AUGUST
Team
Waterfall’s most recent adventure was planned and led by Josh. He came up with an ambitious plan that would
include an exploration of August Cave, a scramble to the top of Panthertail Mountain, views from Cold Mountain and Shelton
Pisgah Mountain, and a hike and bushwhack down to the East Fork of the Tuckaseegee River to check out Lichen Falls and the other
waterfalls in the gorge.
It
was a great day, with a big group of adventurers. The group was so big, it seemed like I spent
most of the morning trying to keep track of everyone. That’s me, Team Waterfall’s official border
collie. In fact, as I started writing
this report, I found myself trying to recall where everyone was at any given
point in time. To try to explain that in
writing would be tedious and confusing.
I’m going to this one a little differently. Welcome to my first-ever graphical trip
report! This will probably also be
tedious and confusing, but at least it will be unique.
Originally
I was going to give each person a symbol using their first initial. That was a great idea, except that we had 4
people with “S” names and 3 people with “J” names on this hike. For most of those folks, I used the first two
letters of their first name. That almost
worked, except that Stan and Stephanie would both be St. Since everybody knows Stephanie as Stephanie
Blue, I’m using SB for her. I’m also
using various other symbols in the report just for the fun of it. For the full cast of characters, see the key
below:
[A]
– Andy
[B]
– Bob
[D]
– Darrin (the Salmon)
[Ja]
– Jack
[Je]
– Jeff (Stephanie’s second-cousin)
[Jo]
– Josh (trip leader)
[Sb]
– Stephanie
[Sc] - Scott
[Sp] – Spencer
[St]
– Stan (friends with Josh)
[T]
– Thomas (Badger)
[W]
– Wally (friends with Josh)
[?]
– Mystery person or persons
(X)
– Male person, not part of our group
{x}
– Female person, not part of our group
>
- Moving forward
>>
- Moving forward rapidly
<
- Moving backwards
<<
- Running away!
_
- Hanging out
0
– Cave entrance
zzz – napping
$
- Rope
^
- Tent
u
– Hammock
w
– two hammocks side by side
#
- Heavy pack!
##
- Really heavy pack!!
###
- Seriously, how is he even walking with that?
~
Moustache
I
worked in Greenville the week prior to the trip. I packed ahead of time, so that I could go
straight to Panthertown Valley from Greenville on
Friday afternoon. I decided to camp near
Greenland Creek Falls, since that is a short, easy hike from the Cold Mountain
trailhead. The plan was to meet at that
trailhead at 8am on Saturday.
Jack
had a vacation day to burn, so he decided to head up there early on
Friday. I got stuck at work later than
expected, so it was Friday evening before I made it to the trailhead. While I was working, Jack did an extensive
hiking in Panthertown Valley including Big Green
Mountain, Little Green Mountain, and the Great Wall. So, in graphical terms:
[Ja]
>
I
arrived at the Cold Mountain trailhead, loaded my pack and a small cooler, and
headed down to the campsite. I met Jack
there. After setting up camp, we took a
short hike up to Greenland Creek Falls at dusk.
Then we headed back to camp, made dinner, and enjoyed a few beers around
the campfire.
[A]
[Ja] ^^ zzz
The
next morning we hiked back up to the trailhead to meet everyone. Most of us piled into Jeff’s truck for the
drive to the trailhead. A couple of
people initially decided to walk, but quickly realized that was a bad
idea. Somehow we got everyone in or on
the truck for the long, slow drive to the starting point of the hike. At that point, Jeff drove his truck back up
to the Cold Mountain parking area and then rode his bike back down to rejoin
us. Spencer and Stephanie were absent,
but that wasn’t a shock. Stephanie works
until 5am on Saturdays. We knew they
would catch up. It was about 9am when we
started our hike.
[A]
[B] [D] [Ja] [Je] [Jo] [Sc] [St] [T] [W] > 0
[Sb]
[Sp] zzz
A
steep bushwhack brought us to one of the entrances to the cave. Apparently there are 7 entrances to August
Cave, but we only found 4 of them.
August Cave is quite extensive – apparently it is the 5th or
6th largest fissure cave in NC.
Jeff
led the way into the cave. It got really
interesting right off the bat. After
scrambling over or crawling under a chokestone, it
was necessary to stem across an apparently bottomless shaft to access a slick
ledge. I balked at that. It was a bit too exposed for my tastes. Instead, I followed a few others up a side
passage that led back to the surface. At
the surface was another entrance. We
explored down that tunnel, which ended abruptly at a narrow, vertical
drop. I’m not sure if that is passable
to anyone, but it certainly wasn’t passable to me!
Part
of the group explored the main passage until they were stopped by a vertical
descent. They then backtracked and found
their way out through another entrance.
