HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

This trip report would not be complete without expressing my gratitude to Bernie, Kevin, Paul, and Rich. The info you provided made our hike safer and more enjoyable. Thanks guys!

Thanks also to Scott for being an excellent hiking partner, and to Stephanie and Spencer for being there.

North Carolina’s Whitewater River is already famous. It features the highest waterfall in North Carolina (Whitewater Falls) and the highest waterfall in South Carolina (Lower Whitewater Falls). It feeds into South Carolina’s most beautiful lake, Jocassee. That’s a lot for one river that is only about 10 miles long. Despite its justifiable fame, very few people know about some of its most exciting features.

For several years now I’ve known about a whole series of waterfalls on the upper part of the river, between highway 107 and highway 281. By my count, there are 10 named waterfalls on that stretch, and that isn’t including tributaries. If you include Silver Run Creek and Waddell Branch, the number increases to at least 13. And that isn’t all. A short stretch of the river runs through a dramatic slot canyon. Despite this knowledge, I didn’t explore the upper Whitewater River until last weekend. Now I’m wondering what took me so long.

Initially we had a good group for the hike. Unfortunately, people began bowing out shortly before the hike. Brenda and Kitty decided to pass. Darrin couldn’t make it. Dillon overslept on Saturday morning. When I reached the meeting place on highway 281, I found Scott waiting for me. I’d never met Scott before, but I’d heard great things about him through mutual friends. We waited there for a bit before making the short drive up 281 to the Whitewater River bridge. We left my car there, so it would be waiting for us at the end of the hike.

We returned to the meeting place just after Stephanie and Spencer pulled in. Woohoo! Let’s go hiking! Well, there was one problem. Spencer and Stephanie went to a party Friday evening and stayed up all night. The left around sunrise and headed on up the mountain. Spencer slept a bit in the car, but Stephanie had only managed about an hour of sleep in a gas station parking lot.

Spencer was ready to hike. Stephanie was ready for a nap. What to do??

I thought about suggesting that they get some sleep and that we would meet them later. That would’ve been sensible. But I didn’t want them to miss the hike. Ultimately we somehow convinced Stephanie to do it. Unfortunately this meant more driving. After 10 minutes we found Heady Mountain Road and followed it down to a parking area just before a bridge over the Whitewater River. Spencer eventually got packed, and we headed downstream.

The route from here is complicated, and I couldn’t describe it if I had to. We worked our way downstream, passing a small but elegant waterfall. From there, it was just a short distance downstream to Entrance Falls, where the river cascades down into the slot canyon. The river quickly drops 50’ or so, squeezing between sheer walls 10-15’ apart. We scrambled up onto the cliff above the slot and couldn’t believe our eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it in North Carolina. It’s like one of the famous slot canyons of southern Utah, with a raging river running through it. Immediately below us the river boiled and churned before running under a natural bridge of polished stone. Just downstream, more cliffs towered above the river’s fury.

Stephanie had been sleep walking up until this point, but when she saw the slot canyon she awoke. The effect was stunning. No amount of fatigue can numb your senses when you encounter a place this dramatic.

From that initial viewpoint Scott found a route out to the next rock pinnacle. From there we had an incredible view back up the canyon. Below is Sculpted Falls - a sheer 15’ waterfall deep in the slot canyon. Just downstream from here is Little Canyon Falls, but it was out of sight.

We spent quite a bit of time exploring the various vantage points before resuming the hike downstream. Continuing directly is not possible, so we backtracked a bit, crossed the river, and picked up a trail on river left. This eventually led to a junction. There we took a well-traveled side trail down into the gorge. The descent was reasonable at first, but steep at the end. The final stretch has a fixed rope in place, which was a good thing. It was necessary to negotiate the steep, wet rock face.

On our way down we heard voices. This was a surprise! Spencer and Stephanie were ahead of me, and as I was descending, Spencer mouthed “they have guns” to me. Yikes! I figured that they were probably ok, but I wasn’t inclined to take any chances. I told Spencer and Stephanie to wait there while I checked out the situation.

