday
off, but on Friday his employer rejected his request. Since he had to work on Saturday we decided
to dayhike on Sunday.
J
Bob has been itching to summit Big Butt in the Black Mountains for years. Since that part of the Parkway is closed in
the winter, our initial plan was to hike there from the back side. We’d approach it from highway 197 (a dirt
road) at Cane River Gap, east of Barnardsville.
I
met J Bob in Belmont and rode with him from there. Early on the weather looked promising, but as
we approached Asheville the clouds thickened.
By the time we got to Barnardsville, a
high-elevation hike didn’t look promising.
The mountains had received some snow and freezing rain the previous
evening, and the clouds hadn’t budged.
We could’ve done the hike anyway, but the views from the Big Butt Trail
are primarily of Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountain Crest. If there was one place in the southeast that
was certain to be lost in the clouds, it would be Mount Mitchell. We decided to save that hike for another day.
At
the last minute we changed plans and headed into the Big Ivy area. Big Ivy is a remote corner of the Pisgah
National Forest west of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Craggy Gardens, and Big
Butt. It’s best-known for Douglas Falls,
an impressive 60’ free-falling waterfall.
However, outside of that waterfall, neither of us had explored the
area. We were both curious about it
though, as there is a network of trails there, along with another documented
waterfall on Walker Creek. Since we were
in the area, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to check it out.
I
used the GPS on my phone to get us there.
We drove through a pastoral valley and the tiny community of Dillingham
before entering the National Forest. We
picked up FR 74, but found the road gated just before the Corner Rock Picnic
Area. Now what?
We
backtracked a short distance and turned down Old Ranger Road. After a short distance we reached a small
parking area across from some cabins at the Walker Creek Trailhead. We started our hike on the Walker Creek Trail
about 10:30 under cloudy skies. It was a
chilly morning, but we warmed up quickly as we hiked uphill.
Before
long we crossed a primitive “bridge” over Walker Creek. A few minutes later we reached a junction
with the Staire creek Trail. Our plan was to make a loop combining the
Walker Creek, Perkins, Laurel Gap, Bear Pen, and Staire
Creek Trails. The loop would be 8-9
miles, with a total elevation gain of about 1,800’. I wasn’t sure what we’d find along the loop,
but to be honest, I didn’t really care.
I was just thrilled to be out in the woods, in a place I’d never been
before. I’m pretty sure the dogs, Boone
and Kona, agreed with me.
We
started with the Walker Creek Trail.
Initially we climbed an old rocky road on a hillside far from the
creek. After climbing briefly we ran
into a solo hiker on his way down.
Later, near the end of the hike, we encountered a trail runner along Staire Creek. In
between, we had the forest to ourselves.
Before
long the trail drew closer to the creek.
Ahead we could see a substantial run of cascades. In fact, it looked like there might even be a
legitimate waterfall down there. J Bob
also spotted some large trees. All of
these attractions required further investigation. As luck would have it, an old road departed
the main trail at this point, heading closer to the creek. We headed that way.
After
a couple of minutes on the old road it was pretty obvious that there was a
waterfall of some significance just below.
We decided to bushwhack down for a closer look.
The
funny thing about this is that when I planned this hike I had been determined
to avoid all bushwhacking. On New Year’s
Eve I fell down some steps (don’t ask).
After going briefly airborne, I landed emphatically on my right
hip. That left me with an ugly bruise
the size of a basketball. I felt it a
lot more on New Years Day than I did later that
night. By Sunday it was getting a little
better, but it was still swollen and sore.
The last thing I wanted to do was to bang into something or fall on it
again.
Of
course the draw of a previously undocumented waterfall over-rode my common
sense. We headed down a steep ravine,
reaching the base of an impressive Tuliptree about
50’ above the creek. The main part of
the falls was just around the corner, but we didn’t see any plausible route
down. Descending farther downstream
might’ve been possible, but that would’ve required creek walking back up to the
falls.
I
noticed that the bank on the opposite side of the creek looked less hostile. Also, there were faint remnants of an old
logging road visible on that bank. If we
could get over there, the descent would be much easier and safer.
We
climbed back up to the old road and followed it upstream. It eventually petered out in a swampy
area. We worked our way back down to the
creek, now upstream from the falls. At
this point there was a small but lovely sliding cascade just upstream,
immediately below a truck-sized boulder.
We took a few photos there before contemplating our next move.
The
creek is narrow there, but deep and swift.
I was contemplating various options when J Bob leaped across. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, but I
managed with his help. From there we
climbed up to the old logging road we spotted and headed downstream. Before long we reached a great vantage point
of the falls. The creek cascades for
perhaps 30’, splitting into two streams near the brink. The channels merge just before the main drop,
a nearly vertical cascade of perhaps another 25’. We took photos from the upper viewpoint
before working our way to the base.
