POSSUM
“I was riding down the road one day and
someone hit a possum
I was riding down the road one day and someone
hit a possum
The road was his end
His end was the road
Or so they say
Whoa possum...
possum, possum...
POSSUM”
From “Possum” by
Phish
Last
week a one-day assignment in Seneca, South Carolina gave me an opportunity that
I couldn’t pass up. My job was scheduled
for a Monday, and my next assignment was due to start on Wednesday. Seneca is just a short drive from some of
South Carolina’s best hiking opportunities.
Even better, my job on Monday was estimated to take only three
hours. I decided to do some hiking on
Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, with some informal car camping in
between.
Since
my work assignment was expected to be brief I decided to bring Boone with
me. We recently added a new puppy to our
happy little family, and Boone needed a break from her. The puppy, Kona, is a 9-week old lab
mix. Needless to say, Boone is pretty
jealous of all of the attention she’s been getting. I figured some quality time with daddy was
what he needed, even if it meant sleeping in my car while I was working.
Of
course things didn’t go exactly according to plan. My job ended up taking over seven hours. By the time I finished it was almost dark and
a light drizzle was falling. Despite
those drawbacks I decided to salvage my original plan. The Monday afternoon hike was out of the
question, but there wasn’t anything stopping me from camping and hiking on
Tuesday.
I
drove out through Westminster and on to the trailhead for Brasstown
Falls. There is a great campsite along
the creek just a short distance from the parking area. I carried the tent and the other gear down
there and set up quickly. The drizzle
had subsided, but it was still damp and chilly out. While I did my chores, Boone blew off some
steam by running through the woods.
Afterwards I returned to the parking area and used the large boulders
there to set up a makeshift kitchen. I
rehydrated some pasta for dinner while Boone continued his explorations.
Unfortunately
I had a report to write from my previous week’s job. I worked on that on my laptop in the car for
a couple of hours before heading to bed.
It wasn’t much of a car camping experience, but at least I got to go to
sleep early.
Around
midnight Boone got restless, so I let him out of the tent. I had just dozed off again when I woke to
what sounded like a stampede. Boone went
galloping past the tent at full speed, the thuds of his feet fading into the
distance. A couple of minutes later he
came back, again at full speed. This
went on for a bit, and I didn’t sleep again until he returned to the tent, worn
out. I guess that’s what I get for
leaving him in the car all day.
I
got up at first light the next morning.
First on my agenda was the short hike down to Brasstown
Falls. I was determined to get better
photos, as my last visit had been marred by heavy spray. Water levels were lower now, so I had high
hopes. I worked my way down the trail
carefully, using the many exposed roots as handholds. I passed the base of the upper drop, and then
the side view of the middle falls.
Eventually I made a careful descent on slippery rocks to a fantastic
vantage point in front of Middle Brasstown
Falls. All three parts of Brasstown Falls are beautiful, but the middle section is
particularly attractive and photogenic.
From
there I headed down to the base of the lower falls. The lower falls are somewhat difficult to
view because the creek turns as it falls over the last drop. The view from the bottom is still cool
though, as the middle falls are visible.
Also, the cliff towering over the pool at the base of the lower falls is
quite dramatic.
I
returned to camp and packed up. Then,
after a quick breakfast of cold granola cereal I headed on to the day’s main event. Opossum Creek Falls has been on my to-do list
for a long time, I was finally going to get there. I made the quick drive through Long Creek and
on to the trailhead. The drive was
pretty uneventful. I didn’t see any
Opossums, though I did have an exciting experience with a squirrel that darted
out in front of my car. Somehow he ran
in front of my right front tire, but behind my left front tire. I still have no idea how he avoided becoming roadkill.
Once
there I gathered my gear and put on a blaze orange vest, since it is hunting
season. Boone wore his red pack, even
though it was empty. Of course we didn’t
see any hunters, or anyone else, but it’s always best to be on the safe side
during hunting season.
I
walked back down the road a short distance to the official trailhead. I passed a sign board and began a well-graded
descent on a good trail. The trail was
in the woods the whole way, and followed a tributary of Opossum Creek most of
the way. It got a little steep towards
the end, just before reaching the Chattooga River. I found a prime campsite, lots of sandbars,
and an immense swimming hole there. I
didn’t linger though, as the sun was rising above the ridge to the south, and I
was still hoping to get to the falls while the light was favorable for photos.
The
trail upstream along Possum Creek was in good shape and almost as easy as the
path I’d followed earlier. It took me
right to the base of the falls, which is quite a sight. Opossum Creek Falls is a good bit taller than
I’d expected, and there was enough volume to make it look good. I was lucky with the light, too. The sun was shining at the very top of the
falls, but I was able to crop that out without much difficulty.
After
a few photos I headed back. I took a
long break at the beach and Boone took a swim.
We played fetch with a stick until he was worn out and then we began the
hike back. The hike out took just under
an hour. Once back at the car I had a
decision to make. Originally I’d planned
three short hikes for Monday afternoon, including Yellow Branch Falls, Blue
Hole Falls, and the Chauga River Narrows. I thought about driving up there since it was
only noon. However, work called. I still had a report to finish, and my next
assignment was starting the following morning.
I decided to save those hikes for another day and headed back towards
Seneca and eventually the Ocho Cinco
(I-85).
I
thought Boone was tired, but he was clearly disappointed that we were done
hiking. That afternoon after we returned
home I took him to our neighborhood pond for a 30 minute run. Later Christy took Boone and the puppy
outside to play ball. I think he was
finally worn out that evening!
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