I walked upstream a short distance to reach a huge swimming hole at the base of Exit Falls. The slot canyon ends just above, and then the river tumbles over a 25’ waterfall. There is a cave here, too. There was a pair of BB guns propped against the cliff next to the entrance to the cave. I could still hear voices, but I didn’t see anyone. I figured they must be in the cave, but I wasn’t inclined to go in there where I might surprise them. Instead I waded through the pool to reach a sandy beach.

I was about to double back when Spencer, Stephanie, and Scott got tired of waiting. They joined me on the beach, and Stephanie promptly took an adventure nap. A few minutes later our neighbors emerged from the cave. It was 2 adults and 2 young boys, and they had more guns! Luckily they were friendly. We chatted a bit and then Scott and I decided to explore. I scrambled up through the cave, which is quite impressive. At the top is a level area where our new friends had strung up a tent fly. Scott decided to stop there, but I wanted to get to the top of Exit Falls. Scrambling and bushwhacking led me up and around some cliffs, but left me well above the level of the river. I had to downclimb to reach the brink of the falls. The last bit was nerve wracking. It wasn’t terribly difficult, thanks to an excellent handhold and a decent foothold, but one slip there would’ve sent me over the falls. The most awkward part of it was trying to do it with a camera and tripod. I needed two hands free, and I eventually found a crevice where I could stash the camera securely. Luckily it was just within reach once I reached the bottom.

The climb was worth the effort. The brink of Exit Falls is one of the most dramatic places I’ve been. Immediately upstream, the river emerges from between the sheer grey walls of the slot canyon. A massive, bottomless pothole was directly below me. In the other direction, I gazed out over the majesty of Exit Falls. The plunge pool was below, with our beach just beyond.

I contemplated swimming up into the slot canyon, but I was totally alone. I decided to save that for next time – we will be back!

I returned to the beach and regrouped with Spencer and Scott. Stephanie was fast asleep. At that point we decided that Scott and I would continue the hike, while Spencer and Stephanie got some rest. I made plans to meet them at the campsite near the top of Whitewater Falls that evening. Then Scott and I headed downstream. It was already 2:30 and we had a long way to go.

We made good time initially, following a good trail along river left. We passed through a stretch that reminded me of Granny Burrell Falls in Panthertown Valley before reaching the next waterfall, Bedrock Betty. This one is neat, as the river tumbles over a broad rock face.

Scott realized that he’d left his dry bag on the beach below Exit Falls, so he doubled back to retrieve it. While he was gone I explored a well-traveled leading away from the river. My guess is that this heads back upstream and provides an alternate route to Bedrock Betty and the waterfalls farther downstream. Good trail exists between Bedrock Betty and Exit Falls, too, so that could provide an easier route than the steep, direct trail that leads to the pool below Exit Falls.

Scott caught up, and we regained the trail just downstream from Bedrock Betty. It wasn’t long before we reached the next drop, Merge Lane. This one is pretty nice, featuring an impressive rock on river left. Scott posed for a photo there before we continued.

We continued to follow good trail, and before long we joined another trail descending steeply from above. I’m not sure where that one leads. There are fixed ropes here, but they aren’t really necessary. We descended back to the river, and began the approach to 55MPH. It was along this stretch that we had our only mishap of the day. I was taking photos while Scott searched for the route down. He tried to descend alongside the waterfall and took a fall. Fortunately the damage was minor, but we decided to look for a safer route.

We found a faint trail in the woods above the waterfall on river left. It led down below 55MPH, which is probably my favorite waterfall on the Whitewater upstream from 281. Like the others, it isn’t big, but it is exceptionally beautiful. To get a good view we had to jump over a small channel of the river to reach a narrow fin of rock. That fin extends all the way from the base of the falls to the edge of an immense swimming hole just downstream.

