TICKLED BY ELMO

Last weekend’s adventure was a Team Waterfall classic. Todd (the Panther) and Emily had originally suggested an exploration of Fork Creek on Big Pisgah Mountain. That creek contains numerous waterfalls and cascades, including Stillhouse Falls and the 140’ Elmo’s Falls. I’d never been to either, so I was excited to join in the fun.

Our plans evolved over time. As the trip approached, some of the adventurers in our group were planning to rappel Elmo’s Falls. I didn’t intend to do that since I was bringing my dog, Boone. I was still eager to check out both waterfalls, and I was excited by the prospect of watching and photographing everyone else rappelling the falls.

The North Carolina mountains were hit with a major blizzard the weekend prior to the trip. As the weekend approached, a lot of snow remained. We weren’t sure what effect that would have on our hike. Would we even be able to get there? We expected the roads to be in good shape, but parking could be an issue. Originally we had planned to park on the shoulder of Slick Fisher Road. We weren’t sure if that would be an option.

The plan was to meet at the Lake Toxaway Fire Department on highway 281 at 10am. I was 25 minutes down the road that morning when I realized that my wife’s wallet was in my car. I had to go back, even though it meant being late. I posted a message on Facebook to let everyone know that I was running behind.

I made up some time along the way and arrived 30 minutes late. Most of the group was already there. Todd had already scouted our access options. The shoulder of Slick Fisher Road wasn’t an option due to lingering snow. We would have to start from McIntosh Road. That meant hiking to Stillhouse Falls first and then going downstream to Elmo’s Falls.

Our group consisted of Todd, Emily, Casey, Michael, Christie, Spencer, Stephanie, Thomas (the Badger), and Scott, along with me and my dog Boone. Michael also brought Elmo the safety doll, which was appropriate for a number of reasons. I’ve hiked with Spencer, Stephanie, Thomas, and Scott many times, but this was my first time meeting the rest of the group. Part of the reason I wanted to do this trip was to meet these folks that I only knew from the internet. Everyone was enthusiastic for a day of adventure and exploration.

We were getting to know one another in the fire station parking lot when the Fire Chief pulled up in a pickup. We were afraid that he was going to tell us that we couldn’t park there, but he turned out to be extremely friendly. We chatted for a bit, and he even offered to let us inside to use the bathroom. (Actually, to be accurate, he gave us the passcode. I’m not including it in this report, but I will say that it is surprisingly easy to guess).

We piled into 3 cars and made the short drive up to McIntosh Road. We continued to the end of the road, at the beginning of a private driveway. There is a small parking area here with room for 4-5 cars.

It was a warm, sunny day, which was a bit ironic considering that there was still at least a foot of snow in the woods. We started our hike by walking back down McIntosh Road. After a few minutes we reached a small sliver of National Forest land. It is clearly marked with a sign, adjacent to a small blue house that appeared to be vacant. We headed into the woods there, bushwhacking towards Stillhouse Falls. By starting there we were able to stay on public property the entire way.

Bushwhacking in knee deep snow is challenging, but whoever was at the front of the line did a great job breaking trail. Before long we reached an unnamed tributary of Fork Creek. The group split into two here. Casey, Michael, Stephanie, and I followed the tributary downstream. We crossed the creek a short distance upstream from the brink of a waterfall. Then we hiked by an incredible wall of icicles before passing under an impressive overhang. A bit more bushwhacking brought us to Stillhouse Falls, where we rejoined the rest of the group.

Stillhouse Falls is a beauty. It is guarded by a massive overhanging cliff. Fork Creek squeezes through a tiny notch in the cliff, causing the flow to project out in a 40’ free fall. It was exceptionally beautiful during our visit, due to the abundant icicles hanging from the overhanging cliff. It instantly became one of my favorites.

