WHITEWATER
Brenda
and I originally planned to return to the Horsepasture
River last weekend. Recently we hiked to
Windy Falls, and we tentatively planned to visit Sidepocket
Falls later that afternoon. However, we
ran out of time. For the second hike, our
plan was to make a loop hike, following a Bernie Boyer trail to Sidepocket Falls and then bushwhacking upstream to Stairstep Falls.
However, at the last minute I suggested a change in plans. I wanted to hit the peak of fall color, and
thought it would probably be a bit late farther upstream. Instead, I suggested a hike along the
Whitewater River, including its two largest waterfalls, Whitewater Falls and
Lower Whitewater Falls.
I
met Brenda at a small pulloff (with room for 2 cars)
on highway 281 at the bridge over the Whitewater River. We left my car there, and Brenda drove us
down to Duke Power’s Bad Creek facility.
We spotted several deer when we pulled into the large parking area at the
trailhead. Unfortunately the dogs
spotted them, too. We were both deafened
before we got on the trail.
We
hiked the access trail to the Whitewater River.
Our first side trip of the day was a visit to the Coon Branch Natural
Area. The trail took us upstream along
the river, under an impressive canopy of large trees. After a mile we reached the end of the trail
at the edge of the river. The fall color
was fantastic here, and the sun was still low enough that we had nice light for
photos. We took a long break there
before backtracking to a bridge over the river.
That brought us to the Foothills Trail, and the beginning of our second
side trip of the day.
The
round trip to the overlook of Lower Whitewater Falls was about 3.5 miles. I’ve always found this hike to be rather
boring, but the spectacular fall color brought the forest alive. We had definitely picked the right area for
our hike! When we reached the overlook,
we were startled to find a large group of hikers there. They were just packing up though, so we ended
up having the view point to ourselves for lunch. The view of Lower Whitewater Falls is a
distant one, but nice. The fall color
really added a lot to the scenery.
While
we were there, I noticed something of a beaten path heading steeply downhill,
but at an angle away from the falls. I’m
not sure how far it goes, or if it is possible to reach the base of the falls
by that route. I may have to investigate
that one of these days.
After
lunch we backtracked to the Whitewater River.
Then we hiked upstream, along one of the finer stretches of the
Foothills Trail. We passed some
fantastic river scenery, and stopped at one point for more photos. It had clouded up that afternoon, which
provided nice light. We eventually
continued on to the bridge over Corbin Creek.
Corbin Creek tumbles over a series of waterfalls, but only the final
drop is visible from the trail. I tried
following Corbin Creek upstream years ago, and swore I’d never do that again.
We
reached the bridge over the Whitewater River a few minutes later. Originally we planned to take a side trip up
to the base of Whitewater Falls, but we were running late and we both had time
constraints. We decided to save that for
another day. We tackled the monster climb
out of the gorge, but stopped at the lower overlook for more photos of
Whitewater Falls. Then we continued to
the upper overlook, where we picked up an old roadbed heading up the gorge high
above the river.
Before
long we reached a campsite in a grassy clearing directly above the brink of
Whitewater Falls. We worked our way down
a steep, leaf-covered slope, sliding under a huge boulder at one point. A few minutes of careful scrambling brought
us to the very brink of the tallest waterfall in the eastern U.S. This is a potentially dangerous spot, but
it’s not risky as long as you stay back from the edge. There is a long, flat rock just above the
brink, which offers a great view of the falls, the gorge, and Lake Jocassee in the distance.
There is a smaller rock below it, right on the edge of the falls. Resist the temptation to climb down there for
a closer view – it’s simply not worth the risk.
We
returned to the old road, and a 5 minute walk brought us out to highway 281 and
my waiting car. I drove us back down to
Bad Creek to get Brenda’s vehicle. We
had a bit of a scare when we arrived at the gate. Apparently you can exit the gate at any time,
but entering isn’t possible after 6pm.
We arrived at 5:50. Yikes! It’s a good thing we weren’t a few minutes
later – otherwise, we would’ve had a real problem!
It
was a really nice hike, with two huge waterfalls and spectacular fall
color. We’ll have to go back another
time to visit the base of Whitewater Falls.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!