Meanwhile, the rest of us were exploring the mountainside looking for
other entrances. Scott stumbled upon
another entrance, which was the same one that the lead group emerged from.
Just
below that entrance is a deep pit. I
found a way to access it, though it required a bit of wriggling. That led to a steep, leaf covered ledge. There was nothing to hold onto there, and it
was a pretty fair drop to the bottom of the pit. I thought I might be able to get down safely,
but I had serious doubts about coming back up.
Later, Jeff and some of the others made it down in there. From the bottom of the pit they found two
descending passages, but both of them were too vertical to allow further
exploration. That group had a tough time
climbing back out without a rope, but somehow they managed.
While
they were doing that, a few of us explored Scott’s entrance. A bit of scrambling brings you into a large
chamber. The rocks here were covered
with cave crickets and spiders. We
explored all around the chamber, but once again narrow passages and vertical
terrain halted our progress.
We
all emerged from the cave late that morning, ready to move on to the next part
of the adventure.
THE TALE OF THE ROPE ON THE TAIL OF THE PANTHER
Josh
suggested checking a nearby canyon for potential waterfalls. Initially enthusiasm was mixed. Ultimately though, everybody decided to
go. That worked out well. The initial plan was to check out the canyon
and then return to the cave area to begin the climb up the mountain. However, as so often happens on these
adventures, we improvised.
We
contoured along the base of impressive cliffs to reach the mouth of the canyon. From there we began scrambling and
bushwhacking up the canyon. The going
was tough, as the doghobble was thick and the briers
were profuse. I’m not sure if anybody
else has ever hiked up this canyon. If
so, there certainly wasn’t any sign of their passage. This part of the hike was rough, but it was
worth it. The scenery was spectacular,
with sheer cliffs towering above us. At
one point we passed under an overhanging cliff that was somehow supporting a
huge, dead tree. I’m not sure how it had
defied gravity for so long.
Progress
up the canyon was slow and challenging.
We kept looking for a route up, but the cliffs were continuous. Eventually we were funneled into the
streambed at the base of the canyon. We
didn’t see any legitimate waterfalls on that creek, though there were a couple
of small tributaries that probably have waterfalls after a heavy rain.
I
was afraid that we would get cliffed out, but Jeff
did an excellent job leading while I kept a close eye on my GAIA App on my
phone. Eventually the cliffs relented,
and we began a long, arduous scramble up Panthertail
Mountain. The climb was never
technically difficult, but it was quite a workout, and some of the bushwhacking
was thick.
Somewhere
along here we passed the point of no return.
Doubling back to the cave and going up from there was no longer an
option. I sent my GPS track in progress
to Spencer so that they would know where we were. I got a message back a bit later, and it sounded
like they were on our rouote. Later I found out that they literally were
tracking us – the old fashioned way.
Apparently 10 people bushwhacking through the jungle leave an obvious
path. I also discovered later on that
they were carrying full backpacks with overnight camping gear. So….
[Sb#]
[Sp##] > …………………………………..[A]
[B] [D] [Ja] [Je] [Jo] [Sc] [St] [T] [W] >
The
grade finally began to ease as we neared the summit of Panthertail. The bushes remained relentless though, until
we stumbled upon a faint trail. After a
bit of confusion about our goal, we decided to bag Panthertail
Mountain and look for views.
I
messaged Spencer and told him that we were heading for the summit. However, the trail we were following had
other ideas. After a short distance it
dropped off the crest of the ridge to contour around the south side of the
mountain. Before long, we merged with a
more obvious trail. This is a
constructed path, with steps and water bars and even a short ladder in one
spot. The trail headed down and
ahead. We didn’t want to go back down,
so we continued forward. I do regret not
exploring that path, as it may lead to another view – or maybe it goes all the
way down to the road?
A
short hike in the woods brought us to the first great view of the day. First we could see Lake Toxaway
below, with Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee in the distance.
Toxaway Mountain was across from us, but the
most exciting view was the jagged peak of Whitesides
Mountain beyond.
The
trail re-entered the woods and continued past another cliff. Just beyond we reached another overlook. This one has a nice view of Lake Toxaway, but it is partially obscured by trees. We stopped there for a quick lunch. While we were eating, I got a message from
Spencer that they were on the summit and that they were going to look for a
viewpoint. I told him we’d head up there
and wait for them.
I
was about half way through lunch when Jeff got restless and suddenly took off
back down the trail in the direction we had come. Josh hesitated, but then went after him,
closely followed by Stan and Wally.
[Jo]
[St] [W] >>…….[Je] >>
The
rest of us were puzzled. Where did he
go? I started packing up while everyone
else milled about wondering what to do.
