THREE FORKS

At Three Forks in northeast Georgia, Overflow Creek, Big Creek, and Holcomb Creek come together to form the West Fork of the Chattooga River. I’ve been aware of this area for many years, but for some reason I didn’t explore it until last weekend. My interest in the area was piqued last winter, when some Team Waterfall friends, Scott, Thomas, and Kitty, ventured there. They hiked in from Overflow Creek Road, waded Holcomb Creek at the brink of a waterfall, and descended a steep, eroded trail to the confluence. Because it was winter and the water was up, they weren’t able to do much more exploring.

Scott had been itching to get back in there ever since. Team Waterfall finally put together a trip to check it out at the end of October. We were hopeful that it would still be warm enough to allow us to wade the streams. There are very few trails in the area, and searching for waterfalls would require us to get wet.

We made plans to meet at the Three Forks Trailhead at John Teague Gap on Overflow Creek Road on Saturday morning. In true Team Waterfall tradition, we would have people coming and going throughout the weekend. First I met Jack at a campsite in Blue Valley south of Highlands Friday evening. Originally I hoped to get up there earlier in the afternoon so I could squeeze in a hike, but that didn’t work out. Instead I met Jack at the campsite he’d grabbed earlier in the evening. We had a little bit of daylight to work with, so he rode with me up to the trailhead for Chasm Falls.

Chasm Falls is one of the more exciting new entries in the 3^rd edition of North Carolina Waterfalls by Kevin Adams. The waterfall is on the East Fork of Overflow Creek, a long way downstream from Glen Falls but even farther upstream from Three Forks. Its location on one of the creeks we’d be exploring later in the weekend made it an appropriate choice for a warmup hike.

The hike in is quick and easy. We followed an old logging road before making a steep descent to the creek. Once at the creek a short scramble upstream was necessary to reach the falls. This was fairly easy due to the low water levels, but the slippery rocks added some challenge.

Chasm Falls is cool! It isn’t big, but it drops through a crevice and through a short slot canyon before spilling into a deep, black pothole. There are sheer cliffs on both sides, offering the potential for cliff jumping and swimming. We will definitely come back here in the summer!

We returned to camp and enjoyed dinner, a few beers, and a campfire. The next morning we packed up and drove down to John Teague Gap. We arrived a little early, but Kitty and David were already there. We decided to wait a bit for some of the others. I was expecting Darrin, Jennifer, and Scott to show up at any time.

Jack got a text from Darrin saying that he was running an hour late due to a work snafu. I figured that Scott might be a little late, but I wasn’t worried about him, since he was familiar with the area. I was a little worried that Jennifer wasn’t there though. She had taken off work to come on the trip, and she is usually on time, if not early. I was afraid that she’d gotten lost navigating the maze of forest roads that lead to the trailhead. I walked around the parking area a bit and managed to get one bar on my cell phone. I sent her a text to make sure that she was on her way.

Jack, Kitty, and David decided to head down to the confluence to set up camp. A few minutes later Scott arrived, closely followed by Darrin. About that time I got a text back from Jennifer. She was lost, as I’d feared. The marginal cell service made it difficult, but I eventually figured out where she was. I told her to wait there and went to find her. She was parked at the junction of Overflow Creek Road and Hale Ridge Road. Oddly, there were signs for the Three Forks Trail pointing down both roads. It probably doesn’t help that there are actually three different Three Forks Trails all in that area, too.

We were relieved to find each other. She followed me back to the trailhead, where we joined Scott and Darrin. The four of headed down the trail, but after 10 minutes I realized that I’d left my phone in my car. My map was on my phone, so I decided to drop my pack and run back to get it.

I caught up with the rest of them where the trail crosses Holcomb Creek. Immediately below the crossing Holcomb Creek tumbles over a waterfall and spills into a slot canyon. It is a scary looking place! Fortunately the water level was low, so the crossing wasn’t dangerous. I wish I could say that about the final stretch of trail. That path is terrible. It is steep and eroded, and it was tedious to descend with a heavy pack on.

Once at the confluence we set up camp. It is a spacious area, with room for numerous tents and hammocks. After lunch we set out to explore Big Creek. Big Creek starts below Blackrock Mountain near Highlands. It drops over Secret Falls before entering Georgia. Farther downstream are several more waterfalls. The last one is a long run of falls and cascades that end at the confluence.

We waded Overflow Creek and started climbing that first waterfall. This was fun, as the rocks were mostly dry and water levels were low. It was still challenging though. There were large boulders to climb and deep pools to wade. The toughest spot was a 10’ overhung ledge. I passed my pack up to Scott, and he helped pull me up. Prior to the trip I had debated bringing the dogs, but decided against it for safety reasons. It was a good choice! I don’t think there is any way we could’ve gotten Boone up that cliff!

Once past that obstacle the creek mellowed out for a bit. Then I heard some hooting and hollering up ahead. It was music to my ears - Jennifer’s victory yell. I climbed past a boulder and saw an impressive 25’ waterfall directly ahead. This was a bit of a surprise. I’d read that there were three waterfalls on Big Creek downstream from highway 28. The first is only a short distance downstream. The last was what we had just climbed. I was pretty sure that the middle one was still a little way upstream. So what was this then?

I’m still not sure. This drop is too far removed from the lower falls to be considered a part of it. And the middle falls was still ahead of us, as we would find out before long.

Continuing up the creek from the base of this waterfall did not look feasible due to jungle covered cliffs on both sides of the creek. I knew that there was a trail (old logging road) on the hillside above us on River Right. I suggested bushwhacking up to it, following it upstream, and then bushwhacking back down when we got close to the next waterfall.

