WAITING FOR THE SNOW TO FALL

“I’ve been waiting for the snow to fall

And cover us all

Yeah, I’ve been waiting for the snow to fall”

From “Round the Wheel”, by the String Cheese Incident

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon the new edition of the Panthertown Valley map by Burt Kornegay. His original map is one of the best backcountry maps I’ve ever seen. The new version contains most of the original information, plus lots more. The new map includes some new trails and waterfalls, and also encompasses a larger area, extending north into Little Canada. Although the new map is considerably more expensive than the original, I had to have it.

J Bob and I had planned a backpacking trip for the first weekend of February several weeks earlier. It was a rare weekend without work for J Bob, and he wanted to take advantage of it. We kicked around several options for destinations before Bob suggested Panthertown. That’s when I remembered the new map. It would be an opportunity to check out some of the new features on it. It would also be a chance to see Panthertown during a different season. I’ve visited Panthertown many times over the years, but always during the Spring for the wildflowers.

Even more intriguing, the weather forecast called for a bit of snow Saturday evening. The forecast was for only a dusting to perhaps a ½”, but we were hopeful that we’d get enough to cover the ground. That would be enough to make a scenic place even more beautiful.

I met Bob and his wife near Gastonia early Saturday morning. Bob’s wife needed their truck that weekend, so she was dropping him off. That meant that we would be taking my Corolla to the trailhead. That wouldn’t be a problem – as long as we didn’t get more snow than expected. The drive to the trailhead is almost entirely on paved roads, but one of them features steep switchbacks on the side of a sheer cliff.

We drove through Cashiers and arrived at the Salt Rock Gap Trailhead on the west rim of the valley around 10am. The parking lot was empty when we arrived, but that didn’t last long. A single rabbit hunter with a pair of beagles pulled in right behind us. Two SUVs followed behind him just as we started down the trail.

It was partly sunny but chilly at the beginning of the hike. I was hauling a heavier pack than normal, thanks to expected overnight lows in the 20’s. I brought an extra sleeping bag for the dogs, along with plenty of warm clothes for myself. All that stuff meant bringing my old pack, which is larger but heavier and less comfortable. Ironically, I was carrying more for this overnight trip than I did on our 8-day trip in Colorado back in September. Boone carried his own pack, which contained his food, Kona’s food, and an extra blanket.

A few minutes down the Panthertown Valley Trail (an old jeep road) we passed a signed junction for the trail to Wilderness Falls. This is now an official trail. It descends past previously unnamed Wilderness Falls to Frolictown Falls just upstream from Panthertown Creek. That would’ve been the most direct route to where we planned to camp, but it would’ve required wading Panthertown Creek. Since the temperature was close to freezing, that wasn’t appealing. Instead we continued down the main trail to Salt Rock, which provides an expansive view of Big Green Mountain, Little Green Mountain, and Cold Mountain looming over the valley.

From there we descended rapidly along the partially frozen road. Icy spots slowed us a little, but they didn’t present a major hazard. We reached a signed junction and picked up the Mac’s Gap Trail, descending through a lovely white pine grove to the bank of Panthertown Creek. We crossed the creek on an old wooden plank bridge before turning onto the narrow, primitive Granny Burrell Falls Trail. We followed this path upstream, adjacent to Granny Burrell Falls. Normally I would’ve stopped along here for photos of the falls, but the sloping rock face between the trail and the creek was a sheet of ice. Approaching the creek would’ve resulted in an icewater dunking, at a minimum. Instead we continued uphill, weaving through the rhododendron limbs that grabbed persistently at our backpacks.

The path was steep and icy, but we reached the top of the falls without incident. A few minutes later we arrived at the Great Wall Trail just east of the previously mentioned ford of Panthertown Creek. We turned the other way, and reached the old A-frame shelter on Panthertown Creek a minute later. Two backpackers were just leaving, and we had the area to ourselves.

We dropped our packs in the shelter and had an early lunch. Then we hung our food and planned our afternoon hike.

If you look at the southwest corner of Kornegay’s Panthertown Map you’ll probably notice Laurel Knob. The tightly packed elevation contours are certainly attention-getting. Laurel Knob isn’t well known outside of the climbing community, despite having the tallest uninterrupted sheer cliff face in the Eastern United States. The peak is just outside of Panthertown Valley, and there is actually a house at the top. Until recently, the whole thing was off-limits. However, a few years ago a climbing group secured an easement that allows public access. The only legal way to the top of the mountain is by technical climbing. We weren’t interested in that, but we were interested in hiking the access trail leading to the base of the cliffs. I’d been there once, several years earlier, but Bob had only read about it.