I first heard of the Carolina Mountain Club's 100 Waterfall Challenge a few years ago. To complete the challenge, you have to hike to each of the 100 waterfalls (in NC, SC, and TN) on their list. At that time, I had already been to more than 80 of them, and the remainder were already ones I wanted to visit anyway. So, completing the challenge seemed inevitable. Still, it wasn't exactly a priority. I don't do well with lists. I plan my hikes based on whim, weather, and whatever happens to inspire me at the moment (which is almost always not a list). Despite my lack of focus, Stillhouse was waterfall #100. I finished with a real beauty, and I was thrilled to do it with such a great group of people.

Ironically, I thought it was #99 until I was talking with Thomas that morning. He told me that the Carolina Mountain Club had recently revised the list. The other waterfall that I lacked, the waterfall on Laurel Fork near the Pisgah Fish Hatchery, had been dropped. It was replaced with a waterfall in South Carolina that I’d visited several times. Suddenly #99 became #100!

We spent some time there eating lunch and taking photos. We even managed to get a couple of group photos with almost everyone behind the falls.

We had a big agenda and had gotten a late start. Early that afternoon we finally started the hike downstream. Several members of our group have hiked that stretch of Fork Creek. They reported that it is rugged and slow going. Instead, we decided to contour along the hillside well above the creek. Although challenging, this was still faster and easier than following the stream. However, we missed out on some of the cascades in between the two waterfalls.

Eventually we reached the head of a gully leading towards the top of Elmo’s Falls. It looked like the most promising place to descend. However, I had other plans. I wasn’t planning on rappelling, but I wanted to reach the base of Elmo’s Falls. Emily decided to join me, which was great, as I wasn’t crazy about trying to bushwhack down there solo.

Everyone else started down towards the brink while Emily and I discussed our options. We had both independently identified a gully on the map that looked like a promising descent route. We headed that way, contouring around high above Fork Creek. We crossed several ridges and gullies, as we were trying to stay low enough to avoid private property. We reached the gully we had picked, but it was a jungle. We continued up the ridge above in hopes of finding a clearer route.

We encountered a woods road here, and what looked like a lot for a future home site. From the map, it looked like the woods road leads out to Slick Fisher Road. We went the other way, following something of a beaten path down towards Fork Creek. Before long we intersected a graded trail with switchbacks, marked with orange ribbons. This was a pleasant surprise! We followed it for a while, as it was heading in the right direction. After a considerable descent the trail suddenly disappeared. There were no more ribbons or switchbacks, though the route had been partially cleared. I’m guessing the trail is still a work in progress. I do wonder who is building it though. It is on National Forest property, but I’m not sure where it originates. The area that it appears to be coming from is all private property.

The rest of the descent was more challenging, but doable. The biggest difficulty is that we each occasionally plunged through the crusty layer of snow and into deep powder. A couple of times Emily found herself buried almost to the hip!

We reached Fork Creek a bit later. From there we just had a short but rugged hike upstream to reach the base of Elmo’s Falls. This was more challenging than the descent, as we were in a deep canyon with sheer walls on either side. Those walls were covered in icicles, which made me a little nervous. Earlier, a huge chunk of ice had fallen from the cliff above Stillhouse Falls and nearly hit Todd. That could’ve been ugly.

The final stretch required some difficult scrambling and bushwhacking. At one point we had to slide down an icy slope. That would be fun to climb back up later! Then we traversed a narrow shelf, with a sheer drop to the creek below. The adjacent wall was completely covered in ice. A few minutes later we descended to the stream and rock hopped across. We climbed up past an impressive cascade and reached another tricky spot. Here we had to climb up onto a rock face. The rock was icy, but there was an ice covered log spanning the chasm. Emily and I made it across, but Boone wasn’t having it. I’d have to leave him there while we continued the final few yards.

We scrambled around a giant boulder and then up a pile of debris to the top of another large rock. Finally we had a good view of the falls! Elmo’s Falls is a monster. It’s 140’ high, though the upper portion isn’t really visible from the base. The cliffs on both sides were covered in massive icicles. Directly to our right was a ledge – named the alleged ledge of legends by The Badger – that offers the ideal view of the falls. However, it looked icy, and the snowpack covering the rock we were on was rotten. I contemplated moving to my right, but decided to test it with my stick first. My stick plunged all the way through. We’d have to be very careful moving around the base of the falls. I decided to skip the ledge. It looked sketchy, and Boone was barking because we’d left him behind.