I scouted the route, but had trouble finding the trail. I did stumble upon a path, but it abruptly ended in a rhododendron thicket after a couple hundred yards. It also seemed to disappear when I tried to follow it in the other direction. I was about to report back to everyone when they all showed up. So much for scouting. What should we do?

We expanded the scouting operation. Scott scouted farther upslope. Maybe the trail was higher up? Meanwhile, I continued around the rhododendron thicket. Before long I found myself on a more established road grade. Woohoo!

We regrouped. It was well into the afternoon, and we weren’t sure how we would get back to camp. Going back down the creek would be slow and treacherous in places. I was hopeful that we could follow the old roadbed, but it was so faint that we couldn’t count on it. Ultimately we decided to continue upstream to try to find the middle falls. The upper falls was quite a distance away. We’d save that for another day.

After some easy walking the roadbed split. The lower option was fainter, but heading down. We followed it, and before long heard crashing water below. We decided to bushwhack down. This was pretty awful, and as it turns out, not the best way. It worked out though. We reached the creek in the middle of a fairly flat stretch. We rock hopped upstream, and before long I heard more hooting and hollering. A moment later I spotted an impressive waterfall. It is a multi-level drop of about 60’. Between the second and third drops the creek runs through a short slot canyon, too. The kayakers call this one Thunder Dome, was is a pretty great name.

I tried to get a better look at that slot canyon. From the base of the falls, it looked like there was a narrow ledge leading to the brink of the bottom drop. If I could walk that ledge I’d be able to access the slot canyon.

A horrible bushwhack brought me to the beginning of the ledge. It looked sketchy. I had to jump across a small gully with some exposure to reach it. The footing was iffy at best. The ledge was narrow and sloping towards the brink of the cliff. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything to hold on to. After jumping that gully I lost my mojo. What was I thinking? The penalty for failure here was extreme. I decided to turn back.

We hung out at the base of the falls for a bit before starting the hike back. From the base we hiked steeply up away from the creek. This was much better than our descent route, as there was something of a beaten path. Before long we rejoined the old road. We followed it back to where we’d originally gotten onto it. After some hunting around somebody spotted it continuing through a rhododendron thicket. We were able to follow it all the way to the hillside directly above Three Forks. There, a spur trail headed down to Overflow Creek, while the main trail continued up the gorge on the hillside above Overflow Creek. We scouted that for a bit, until it abruptly ended in a ravine. We decided to save further exploration of Overflow Creek for the next day.

We backtracked and descended a good trail with switchbacks to Three Forks. Several of us took advantage of the last hour of daylight before returning to camp. Jennifer and I took photos of the final waterfalls on Big Creek and Holcomb Creek and the beginning of the West Fork of the Chattooga River. Then we explored up Holcomb Creek. Holcomb Creek starts high on Rabun Bald and has a well-known waterfall several miles upstream. It’s most exciting stretch is the final 1/10^th of a mile. That run features a series of waterfalls and slot canyons. We scrambled up the rocks along River Right as far as we could, but a sheer cliff above the most impressive slot canyon stopped our progress. I’ve heard that it is possible to climb up the creek all the way to the trail crossing, but I’m not sure how you can get around this spot.

We returned to camp shortly before dark. Team Waterfall had a great time that evening, even though Scott wasn’t able to camp with us. Later that evening Spencer, Stephanie, and Preston hiked in to join us. They really added to the party, and it was great that they were able to join us on Saturday night and Sunday.

On Sunday morning most of us explored Overflow Creek. Overflow Creek starts high in the mountains west of Highlands. The goal was three waterfalls a ½ mile upstream from Three Forks. Unfortunately Jennifer had to work that afternoon, so she headed out. Jack also headed out early. That left Spencer, Stephanie, Preston, Kitty, David, Darrin, and me to explore Overflow Creek. We debated two different routes. Follow the creek upstream from Three Forks, or hike the old roadbed we’d scouted the previous afternoon until we were close to the waterfalls?

Most of us took the high route, while Darrin and David hiked the creek. Our route wasn’t too bad, though the bushwhack back down to the creek was pretty thick. When we reached it, Darrin and David were just downstream. Most of their hike had been pretty easy, except for one spot. Darrin had jumped onto a sloping rock, but lost his grip and fell into the creek. That was his third swim of the weekend, but the first two had been intentional!

With Team Waterfall reunited, we continued upstream. We turned a bend to the southwest and arrived at the base of Singley’s Falls. This 20’ waterfall is named for Alan Singley, who was the first person to kayak this drop. It is a beautiful waterfall, particularly at low water. We found an easy route on River Left to reach the top. From there, it was a short creek walk upstream to the base of Gravity Falls. This is another lovely 20’ waterfall. Getting to the top of this one was more difficult. We scrambled up a cliff on River Left and continued on. A few minutes later we reached the base of Blind Falls. This one got its name because the first person to kayak it did it without scouting it first. This is an interesting waterfall, as there appears to be a substantial cave underneath it. We will have to return in the summer, when we can swim into it.

Spencer, Darrin, and Preston climbed that waterfall and explored a bit farther upstream. They didn’t find anything of note, and returned before long. After hanging out for a bit we started back downstream. Back at Singley’s Falls we ran into a solo hiker. He suggested that we bushwhack up from there to the old roadbed. We did that, and the route back wasn’t bad except for one stretch where the roadbed had washed out. The bushwhacking through there was nasty, but we made it back to camp unscathed, 4 hours after we started.

I headed out later that afternoon, shortly after Kitty, David, and Darrin, but ahead of Spencer, Stephanie, and Preston. Our exploration of Three Forks was a roaring success, but there is more to explore. We will be back!

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