RACHAEL
Last
April, Jack, Brenda and I dayhiked a section of South
Carolina’s Palmetto Trail from Table Rock State Park west to highway 178 near
Rocky Bottom. We crossed several
interesting streams on that hike, including Mill Creek, Rachael Creek, and
Emory Creek. Unfortunately, because it
was a long hike, we didn’t have much time for exploration along the way. After that hike we discussed returning to
fully explore those streams to search for hidden waterfalls.
Last
week Jack, Bob, Johnny and I were kicking around ideas for a hike. With lots of rain in the forecast, we figured
it would be a good time for a waterfall hike.
Eventually Johnny mentioned that he’d gotten a hot tip from Bernie – a well
known and accomplished waterfall explorer – about some waterfalls near Table
Rock State Park in South Carolina. It
just so happens that most of them were on Rachael Creek and various tributaries
– the same Rachael Creek that Jack, Brenda and I had discussed exploring. I contacted Brenda, and we all made plans to
get together on Sunday for a little adventure.
On
Sunday morning I met Bob S in Charlotte, Jack in Spartanburg, and Johnny in
Cleveland (SC). We met Brenda at the
Palmetto Trail parking area, which is adjacent to a campground in Table Rock
State Park. The campground appeared to
be completely deserted, probably because it had been raining all weekend. Fortunately the weather was only cool and
overcast when we started our hike.
According to the most recent forecast, it looked like the next round of
rain might hold off until after we finished our hike.
It
was a bit before 10am when we started up the Palmetto Trail. The first mile was uneventful, with a mild
climb to a ridge, where we crossed an old road.
A descent to the Table Rock Retreat and Conference Center, a Wesleyan Camp,
soon followed. Before long we reached
Mill Creek. Rock hopping the creek was a
little tricky because the water was up.
This encouraged us, as it suggested that the waterfalls on low-volume
streams would be a bit more exciting than normal.
Not
far beyond the creek we reached an obvious side trail heading up the
valley. Johnny had explored this trail
previously, and we followed him up it towards the day’s first waterfall. Although this trail isn’t on the map, it’s
obviously a well-traveled path. Having a
decent trail made the hike easier, but it was still a tough 600’ climb to the
base of the falls. Regardless of the
difficulty, the first waterfall of the day was worth the effort! Mill Creek drops over several waterfalls and
cascades inside Table Rock State Park, but this waterfall, which is just
downstream from the park boundary, is the most impressive of them all. Here Mill Creek falls probably 150’ or so
over a series of cascades and sheer drops.
When I first caught a glimpse of the waterfall, I had a classic “oh wow”
moment. I’m pretty sure everybody else
did, too. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be
the only one of the day.
We
spent quite a bit of time at this waterfall.
Photography was difficult, mainly due to its impressive size. Moving around below the falls was tricky,
thanks to lots of deadfall and slippery rocks.
Despite this, we weren’t in a hurry to leave.
Eventually
we had to move on. We returned back to
the Palmetto Trail and resumed hiking west.
A long climb on switchbacks enabled us to crest a ridge before we began
descending into the Rachael Creek drainage.
On the way down we noticed several areas where the trail had been torn
up by wild hogs. Apparently this part of
upstate South Carolina has a major problem with them.
The
far side of the ridge also brought a surprising drop in temperatures. It had actually been pleasant when we started
our hike, but cooler air was moving in.
We all picked up the pace in an effort to generate heat.
We
eventually crossed Rachael Creek, which is badly eroded near the trail. From there we continued ahead on the
trail. After a brief lunch break, we hiked
on to a crossing of a tributary. There
is a small cascade here, which Jack, Brenda, and I had actually laughed at on
our previous hike. Water levels had been
lower on that occasion, and heavy foliage had hidden a much larger waterfall
immediately upstream. Today that
waterfall was visible from the trail, and with the runoff from the recent rain,
it had our pulses racing. We headed
upstream along the tributary, eager to get a better look.
The
climb was short but steep. After a few
minutes we reached a view point of this waterfall, which is a high series of
steep cascades. One source I’d read
refers to a “Palmetto Trail Falls” in this area, but I’m not sure if that name
refers to this waterfall or the small cascade downstream, which is adjacent to
the trail.
After
a break and some photos we returned to the trail for the days’ main event. We had already seen 3 waterfalls, including 2
that are fairly obscure, but the best were still to come. According to Bernie’s info, 5 more waterfalls
were awaiting our discovery just downstream.
We
continued down the trail and passed behind a knob separating us from the
Rachael Creek Gorge. On the far side we
reached a minor tributary. At this point
we left the relative sanity of the trail in favor of full-contact bushwhacking.