I took a few photos and we discussed the situation. Most of the waterfall was covered in ice. Surely they wouldn’t attempt to rappel it. While we were talking, we spotted Todd high above. It looked like he was scouting, but then he disappeared. Maybe they would reconsider.

I decided to go back to check on Boone. I scrambled back down to him and had a snack. A few minutes later I spotted Todd at the base of the falls. He had rappelled it! I decided to return to the base to get action photos.

Casey was already down by the time I returned, and Spencer was most of the way down. Stephanie was next. I was able to get photos of her descent. She did a good job of mostly staying out of the water, though she still got pretty wet. Scott came next. He had never rappelled before though, and this was not the place to try it for the first time. Instead, Michael lowered him from above. Scott didn’t have any control over where he went, and he ended up coming right down through the middle of the waterfall. He got a thorough baptism in the icy water of Fork Creek!

Spencer had climbed up on to the alleged ledge of legends and started a fire. I was cold from being in the snow all day, and I really wanted to climb up there. However, Boone was barking again, and I didn’t want to leave him for long. There was a long lull without anyone rappelling, and I wasn’t sure if the remaining hikers were coming. Earlier, Christie and the Badger had been non-committal about that part of the adventure. I thought maybe they’d decided to hike back out from where they were.

What I didn’t know was that they had already passed the point of no return. Just getting to the top of the falls required some serious scrambling. They’d used their ropes twice as safety lines, but they’d brought the ropes with them for the rappelling. Going back would’ve been quite difficult. And the rappel itself had two pitches, as neither rope was long enough for the entire descent.

I had put on most of my clothes, but I was shivering uncontrollably. Building a fire down at the creek seemed unlikely since everything was wet. Later I found out that Spencer had found a stash of dry firewood on the alleged ledge of legends. How lucky was that? Scott and some of the others would’ve been in serious danger from hypothermia without that fire.

I decided to head back up to generate some heat. I got Todd’s attention and signaled my intentions. After I left, Casey tossed some burning logs down to the group that was hanging out below the alleged ledge of legends. They used them to start a second fire right on top of the snowpack. By dusk, that fire had burned all the way down through more than a foot of snow!

Later I found out that while I was hiking back up, the Badger, Christie, and Michael were rappelling. They finally made it down at dusk. They were cold, too, so they all spent quite a bit of time by the fire to warm back up.

My hike back out was uneventful. I was nice and warm by the time I reached the top of the flagged trail. I decided to scout an easier exit route from there. I passed the lot, where there was an odd circular area without any snow. Just beyond the road forked. It looked like the left fork was heading for Slick Fisher Road. The right fork was heading straight back towards McIntosh Road and our cars. I headed that way.

I followed it for a few minutes. By that point, I was pretty confident it would take us out. Instead of continuing, I decided to double-back to see how the group was doing. I hiked half way back down the trail, but didn’t see any sign of anyone. I debated returning to the base of the falls, but I wasn’t eager to hike that rugged stretch again. Also, I thought that the Badger, Christie, and Michael may have skipped the rappelling and hiked back to the cars. It also occurred to me that the others could’ve found another route out, and could be back at the cars waiting for me. I decided to head out.

My second climb out was beautiful. Dusk was approaching, and the late evening light turned the snow pink. It was peaceful; magical even. Near the top I took a long break before calling out towards my friends below. An owl responded.