Getting there would require crossing Panthertown Creek. We could descend the steep, icy trail along Granny Burrell Falls and cross the bridge. However, that route would be longer, and neither of us had particularly enjoyed the treacherous hike along Granny Burrell Falls the first time. The other option was to wade the creek. We knew it would be cold, but at least the water isn’t particularly deep or swift. We decided to take the direct route despite the obvious discomfort.

I changed into river shoes, while Bob went barefoot. I’d love to say that it wasn’t really that bad, but that would be a lie. If anything, it was worse than expected. At least I didn’t start hollering until after I reached the far side. Bob fared a little better. Meanwhile, the dogs didn’t seem fazed by it at all.

I changed back into boots and stashed my river shoes for our return crossing that afternoon. We then climbed up away from the creek and joined the Deep Gap Trail. The Deep Gap Trail would take us all the way to the National Forest boundary at the southwest corner of the valley. From there we would pick up the new trail to the base of Laurel Knob.

First though, we checked out a couple of waterfalls. First up was a small but pretty waterfall on Frolictown Creek, which is a major tributary of Panthertown Creek. The waterfall is only about 15’, but it is lovely. The water was up from an unusually wet January, which added to the beauty of the falls. While we were there, the first snowflakes began to fall. This was a mild surprise, as snow wasn’t expected before late afternoon.

From there we took a short side trip up to Wilderness Falls. Wilderness Falls is on a small stream – an unnamed tributary of Frolictown Creek. However, with the high water levels, this was the optimum time to see it. It is a high, steep cascading waterfall, and it would’ve been quite impressive under better circumstances. Unfortunately, the obvious viewpoint at the base of the falls was hazardous to reach due to icy rocks. Also, fallen trees immediately upstream would have diminished the view. Normally is possible to get a view of the main part of the falls just above the fallen trees. However, that requires scrambling out on a slippery rock above the lower portion of the falls. That rock was also ice-covered. Because of the ice and the thick rhododendron cover, we couldn’t find a safe vantage point for decent photos.

We returned to the Deep Gap Trail and headed upstream. The trail crosses Frolictown Creek just above the previously mentioned waterfall. Normally this is an easy rock hop. So easy, I had completely forgotten about it. Unfortunately, on this day, the high water meant either a very difficult rock hop (at the brink of a waterfall) or another wade. Neither of us was enthusiastic about wading the creek 3 more times, and to make matters worse, I’d left my wet river shoes back at the previous crossing. Sigh.

It occurred to me that the trail along the base of the cliffs at Laurel Knob would probably be icy, too. We decided that a change in plans was in order. We decided to take a tour of the valley and visit some additional waterfalls. First, I returned to the original crossing to retrieve my shoes. Then we doubled-back up to the Deep Gap Trail, passing through another lovely white pine grove en route. We followed it to the Panthertown Valley Trail, which we took back down to Panthertown Creek.

We were stunned at how many people we encountered over the next 2 hours. First we met a couple of backpackers skillfully rockhopping Panthertown Creek at the end of the Green Valley Trail. Beyond there, we ran into a large group of boy scouts camping. At Schoolhouse Falls we met a group of college-aged backpackers. Later, back at that first white pine grove we had passed, was a huge group of boy scouts.

The funny thing is that if we had stuck with our original plan, we probably wouldn’t have seen anyone. We would’ve spent most of the weekend under the mistaken impression that we had the whole valley to ourselves.

The snow really began to fall when we reached the Sandbar Pool on Panthertown Creek. It was coming down so hard we could barely see. The ground was covered almost instantly. Despite this we pushed on to Schoolhouse Falls on Greenland Creek. The falls were raging due to the high water volume. I attempted some photos there, but it was snowing too hard to accomplish much.

It was getting late and our feet were frozen, so we headed back. We returned to the bridge over Panthertown Creek and climbed up along Granny Burrell Falls once again. This time I slipped once and fell on my butt. At least I didn’t slide into the creek for an encore.

It was still snowing to beat the band when we returned to the shelter. We were relieved to find the area deserted. I was a little surprised, after seeing so many backpackers earlier. My guess is that the icy trail along the falls and / or the ford of Panthertown Creek discouraged the other groups from trying to reach the shelter.