It
started out easy, with only some deadfall, rhododendron, and briars to contend
with. However, even a brief glance at
the map revealed that things were going to get hairy before long. We drifted away from the creek and scrambled
down a hillside a short distance before working our way back to the
stream. Here we found a lovely 15’
overhanging waterfall in a dark cove.
This was one of the smaller waterfalls of the day, but it was also one
of the prettiest. My favorite feature
was the neon green moss or lichen growing on the rocks in the spray immediately
behind the falls.
From
here we could clearly see the end of the world.
The creek followed a gentle course downstream below us, before reaching
a dramatic horizon line. It made a final
leap there, before disappearing from view.
Judging from the surrounding terrain, we could tell that it was a
serious waterfall.
We
drifted well away from the tributary, staying on its south side. Our goal was to avoid the cliffs surrounding
the waterfall. This worked pretty well,
though the descent still required hanging onto trees and buttwhacking. Eventually we made it around a corner and got
our first view of Yucca Falls. This
provided our second “oh wow” moment of the day.
Yucca Falls drops 70’ or so in a true free-fall. Free falling waterfalls are rather rare in
the Carolinas, where most waterfalls are typically in the form of
cascades. The view from the side was
breathtaking, but we couldn’t wait to see it from the base. After a few photos we negotiated one more
steep descent to reach the creek just downstream.
The
view from there was even more dramatic.
Honestly, we were all blown away that there could be such a beautiful
waterfall on a non-descript, unnamed tributary of an obscure stream. There’s nothing better than having your
expectations exceeded!
After
another photo break we resumed the hike, continuing a short distance downstream
past another drop and on to Rachael Creek.
Bernie’s map indicated a waterfall immediately downstream, so we headed
that way. After a short distance we
found ourselves just above an impressive run of cascades deep in a rocky
gorge. Getting down to
the creek from that hillside proved to be more of a challenge than we had anticipated. The hill is a steep slope of rock with just a
thin layer of soil. This part of the
hike was treacherous, and honestly a bit hard on the vegetation. Of course, we were most of the way down
before we fully realized what we had gotten ourselves into.
Jack
and Johnny took things to the next level on the final descent to the base of
the falls. I saw Johnny swinging like
Tarzan from a tree limb before dropping down to the bank. Jack tried to cross the creek on a log, but
it split under his weight. At least he
landed feet-first in the water! I took a
long look at the final, gnarly drop they’d slid down and decided to try a
different approach. I continued
downstream, still 20’ above the creek. After
a couple of minutes I found a more reasonable descent. Once at creek level I worked my way back
upstream. Getting to a good vantage
point for photos required some tricky rock hopping, but I managed to get into
good position without getting wet or injured.
Bob
and Brenda caught up a few minutes later.
Bob followed my route, while Brenda proved who was the smartest of the
bunch by waiting for us on the hillside above.
Although it had been precarious, that final descent did provide a great
vantage point for some of the best photos of the day. Of course I forgot all about that rather
quickly while I was trying to climb back up out of there!
We
pushed on upstream, rejoining the creek a bit upstream of the main waterfall on
Rachael Creek. A couple of minutes later
we reached one last waterfall. This one
was rather small, but quite pretty. It
bears a striking resemblance to the 15’ waterfall we first passed on our
descent along the unnamed tributary of Rachael Creek. Unfortunately the wind had picked up by the
time we got here, which blurred my photos a bit.
There
were a couple of additional small drops upstream from there, but nothing
remarkable. By the time we reached the
next tributary it was getting late in the afternoon. In fact, I was alarmed to see that it was
already 3:30. At that point we still had
to find our way out of the gorge and hike 3 miles back to the car. Fortunately neither of those things posed
much of a challenge. The climb out was
pretty easy. We climbed a steep ridge up
to the remains of an old logging road.
This brought us to the top of the ridge, and we regained the trail on
the far side. The hike back from there
was uneventful, though the last 2 climbs over the ridges on either side of Mill
Creek were more taxing than expected. I
think everyone was tired after a tough hike.
We
returned to the cars at 5:30. Finishing
the hike was a bit of a relief, as it had gotten surprisingly cold during the
course of the day. Still, I wouldn’t
change a thing about our adventure.
Seeing rarely visited waterfalls was a thrill. Yucca Falls and the main waterfall on Rachael
Creek were the biggest highlights, but some of the smaller falls we passed were
just as pretty. A big thanks goes out to
Johnny for suggesting the hike and to Bernie for providing the info!
And
now, it’s time for the latest installment of my wildly popular “My Favorite”
series. Today, my favorite Rachael:
4)
Rachael Ray – I hear she can cook!
3)
Rachel Maddow – She seems bright and charming, but
Rachel from “Friends” had better hair.
2)
“Rachel”, from “Friends” – great hair!
1)
Rachael Creek – Any drainage hiding this many spectacular, hidden waterfalls is
bound to be #1 on my list!
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