I followed my tracks out the old road. Shortly after they stopped the road disappeared. I continued bushwhacking in the correct direction. Before long I reached a barbed wire fence. I figured that the fence was on the property line, so I decided to follow it. After a while I saw a house up the hill above me. I was still trying to avoid private property, so I decided to skirt around to the right. I thought I was on or at least close to National Forest property, but my navigation was a bit off. I scrambled up a hill and suddenly a light went on. I was on a driveway in between 3 houses. The light was triggered by a motion sensor, and none of the houses had lights on. However, all of them had vehicles in their driveways. All of them had dogs, too. As soon as the light went on they started barking. It sounded like every dog in the county was barking at me. Oops.

I hurried down the driveway and reached McIntosh Road. A fast walk up the road brought me to the cars. There wasn’t anyone there. Dang.

It was 7:40 – an hour and a half after dark. What to do? I was worried, but still confident that everyone was okay. My biggest concern was that we had people scattered around various parts of the canyon. Hopefully everyone else was together.

I’d left my car at the fire station, so hanging out by the cars wasn’t beneficial. I decided to go look for everyone. First though, I thought it would be wise to try to let everyone know what I was doing. I sent Thomas and Spencer a text, knowing that they wouldn’t get it down in the canyon. My thinking was that if they came out by a different route and couldn’t find me, hopefully they would get the text and know where I was. I also posted a message to a limited audience on Facebook to let everyone know what was going on. It seemed like a wise idea before I headed back into the canyon, bushwhacking in the dark in a foot of snow. In my message I emphasized that there was no reason to panic or to contact the authorities, and that I would post a follow up as soon as possible.

I followed our route from that morning initially, but stayed higher to avoid the more difficult bushwhacking down near the creeks. This route kept me close to the private property boundary but farther from the houses than I’d been earlier. That didn’t stop the dogs from barking, but at least I didn’t set off any security lights! I eventually intersected my previous exit trail, which I followed back to the flagged trail down into the canyon. I hiked down it a short ways and stopped for a break. I called out a few times there, but didn’t get a response. I was just about to continue down the trail when I yelled one more time. This time there was a response, and it wasn’t an owl! Yes!!

Boone took off towards them, barking for the first time since we left the base of Elmo’s Falls. A couple of minutes later they arrived. Everyone was accounted for. There were no injuries or other issues, and everyone was in reasonably good spirits. The only casualty was they’d abandoned Stephanie’s rope. It had frozen to the ice, and they weren’t able to get it down.

After a break I led everyone back out. We returned to the cars at 9:50, cold, tired, and hungry. Somehow we had pulled off an adventure for the ages without any serious mishaps. That’s when I heard Todd curse. Somehow he’d locked his keys in his car, with the engine running. Ugh.

We were discussing our options when Michael mentioned that he drove a tow truck for a living. He went to work. It took quite a while, but eventually he used the oil dip stick from Scott’s truck and another tool to press the button for the electronic windows. Brilliant!

Originally some of us had planned to camp that night, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm for that plan. Scott lives in Franklin, and he offered to have everyone over there. Spencer, Stephanie, and I enthusiastically took him up on his offer.

The drive was brutal. I hit a patch of ice on 64 east of Cashiers and slid alarmingly. The Ingles and the Wendy’s in Cashiers were both closed, as were all of the gas stations. Spencer had a hell of a time staying awake during the drive. Meanwhile, my feet were completely frozen. They began to thaw out during the drive, which was excruciating. That made driving a challenge. Even worse, I was frequently wracked with cramps in both legs. It’s a small miracle that we all made it to Scott’s place.

Once there I shared the pasta I’d brought for my dinner. Somehow it fed all four of us. I also shared a growler of Appalachian Trail Extra Pale Ale from the Nantahala Brewing Company. We had dinner and the beer at 1am, and crashed at 2. Spencer, Scott, and I had plans to hike the next day, and another friend was planning to join us. We could only hope that we would be able to walk!

On a side note, as of Wednesday evening I still do not have full feeling back in my toes. There were no signs of frostbite, but apparently 10 hours in the snow did some nerve damage. I saw my chiropractor today, and he made quite a bit of progress on them. I’m pretty confident that they will gradually recover, but that is something I’ll need to be more careful about in the future.

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