We were just about to follow after them when Spencer and Stephanie
popped out of the woods from the opposite direction. They had been hunting for an overlook when
they’d heard our voices.
Spencer
wanted to continue east in search of a viewpoint he’d identified in pre-trip
research. I was conflicted. I felt like we should try to catch up with
the rest of the group, but I also wanted to go with Spencer. Spencer’s ideas rarely end in
disappointment. Plus, I was growing
weary of trying to keep up with everyone.
Splitting into two groups might be the best option all around. Scott decided to join me, while Jack, Darrin,
Bob, and Thomas went after the main group.
[A]
[Sb] [Sc] [Sp] < (using the
backwards symbol here to denote that we were heading away from the main group)
[B]
[D] [Ja] [T] > ………………[Jo] [St] [W] >…….[Je] >
That
was the last anybody saw of Jeff. It was
a bit of relief that his car wasn’t in the trailhead parking area that
evening. Later Josh found out that Jeff
had gone up to the summit, apparently to look for Spencer and Stephanie. He didn’t find them there, of course, though
Spencer had left his pack on the summit.
Not finding them there, apparently he followed a trail (I’m not sure
which one) that eventually brought him to Cold Mountain Road several miles down
from where he’d left his bike.
Bob,
Darrin, Jack, and Thomas eventually caught up with the main group. They would skip Cold Mountain, but would
climb over Shelton Pisgah Mountain and then descend to the Devil’s Elbow above
the East Fork of the Tuckaseegee River. More on them later.
Spencer,
Stephanie, Scott, and I continued down the trail beyond our lunch spot
overlook. We followed good trail as it
descended on switchbacks. After a few
minutes we could see our destination – a rock tower – ahead. A few switchbacks later we realized that the
trail wasn’t going there. Most of us
doubled-back to the crest of the ridge, though Spencer bushwhacked directly up
to it. We found a fainter path there,
and followed it out to a wonderful overlook.
The best view was out over Lake Toxaway,
directly below. From the other side we
enjoyed impressive views of the Balsam Mountains, including Pilot Mountain,
Looking Glass Rock, and Cedar Rock.
We
took a long break there and enjoyed the moment.
The need to catch up with the rest of the group suddenly seemed
unimportant.
Eventually
we headed back that way. We followed the
trail back to the ridgecrest west of the summit of Panthertail Mountain.
We reached a junction with an old road that connects the summit with the
headwaters of Little Green Creek. Spencer
had left his pack (##) on the summit, so Spencer and Scott ran up there to
retrieve it while Stephanie and I waited.
[Sc] [Sp] >## $
[A]
[Sb] _
They
returned a few minutes later, with an interesting story. When they reached Spencer’s pack, they found
a rope piled up next to it. This was
interesting, because the rope hadn’t been there when he’d dropped his pack
there an hour earlier. Where did it come
from? Who put it there?
We
were regrouping when we heard voices.
Well, I heard voices. To be
honest, I’d heard distant voices several times during our hike that morning. It could have been my imagination. Still, we were a bit spooked. Was it the people that had left the rope next
to Spencer’s pack? It was time to go.
[A]
[Sb] [Sc] [Sp] <<
We
boogied on down the old roadbed to a junction.
Here, a trail continues ahead.
After a short distance it splits, with one fork going down into the
headwaters of Little Green Creek. That
route splits after a short distance, with the left fork heading towards Cold
Mountain. We skipped Cold Mountain and
followed the ridge to Shelton Pisgah Mountain.
A bit beyond the summit we reached a cliff with a nice view of Cold
Mountain and Panthertown Valley.
THE TUCK NESS MONSTER
After a break we continued down the ridge
towards Devil’s Elbow. We passed a
confusing intersection and reached the gap above the Devil’s Elbow. We met a couple here looking for a place to
camp. They were considering heading up
the trail we had descended, but we discouraged them from doing that since he
was carrying one of the biggest backpacks I’d ever seen. We directed them back towards the East Fork
of the Tuckaseegee River, which is loaded with great
campsites.
[A]
[Sb] [Sc] [Sp] >
[X###]
{x#}
At
that point we had a decision to make.
The original plan had been to bushwhack directly down to the river to
hit Lichen Falls, which is on a tributary of the East Fork of the Tuckaseegee River.
However, we were still well behind the main group. Spencer had a great suggestion. His idea was to follow the trail to Elbow
Falls. We could head downstream from
there, and hopefully cross paths with everyone else.
That’s
what we did. We hiked to Elbow Falls and
took a break. From there, we followed a
trail downstream. Spencer stashed his
pack in the woods and we continued on towards Red Butt Falls. Before long, we met the main group heading
our way. Spencer’s plan worked out
perfectly!
