BUCK CREEK

Last weekend didn’t go according to plan. On Saturday I was supposed to meet Jack and Kitty to hike to Raven Cliff Falls on Upper Creek, outside of Morganton, NC. That evening I would camp with some friends in Linville Gorge. On Sunday Christy was going to drive up and meet me to explore Buck Creek – a major tributary of Steels Creek.

First, Kitty had to cancel because her car was in the shop and she didn’t have any way to get there. I’d just gotten up Saturday morning when I got a text message from Jack. He had a flat tire and wouldn’t be able to make it. Crap. I didn’t want to attempt the hike solo, and I was tired. I went back to bed.

When I got up several hours later I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I thought about heading up to Linville Gorge that afternoon and then camping, but I wasn’t feeling very motivated. Did it really make sense to do that and then have Christy drive up separately the next morning? She may have twisted my arm a little, too. I decided to bail out on Saturday’s plans altogether. Christy and I would head up there Sunday morning, and hopefully we’d be able to meet up with everyone after our hike.

Jonathan, Leigh, Jonathan Jr., and their dog Bumblebee decided to join us on Sunday. We met at a small parking area for the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) near the headwaters of Buck Creek, not far below Table Rock. It was great to see them, as we hadn’t hiked with them in a long time. Jonathan Jr. is only five years old, but he is a strong hiker. His dad sometimes carries him when the terrain is difficult.

The waterfalls on Buck Creek are one of the new additions in the 3^rd edition of Kevin Adams’ guide to North Carolina Waterfalls. This one surprised me because I’d spent so much time in that area over the years. Somehow it had never occurred to me to explore that creek to look for waterfalls. I guess I figured that the creek would be too small to have anything significant. Boy was I wrong!

We followed the MST for a ½ mile, which was an easy warm up. Then we left the trail and bushwhacked down a steep hillside to Buck Creek. Although the creek is small, the water was muddy and fairly high from recent storms. We followed the creek downstream. The banks were steep and heavily vegetated, so it was easier to walk in the creek most of the way. This was slow going due to the dark water and numerous obstacles such as deep pools, rugged boulders, and fallen trees.

It didn’t take long to reach the brink of Mossy Ledge Falls. We bushwhacked around on River Right and descended to the base. The last bit was gnarly, but we managed. This waterfall is pleasant, with vibrant green moss everywhere. We took a break there before continuing the hike downstream.

The stretch between Mossy Ledge Falls and Mossy Chute Falls is a mile or more of relatively flat water. We stayed in the creek most of the way, but at one point I led us up onto the bank to avoid a stretch with numerous fallen trees. It seemed like a good idea, as the vegetation wasn’t too thick. After bypassing the fallen trees Christy and I stopped to wait for our friends. That’s when the screams started. It was mostly young Jonathan, but there was additional hollering as well. We cringed. What was going on?

They caught up to us a few minutes later. They had stumbled into a nest of yellow jackets. Poor young Jonathan had never been stung before, and he got four. Leigh got stung in the face several times, too. Both cheeks swelled up below her eyes. We took a quick inventory of our first aid kit, which wasn’t useful. In a clever bit of deception, Christy rubbed some anti-chafing cream onto young Jonathan’s stings. She told him that the cream would stop the stinging, and he believed her, so it did. I then found some Benadryl pills. We cut a couple of them open and rubbed the medicine directly into his wounds. Leigh took one as well, which probably minimized the swelling. By the next morning her whole face was swollen, and she needed to go to the doctor to get a steroid shot.

Young Jonathan had been understandably hysterical, but he calmed down quickly. Still, they decided to bail out. Going all the way back didn’t seem like a great idea. The Mountains to Sea Trail was on the hillside above us, though it was almost 200’ up through thick jungle. I gave them my paper map and we went over the route. They started that way, but quickly decided against it. The jungle was just too thick. They rejoined us intending to finish the hike.

We continued downstream. After only a few minutes the terrain became interesting. We were approaching the top of Mossy Chute Falls. This waterfall is really a series of falls and cascades. It starts with the creek running through a small slot canyon. It drops through a couple of narrow, mossy chutes, each ending in a deep pool. Below that is a big run of cascades.

We bushwhacked around this one on River Right. The bushwhacking was tough. There were no goat paths along this creek, simply because nobody hikes here. This is about as close as you can get to truly virgin territory. At one point we nearly walked into another bee’s nest, but Leigh spotted it just in time. We had to climb up and around it, as the nest was right in the middle of the most appealing route.

We stopped at the base of three different sections of Mossy Chute Falls. The first two were highly photogenic, and the third was a great spot for a break. Then we continued downstream. The creek was relatively calm again for a while. After some more creek walking, we reached the top of Buck Creek Falls. This waterfall features an impressive overhanging bluff on River Right, so we bushwhacked around the falls on the left. At the base was a fairly deep pool. This waterfall is really pretty, as the creek cascades over open rock in three separate streams.

A short distance downstream an impressive cliff loomed ahead. It looked like a major obstacle, but we were able to walk in the creek around it. Just beyond was the top of Orange Rock Falls. Getting down from here was a challenge. I scouted River Right, while Jonathan tried River Left. At first I thought my side was promising, but the route I was following wasn’t descending. The vegetation was getting thicker, including lots of doghobble and gnarly thorns. I retreated.

Jonathan described his side as steep and sketchy, but doable. We went that way. First we had to do a little bit of minor rock climbing. Then there was some sketchy sidehilling above the falls. Christy slipped along here, but grabbed a rhodo branch to keep from hurtling down the slope and over the falls. She crawled back up, only to reach a steep butt slide down bare rock into a deep pool. At that point we could have continued descending the rock, but that looked sketchy. Instead, Christy and I dropped down into the creek in the middle of the falls. From above this looked like a terrible idea, but it was very mossy, providing good traction. That was impossible to explain to the dogs. We had a tough time getting them down, but they eventually followed. We then walked down the waterfall, using the moss for traction.

Towards the bottom Christy got off the moss and onto polished rock. She slipped and fell and landed awkwardly, jamming her wrist and injuring her shoulder. She was in pain the rest of the hike, but at least she was able to hike. After a couple of days the shoulder was just sore, so hopefully no major damage was done.

We took one last break at the bottom of the falls. More creek walking followed. It was slow going due to numerous fallen trees. I noticed that the bank on River Left looked open, so we scrambled up to it. From there, easy walking through open forest led us to the Mountains to Sea Trail near Steels Creek. We crossed Buck Creek one last time and then started up a steep climb. We followed the trail all the way back, which was much faster and easier than the creek!

We returned to the cars at 7pm, 9 hours after starting. More than 7 of those hours were spent in the creek. Spencer had left a note on my windshield saying that they were heading to Moondog Pizza in Morganton. We headed that way, but arrived long after everyone had finished eating. Everyone else had left, but Spencer and Stephanie had hung out in the parking lot just so they could see us. Isn’t that great?

It was wonderful hiking with Jonathan, Leigh, and Jonathan Jr. again. Hopefully everyone will fully recover from their various injuries and bee stings so we can do it again soon.

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