The
view from the very bottom isn’t as good as I expected for a couple of
reasons. First, the upper part of the
falls isn’t visible from there. Also,
there was quite a bit of deadfall, which mucked up the photos a bit. Still, it was a great spot to discover. Nothing beats stumbling upon a previously
undocumented waterfall.
Our
next challenge was to get back to the trail.
There was no way we’d be able to jump back across the creek at our
initial crossing. I didn’t see any other
places where we could cross without getting wet. I knew that FR 74 crossed Walker Creek about
½ mile upstream.
I reasoned that the old logging road we were on would probably lead to
it. We headed that way, hopeful that we
would reach the forest road, which would take us back to the trail.
The
old logging road faded away a few minutes later. Now what?
Initially we continued upstream, bushwhacking through surprisingly open
forest. However, the terrain became
steep before long. After a lunch break
to renew our energy, I proposed angling east northeast, away from the creek but
more directly towards FR 74. This
resulted in a rather steep climb, but the bushwhacking wasn’t bad except for
the profuse briars. We eventually
staggered out onto the forest road, relieved to have the bushwhacking behind
us.
We
followed FR 74 south. After a short
distance we passed below a sheer, 100’ cliff.
It is an impressive feature that is probably popular with rock
climbers. Just after that we crossed
over a cascading tributary. After the
tributary, we found ourselves high above Walker Creek. From the roar, I wouldn’t be surprised if
there are more waterfalls down there. We
spotted a nice sliding cascade, but we were done with bushwhacking for the
day. Further exploration of Walker Creek
will have to wait.
Minutes
later we reached Walker Creek again. The
road passes directly below Walker Falls, which is a steep, 50’ cascade. We stopped for photos, but as luck would have
it, the sun came out shortly before we arrived.
It didn’t last long – just long enough to muck up our photos.
From
Walker Falls we continued south on FR 74.
Before long we reached the upper end of the Walker Creek Trail. The Perkins Trail continues on the opposite
side of the road, and we headed that way.
Initially we climbed on an old rocky road. Eventually the road narrowed and the trail
began to like more like a path. We
crossed a tributary of Walker Creek below a pretty sliding cascade before
continuing up the mountain. According to
the map, we were in the Walker Cove Research Natural Area. I don’t know what that means, but it
certainly was a pretty forest.
Eventually
we found ourselves high above Walker Creek.
Once again the creek was making a lot of noise. Could there be waterfalls upstream from
Walker Falls? It was getting late in the
afternoon, so investigating was out of the question. However, we turned the next corner, and the
creek was directly ahead of us. It must
drop about 200’ in less than a ¼ of a mile.
That’s another stretch of Walker Creek that requires further
exploration.
We
rock-hopped the creek and continued up the mountain. Before long we reached a junction with the
Laurel Gap Trail, which is an old, grassy logging road. We followed this trail south, passing patches
of lingering snow. We were treated to
some modest views of the high ridges above along here, the spruce and fir
indicative of just how high we had climbed.
At one point we even passed below a hillside of spruce trees decorated
with rime ice.
After
2 miles on the Laurel Gap Trail we reached the Bear Pen Trail. We took this trail down to FR 74. On the far side we picked up the Staire Creek Trail, which is exceptionally steep in
places. The absurd grade and slippery
mud slowed our pace, which was a concern.
It was late in the afternoon, daylight was dwindling, and building
clouds promised another storm.
We
eventually reached Staire Creek. The lower portion of the trail was much
nicer. We passed below some massive
boulders. One featured an impressive
overhang complete with a fire ring and some rock chairs that someone had
built. We followed the stream out from
there. We reached the junction with the
Walker Creek Trail and hurried down to the car.
There
was a bit of drama back at J Bob’s truck.
Surprisingly, there were three other vehicles in the parking area. When we arrived, there was a puppy wandering
around our car. That created a lot of
excitement with my dogs, who had behaved quite nicely all day. I eventually got Boone and Kona in J Bob’s
truck. Unfortunately, the puppy had
similar plans. He jumped into the back
of the truck and refused to budge. We
were debating our options when a group of young people emerged from the woods,
calling his name. He jumped out of the
truck and ran to them, which was a huge relief.
A minute later another group appeared after walking up from the
creek. Where did they come from? It was a little bewildering seeing this many
people at the trailhead after a day of almost complete solitude.
I
definitely want to return to Big Ivy. I
suspect there are more waterfalls on Walker Creek, and I wouldn’t be surprised
if some of the other streams in the area have undocumented waterfalls,
too. Also, the Big Ivy Trails aren’t far
from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Mountains to Sea Trail. After I returned home, I studied my topo map of the area, from 1941. The map shows two trails connecting the
Laurel Gap Trail with the Parkway. One
ascends Walker Ridge to meet the Parkway near Walker Knob and Balsam Gap. The other ascends Locust Ridge to meet the
Parkway below Locust Knob. If those old
trails still exist, they could provide connections that would create possible
loops for backpacking trips. I’m looking
forward to scouting them out.
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