The shelter is quite large, which was good, because snow had blown in on the south side. Because of the cold and blowing snow, Bob decided to pitch his tent inside the shelter. I was reluctant at first, but there wasn’t anybody else around, and the tent would keep the dogs warmer. I ended up pitching mine, too, and it was a good move. Later snow started blowing in from the north side. By the next morning, there was no part of that shelter that didn’t have at least a dusting of snow.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the snow fall. The dogs played in it for a while before running out of energy. By dark, there were already a couple of inches on the ground outside of the shelter. Originally we planned to build a fire, but the wood was wet, and it didn’t make much sense to leave the relative comfort of the shelter to sit by a fire in a driving snow storm. I made several apple cider drinks spiked with whiskey, but it wasn’t until I started eating my chili dinner than my feet finally thawed. Bob went to bed early, despite my persistent efforts at keeping him awake. I finally gave up when a gust of wind knocked all of the wet snow off an overhanging tree branch directly onto me as I sat at the edge of the shelter. I was instantly drenched, as if I’d spent the previous hour out in the storm.

I dried off and went to bed. I slept surprisingly well despite the cold. It was quite warm in my zero-degree bag, with two dogs inside the tent.

Getting up the next morning was another story. It’s always hard leaving the comfort of a warm sleeping bag in sub-freezing temperatures. The snow had stopped shortly after dark, because there was only 3” of snow on the ground. I took a morning stroll down to the creek to water the dogs and to enjoy the scenery. Every tree and shrub was decorated with fresh snow. The forest was absolutely still, at least for a few minutes. Then it started snowing again. By the time I returned to the shelter it was coming down hard once again.

We had breakfast there (me – ham, eggs, and cheese on a bagel with coffee, Bob – Poptarts). Eventually we packed up for the hike out. I was attaching my camera to my pack when the cold and my heavy gloves caused a near disaster. I dropped the camera on the floor of the shelter. It was in its case, but I was still alarmed. Christy had bought me a new lens for Christmas. I removed the lens cap to check it, and I was horrified to see a huge crack. However, after closer examination, I was pretty sure the crack was just in the UV filter that protects the actual lens surface. The filter was jammed, but I was eventually able to remove it. I was relieved to find the lens intact.

The snow finally stopped just before we left the shelter. We took the scenic route home. We hiked east on the Great Wall Trail, which follows Panthertown Creek along the base of the cliffs on the south side of Big Green Mountain. We passed through endless tunnels of rhododendron draped with fresh snow. Just before beginning the climb up to Big Green, we paused to consider an off-trail hike up to Panthertown Falls, which is a new addition on the Kornegay map. However, that adventure would’ve required bushwhacking through tunnels of rhododendron for a ½ mile. We would’ve been doused with heavy wet snow every few steps. We decided to save that waterfall for another time.

The climb to Big Green Mountain was strenuous, but the footing wasn’t too bad. Once on Big Green we hiked out to the end of the mountain to check out the views. The main trail leads to several spur paths that end at the tops of the cliffs. The first spur path led to a dangerous icy rock face. We bailed out on that before we reached a decent vantage point. We continued out to the western summit of Big Green, and took the third spur path down to a split. We stayed left there, and descended steeply through rhododendron to the top of another cliff. This spot was dangerous, too, but at least we could get a decent view without getting close to the edge. It’s a good thing too, because we were just above the brink of a 300’ sheer drop. I made the dogs sit while we took a few photos. Then we retreated back up to the main trail.

I explored the second spur path before we headed back. This one led to a good view also, though it wasn’t as great as the previous one. This view was more to the south, whereas the previous view had been more to the west. This vantage point was also reasonably safe, though once again I stayed well above the brink of the cliff.

We had lunch at the top of the mountain. Then we followed the ridge to the Mac’s Gap Trail. We followed it down to a junction with the Little Green Mountain Trail. Originally we planned to hike over Little Green, but we feared that the route would be hazardous under the conditions. Instead we continued down to Boggy Creek and Christy’s favorite campsite, which was even prettier in the snow. Then it was back to the bridge over Panthertown Creek, which we crossed for the third time. On our way out we stopped near the boy scout camp in the white pine grove. The scouts had erected the biggest snowman I’ve ever seen. It was easily 11’ tall. We posed with it for photos before finishing the hike out.

The drive home was exciting. Scraping the car took a few minutes. Fortunately there had been a fair bit of traffic on the dirt road leading to the trailhead. Once on the pavement, we found that the road had been plowed. This was a huge relief, but the drive down the mountain still required considerable caution. I certainly didn’t want our weekend to end like this:

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=326135257485904

We had a great trip in one of my all-time favorite places. Seeing it with fresh snow made it even more spectacular than normal. I’ll have to check out Panthertown in some of the other seasons, too. I’ll be it is quite nice in the autumn during the peak of fall foliage.

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