Originally we planned to swim, but it clouded up shortly before we arrived. Once we regained the trail, it stayed on the hillside well above the river. We kept looking for a route down, but saw nothing but a jungle of doghobble. The trail continued, so we stuck with it. Then it ended suddenly, with no hint of a continuing path. My information indicated that there was no trail beyond here, so we bushwhacked down to the river. At this point we were downstream from the swimming hole. It was getting late, and the toughest part of the hike was ahead of us, so we decided to continue on.

The next mile of hiking was completely in the river. Once or twice we climbed up into the woods to avoid an obstacle, but those diversions were brief. Although there had been some storms earlier in the week, water levels were still moderately low. That was fortunate – this stretch would be very difficult at high or even moderate water levels. As it was, we had lots of deep holes and slippery rocks to contend with. Frequently the best side of the river was across from us, so we did a lot of zig zagging back and forth, which was inefficient. Despite these challenges, we made good time.

The next waterfall, Big Ledge, would be extremely photogenic except that there is a huge fallen tree jammed in the middle of it. I fully expect that tree to outlast me.

Next up is Wheelchair Accessible. This was perhaps the least exciting drop, though the rock ramp leading down to it was neat. We didn’t see any way around this one, so we just climbed right down the middle of the waterfall. From there it wasn’t far to the final waterfall, Portage Left. As the name implies, there is a trail going around it on river left. It’s a good thing, because you wouldn’t want to try climbing down this one! It’s only 20’ or so, but vertical.

We worked our way around to the base, but photos were impossible there due to fallen trees and heavy spray. I was about to give up when I noticed a huge boulder on the far side of the river. I told Scott that getting a photo would require climbing it. His response was, “Good Luck!” It certainly didn’t look promising. The near side was sheer and wet, and the far side was surrounded by a moat of deep water.

I decided to try anyway. I crossed the river and investigated a crack where the boulder meets the cliff above. I cleared away some thorns and brush, and found a couple of footholds. I scrambled up, and found the perfect vantage for photos.

From the base we climbed back up the hillside to pick up a trail heading downstream on river left, well above the river. This trail was faint in places, and we had a tough time following it, but we managed. We reached a fork just above Waddell Branch and went right to descend to the creek. There is a high waterfall on Waddell Branch, but it is some distance upstream. It was getting late, and there wasn’t much water in the creek, so we decided to skip it. It would be an easy one to reach from 281 on a separate hike.

The rest of the hike was easy. We ran into some people camping at a site on the river under the 281 bridge. We could’ve hiked up to the road from there, but decided to make it more interesting. We crossed the river one more time and picked up a path that led past another campsite to a spur trail of the Foothills Trail. We followed this official, blue blazed trail back to my car.

I drove Scott back up to the starting point to get his car. I wasn’t surprised to find Stephanie’s car still there. At that point it seemed silly to leave, since I knew that Spencer and Stephanie were still in the gorge. I decided to wait there, and Scott elected to join me. We enjoyed a couple of beers and debated going to look for them. That’s when it started to rain. We figured that would get them moving, but we were wrong. Later I found out that they were in the cave at Exit Falls, and the rain actually delayed their departure.

It started to get dark, and Scott needed to get home, so I started working on dinner. Fortunately the rain had stopped. I had just finished cooking a pot of vegetarian jambalaya with soy chorizo when I saw their lights. I asked if they were hungry, and their response was…enthusiastic. It wasn’t even close to enough food for 3 people though. We shared that and then drove into Cashiers in hopes of finding an open restaurant. We ended up at the Cornucopia, which was excellent. Over dinner we discussed our options for Sunday. We changed plans 5 or 6 times, but ultimately decided to car camp at one of the sites on Bullpen Road, near the Chattooga River. On Sunday we would explore Granite City and try to hike to the summit of Blackrock Mountain.

We found a campsite without any problem. More storms were threatening, so Spencer and Stephanie slept in the car. I thought about it, but decided to pitch the tent. I stayed up until the rain came though, enjoying the flashes of lightening, the rumbles of thunder, and the sudden breeze. It was a great chance to reflect on an amazing day. I made it through most of a flask of whiskey before the rain finally came.

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