[A]
[Sb] [Sp] >< [D] [Ja] [Jo] [Sc] [St] [W]
The
only exception was that Bob and Thomas had skipped the trip to Lichen Falls and
had hiked directly to Jawbone Falls. And
Scott decided to skip Lichen Falls and hike with the main group to Jawbone
Falls and then on to camp. Oh, and Josh,
Stan, and Wally weren’t camping, so they headed straight out.
[A]
[Sb] [Sp] < (again using the backwards symbol
to indicate going in the opposite direction from the rest of the group).
[B]
[D] [Ja] [Sc] >
[Jo]
[St] [T] [W] >
I
understand that the trip to Jawbone Falls featured the typical Team Waterfall hijinks
– meaning the Salmon swimming and sliding down waterfalls.
Spencer,
Stephanie, and I followed the trail down to Red Butt Falls. Red Butt Falls is another scenic, sliding
cascade. At the base is an impressive
cliff, which prevents easy progress downstream.
Stephanie dropped her pack there and we prepared to hike downstream to
Lichen Falls. First we crossed the river
in the middle of Red Butt Falls. If you
slip here, you’ll find out why it is called Red Butt Falls! From there we rock hopped and waded
downstream. The going was fairly easy
most of the way, though we did have to watch out for Tuck Ness Monster. Shortly before Lichen Falls things got
interesting. The river was littered with
giant boulders, with the river racing between them. We worked our way over to River Left and
scrambled up to the base of Lichen Falls.
Lichen
Falls is cool. The stream is small, but
the waterfall is scenic and it is deep in the wilderness. If you hike to this one, you’ll probably have
it to yourself. From there we scrambled
downstream a short distance to an impressive sandy beach.
After
a long break we started the hike back upstream.
The return hike was quick. We
retrieved Stephanie’s pack at Red Butt Falls and Spencer’s pack from Elbow
Falls. From there we returned to the
main trail and headed for camp since it was getting late. Spencer actually suggested stopping at
Jawbone Falls and Stephanie and I laughed.
Stephanie was still going strong despite only 3 hours of sleep, and we
were struggling to keep up with her.
When
we reached the main trail downstream from Schoolhouse Falls we split up. I needed to return to my car at the Cold
Mountain trailhead to grab food and beer.
That meant climbing up to the trailhead and then descending to the
campsite just downstream from Greenland Creek Falls. Spencer and Stephanie didn’t need to do that,
so they decided to take the trail upstream along Greenland Creek.
[A]
>
[Sb]
[Sp] >
I
made the hike up to the car in record time.
I switched out backpacks, loaded up my cooler with food and beer, and
headed down to camp at dusk. It was only
a short hike (less than a mile), but the sight and sound of the campfire in the
distance filled me with cheer. It was
great to rejoin my friends, who I’d only seen briefly that afternoon. Bob, Darrin, Jack, Scott, I settled in around
the campfire to relax after a long but thrilling day in the wilderness. Spencer and Stephanie arrived a few minutes
later. Although their route had been
shorter, they had been distracted by 2 more waterfalls and an encounter with
some other campers along the way.
I
made dinner at 10:30 and shared it and some beers with Spencer and
Stephanie. Meanwhile, Jack generously
passed the moonshine around. That’s just
how we roll in Team Waterfall. Just
before midnight Spencer, Stephanie, and Jack took a midnight stroll up to Greenland
Creek Falls. Jack claims no recollection
of that hike. It was long after midnight
when we staggered, stumbled, or in my case, crawled, to our tents / hammocks.
[A]
[Sb] [Sp] [B] [D] [Ja] [Sc] ^^^uuw zzz
WHAT HAPPENS IN PANTHERTOWN VALLEY STAYS IN PANTHERTOWN
VALLEY
Everyone
was feeling a little rough the next morning.
Spencer and Stephanie slept in, while everyone else packed up and headed
out. Eventually the 3 of us had
breakfast, hiked out, and headed down to pick up Stephanie’s car.
Our
original plan for the afternoon was to revisit August Cave since Spencer and
Stephanie had missed it. We weren’t
really feeling up to it though. We
decided to go with plan B. The idea was
that I would show them some secret waterfalls and they would return the
favor. None of us were really up for the
bushwhacking and scrambling necessary to hike to my waterfalls though. We took an afternoon nap instead. That evening, Spencer and Stephanie took me
to their waterfall, which is absolutely magical! I owe them one, since I didn’t deliver on my
end of the bargain.
After
the hike, we drove to Brevard. We took a
little shortcut on the way, which probably saved us 5 minutes. We arrived at Dugan’s Pub at 8:58, 2 minutes
before they stop serving food on Sundays.
That’s a great shortcut!
Back to Nantahala National Forest
Back to North Carolina
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!