BURN BABY BURN

Memorial Day weekend provided me with the opportunity to take one more training backpacking trip before this summer’s vacation. Our trip this year will be in late June, to the Grand Canyon and southern Utah. Our biggest concern with this trip will be dealing with the heat. As luck would have it, the weather last weekend helped me to begin to acclimate.

I chose the Joccassee Gorges for my trip despite a forecast that called for temperatures in the upper 80’s each day. I probably should’ve done a trip at a higher elevation, but I’ve been itching to return to the Jocassee area for some time now. I was eager to re-visit some waterfalls and (hopefully) get better photos of them.

My original plan was a 3-day trip starting and ending at Duke Power’s Bad Creek facility, near the Whitewater River. I would camp at Bearcamp Creek both nights and do a dayhike on Sunday to the lower waterfall on Bearwallow Creek, in Gorges State Park.

A few days before the trip I decided to shorten it to two days. I planned to complete the same route, but I’d hike out on Sunday afternoon after my morning hike to the falls. That way I could spend Memorial Day at home with my wife.

I headed out early on Saturday morning. I reached the trailhead a little before 10am after a 3 hour drive. There were a handful of cars there, but it was hardly crowded for a holiday weekend. I spent a few minutes organizing my gear while the dogs explored the parking area. Then we hit the trail, eager to begin our weekend adventure.

The hike started with a ½ mile walk along a spur trail that connects to the Foothills Trail. After a few minutes we crossed the Whitewater River on a pair of bridges and joined the Foothills Trail. The Foothills Trail runs 75+ miles from Table Rock State Park to Oconee State Park. Most of the trail is in South Carolina with the exception of the stretch of trail running north of Lake Joccassee. Most of my hike would actually be in North Carolina, with the exception of a couple of miles of the trail between the Whitewater and Thompson Rivers.

Early on we passed a Garter Snake in the middle of the trail. A bit later I spotted another one. Apparently one of the dogs actually stepped on that one, as it shot across the trail right after the dogs passed. Later we encountered a giant frog, and Kona met her first turtle. We even saw a couple of deer on Sunday just after the conclusion of the hike.

Wildflower season is largely over below 2,000’ in late May, but there were some pleasant surprises. There were still some rhododendron blooming, and I even stumbled upon some wildflowers during the hike.

The portion of the Foothills Trail around Lake Jocassee was built by Duke Power. It’s a good trail for the most part, but there are some stretches that are routed more like a power line than a hiking trail. Anytime I hike this trail there are always occasions where I find myself wondering why it was necessary to descend into the bottom of a gully when it would’ve been much easier to contour around it. Those stretches rarely feature switchbacks. Typically they are straight down and straight up, or are afflicted with stairs. Indeed, there are parts of the Foothills Trail that will make you curse Duke Power more than an August electric bill.

We reached the bridge over the Thompson River a bit before noon. It was a little early, but there aren’t many finer lunch spots than the Thompson River. We took a nice break there, and all three of us spent a little bit of time in the water. I was hoping that the cool river would help me endure the afternoon heat.

A big climb followed our lunch break. Afterwards, I enjoyed some easy hiking before descending to cross a dirt road. This road starts out as Musterground Road at Bad Creek. At some point its name changes to Auger Hole Road. It eventually fords the Toxaway River before ending at Frozen Creek Road.

I dropped down to Bearcamp Creek and reached a junction with a spur trail to Hilliard Falls. I headed up the side path just as the first clouds of the day blocked the sun. I was thrilled, as the clouds promised better photography conditions.

I reached the base of the falls a couple of minutes later. Hilliard Falls is a nice waterfall, featuring a long slide with a 10’ sheer drop at the end. There the creek plunges into an impressive pool. Behind the sheer drop is a dark grotto with some interesting vegetation. We had a nice break there, and I took photos while the dogs played in the creek.

I returned to the Foothills Trail and followed it to a beautiful campsite on the far side of Bearcamp Creek. At that point I had a decision to make. Bearcamp Creek is a lovely site, but camping there would’ve made for an extremely long hike on Sunday. Since I planned to hike to Lower Bearwallow Falls and then back out to Bad Creek on Sunday, I decided to cover some more miles before stopping.

I recalled that there are some nice campsites along the Horsepasture River near Auger Fork Road. I decided to head that way, hopeful that the area wouldn’t be crowded. I picked up an old dirt road on the far side of the camping area and headed back upstream along Bearcamp Creek. After 10 or 15 minutes I reached a junction with Musterground Road / Auger Fork Road. Shortly before I arrived I heard the sound of a vehicle and caught a glimpse of a jeep driving by. That road is gated, but apparently the gate isn’t locked, even outside of hunting season. I met some guys in jeeps the next day, and they confirmed that they’d driven in from Gorges State Park without any trouble.

A tedious climb to the crest of Narrow Rock Ridge followed. At the crest of the ridge I noticed a faint path along an old property boundary. The boundary is marked with orange blazes and supplemented with occasional ribbons. I’d hiked this route 11 years earlier, and was eager to explore it again.

My recollection was that the route involved some mild bushwhacking along the ridge to an overlook of Windy Falls. Where my memory failed was in the details. The hike proved to be longer and much more strenuous than I recalled. The route was easy to follow, but before long I found myself heading straight up. This was a bit like some of the less pleasant stretches of the Foothills Trail, without the benefit of an actual trail. I eventually pulled myself up to the summit. A bit beyond, I caught my first glimpse of Windy Falls through the trees. It wasn’t a clear view, but it was still breathtaking. The Horsepasture River drops about 700’ at Windy Falls, but the entire drop isn’t visible from any one spot because the river twists as it falls. Still, this particular view takes in an impressive drop of perhaps 200’. At the top of the drop is an office-building-sized boulder that the river somehow squeezes under. There was an incredible amount of water charging over Windy Falls, and the distant roar was indicative of how the waterfall had gotten its name.

I pressed on, hoping to get a clearer view. Beyond that first climb the hiking was easier, though fallen trees and briars presented notable obstacles. Eventually I reached a cliff on the wrong side of the ridge. It offered a nice view of the headwaters of Bearcamp Creek and the surrounding ridges, but Windy Falls was out of sight. I pressed on, and reached a narrow chute descending an impressive cliff. At this point I climbed up a large boulder. From the top I had a clearer view of Windy Falls. However, the angle wasn’t as good as the previous view, and most of the falls was out of sight around a bend in the river. Also, the trees surrounding the overlook had grown some in 11 years, restricting the view further. I’d like to return to this ridge in the winter, when the leaves are off the trees. The view of Windy Falls would probably be a little clearer in those conditions.

I took a long break at the overlook before heading back. The return hike was largely uneventful, though I did wander down the wrong ridge line after leaving the summit of the knob just beyond the first viewpoint. Fortunately I caught my mistake quickly and was able to traverse over to the correct ridge without much trouble.

By the time we returned to the road the heat was oppressive. Kona celebrated by plopping herself down in the first mud puddle we encountered. Apparently there’s nothing better than cool mud on a warm belly! We passed mud puddles every 10 or 15 minutes during our hike, and Kona rarely passed up the opportunity to indulge in them.

Once back on the road it was all downhill to the Horsepasture River. There, Kona and I crossed the bridge, which consists of sheet metal plates suspended only a few feet above the water. Apparently the bridge didn’t meet Boone’s approval. Initially he refused to cross. Then he began following the shore downstream, before rock hopping out into the river. Eventually he ran out of rocks, so he swam the rest of the way. This would’ve been amusing, except that he was still wearing his backpack, fully loaded with dog food. He made it across without any trouble though, and met us at a campsite on the far side.

The campsite is adjacent to the road and is heavily used. Since the road was more or less open to 4wd traffic, I was a bit leery about camping there. I knew there were good campsites about a half mile upstream in a more remote location. On the other hand, I was hot and tired, and there wasn’t anybody around. Since it was already after 6pm I figured that I’d probably have the place to myself.

I set up camp and cooled off in the river. The dogs were pleased with my site selection since the river was nearby. In fact, they were pretty happy with the hike overall. Although it was entirely too hot, we rarely went more than a few minutes without passing a stream or at least a sizeable mud puddle.

That evening Kona discovered fireflies. She treated this new discovery like all new discoveries – by barking at them. This went on most of the evening. Finally I grew weary of the barking and captured a firefly. I showed it to Kona, and after a bit of sniffing she calmed down. That seemed to solve the problem, but later, just before bed, she couldn’t resist a few more barks. Late that night she woke me a couple of times with more firefly induced barking.

The evening featured a couple of additional mishaps. I boiled water to rehydrate my dinner. While adding it to the bag, I managed to splash a bit of it onto my foot. I definitely don’t recommend doing this. I finished pouring the water before hobbling down to the river to soak my foot.

Just before bed I attempted to hang my food. I’d hung my line over the only branch in the vicinity of the campsite earlier that evening. That branch was attached to a dead hemlock, and when I hoisted the bag it came crashing down. Luckily it didn’t hit anyone. I wandered around in the dark for a few minutes looking for another branch before giving up. Eventually I just stashed the food bag near the tent. I figured it would take an unusually brave bear to approach a campsite with two dogs – one of which barks ferociously at mere fireflies.

I didn’t sleep well, thanks to the continued heat, a throbbing foot, and the occasional barking. Plus, I woke several times to find a tick crawling on me. Each time I flung it out of the tent. Unfortunately the dogs seemed to be a never-ending supply of them. On Sunday evening we pulled about a dozen of them off the two dogs.

BEARWALLOW

I got up at 5:45 on Sunday morning. The temperature had dropped down to borderline comfortable, and I was looking forward to hiking in pleasant conditions. I had granola cereal with powdered milk for breakfast and loaded my pack for my dayhike. I was a little leery about leaving my tent and camping gear at the campsite, but decided not to worry about it.

I inspected my foot before starting the hike. I had a blister on top of my big toe, but fortunately my boot didn’t aggravate it. It had hurt a bit during the night, but it didn’t bother me during the hike.

I hiked the Auger Hole Road east through deep forest. It winds around across ridges and through coves, crossing numerous streams. After about 30 minutes I passed above the Foothills Trail. The trail and the road don’t connect, but it would be easy to bushwhack down to the trail from here.

I continued on to Bear Creek. There used to be an old road heading downstream here, but the State of North Carolina “improved” the road recently. There’s even a road sign here announcing that it is Bear Creek Road, and another sign points towards Crossroads Mountain.

I continued along Auger Hole Road. I passed immediately above a waterfall on Bear Creek. The waterfall is a long cascading slide that is somewhat noteworthy. However, the ravine it drops into is choked with rhododendron. The view from the road wasn’t anything special, and it didn’t look like a closer look would be worth the effort required. In any event, I planned to hike 18 miles on Sunday, so I didn’t really have time for additional explorations.

According to the Bill Thomas map I passed below some old fields near Bear Creek. Thomas mentions that there is a campsite there, but I didn’t see it from the road. It may be necessary to head upstream along Bear Creek from the road to reach it.

A bit later I began following Armstrong Branch. The road eventually crossed it, and the map indicates another waterfall a short distance upstream. That area is a jungle though, so I passed that one by, too. From there I climbed up to Turkeypen Gap and a 4-way intersection at the Gorges State Park boundary. Grassy Ridge Road joins from the left here, but I continued ahead on Auger Fork Road. This part of Auger Fork Road appears to be less traveled than the stretch west of Turkeypen Gap.

A steady descent brought me to Bearwallow Creek. It’s possible to rock hop here when the water is low, but on this morning it wasn’t quite feasible. I switched to water shoes, waded, and then changed back into boots. A few minutes later I passed another gated road on the left. This road follows the ridge above and east of Bearwallow Creek. A few minutes farther on I reached a prominent ridge on the right. I left the road there, following a faint path along the crest of the ridge. After a couple of minutes I found some flagging and some branches blocking the ridgeline ahead. I started down the slope there, towards Bearwallow Creek and the falls.

The descent was steep but not particularly treacherous. There was some rhododendron to deal with, but overall the bushwhack wasn’t too bad. After 10 minutes or so I reached the creek just downstream from the falls. I followed a faint path from there to the edge of the pool at the bottom of the falls.

I think Lower Bearwallow Falls is one of the prettiest in North Carolina. It’s only 35’ high, but it features a sheer drop with lots of intricate intervening ledges. It spills into a deep pool surrounded by cliffs adorned with jungle-like vegetation. Best of all, the location is so remote that you’re almost guaranteed to have the place to yourself.

I’d gotten an early start mainly because I’d planned such a long day. One other benefit was that the light was still pretty good, even though it was a sunny morning. It wasn’t quite 9am, and the sun hadn’t climbed above the surrounding ridges. The area at the top of the falls was very bright, but it wasn’t so bad as to ruin my photos.

What nearly did ruin my photos was the wind. The majority of my photos were deleted immediately due to the spray. Others were marred by the blowing foliage. I really liked a couple of compositions with blooming rhododendron in the foreground. Unfortunately all them were at least slightly blurred due to the breeze.

I spent over an hour there, taking photos and enjoying the solitude. Eventually though I had to make the long hike back to camp. The return hike was uneventful, and I arrived back at camp just before noon. I spent almost two hours there eating lunch and resting up for the long hike out.

SHORTCUT

Originally I’d contemplated hiking the road east for a mile and then dropping down to the Foothills Trail. That would’ve given the return hike some variety, and would’ve allowed me to skip the climb over Narrow Rock Ridge. However, that would’ve added several miles to the hike. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. In fact, as I started up Narrow Rock Ridge I began to contemplate attempting a shortcut.

I knew that Auger Hole Road / Musterground Road terminated at Bad Creek right next to the trailhead where I’d parked my car. I didn’t want to follow the road all the way out. However, logic dictated that it must cross the Foothills Trail at some point. Although this part of the road doesn’t show up on any of my maps, I was pretty sure that the Foothills Trail crossing was just above and west of Bearcamp Creek. In theory, I should be able to follow the road to that point, rather than descending all the way to the campsites on Bearcamp Creek. If so, I would cut out some mileage as well as some unnecessary elevation loss and gain. On the other hand, if I got lost in a maze of old roads I would be in for a very bad afternoon.

The temptation of the short cut was irresistible. I passed through the gap on Narrow Rock Ridge and descended the far side. I reached the old gated road I’d followed the previous afternoon up from the campsites on Bearcamp Creek. I passed that by and continued following the main road. It led me to crossings of numerous branches of Bearcamp Creek. One of them featured a series of minor slides, waterfalls, and cascades below the road. They added some beauty to the hike, but I didn’t feel compelled to leave the road for a closer look. I passed several campsites that look to be popular during hunting season. Before long I climbed away from the last stream, turned a corner, and arrived at the Foothills Trail crossing. My shortcut had been a success. I estimate that it cut off a full mile from my hike.

The successful shortcut put a little spring in my step, at least for a little while. It was still hot on Sunday afternoon, but not as horribly hot as it had been the previous day. Still, by the time we arrived at the Thompson River I was ready for a break. There was a couple camped near the bridge, so we went upstream a short distance before stopping. I soaked my feet in the river, and the dogs indulged in the water. Once they’d had their fill they collapsed on the bank. Kona curled up in the sand, but used a big flat rock as a pillow.

I loitered for 20 minutes before starting the final 4 miles of the hike. Once I reached the side trail to Lower Whitewater Falls I knew I was getting close to the end. The sign here says that it is 1.7 miles to Bad Creek, but I was pretty sure that was wrong. It took me 10 minutes to hike to the Whitewater River, where another sign said that Bad Creek was 0.7 miles away. One mile in 10 minutes? Another sign on the far side of the bridge said it was now 0.5 miles, and the bridge over the Whitewater River just isn’t that big.

I passed the side trail to the Coon Den Natural Area. I continued ahead on the access trail and climbed one final hill before descending to the parking lot. I finished up just after 6pm, about 4 ½ hours after leaving the Horsepasture River.

It was a good trip, despite the heat and bugs and various mishaps. The waterfalls, wildlife, and solitude were delightful, and best of all, the dogs were wiped out for several days afterwards. As we say in our house, a tired dog is a good dog.

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