TERRAPIN

"Inspiration, move me brightly. Light the song with sense and color; Hold away despair, more than this I will not ask.
Faced with mysteries dark and vast, statements just seem vain at last.

Some rise,
Some fall,
Some climb,
To get to Terrapin.

Counting stars by candlelight, all are dim but one is bright;
The spiral light of Venus, rising first and shining best,
On, from the northwest corner, of a brand new crescent moon,
While crickets and cicadas sing, a rare and different tune,
Terrapin station.
In the shadow of the moon,
Terrapin station.
And I know we'll get there soon,

Terrapin!
I can't figure out,
Terrapin!
If it's the end or beginning."

From "Terrapin Station", written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter.

Spencer, Scott, and I woke up tired and sore on Sunday morning. Stephanie had already left for work. Meanwhile, we stubbornly planned to go hiking, despite the fact that we’d been hiking in over a foot of snow for 10 hours the previous day. That hiked had ended at 10pm. We’d eaten dinner at 1am and crashed at 2. I think we were all just hopeful that there wouldn’t be any remaining snow where we were headed.

Scott made us a wonderful breakfast, and between the three of us we consumed a dozen eggs, a bag of potatoes, and two pots of coffee. Despite our fatigue we managed to leave nearly on time. We drove from Scott’s house in Franklin back up to Cashiers and down 107 to Heady Mountain Gap. Just past the gap we pulled off at the beginning of Round Mountain Road. It is a gated forest road. Normally it is possible to park here without blocking the gate, but the road was snow covered, and we couldn’t get up the hill into the parking area. Instead, we drove down 107 a short distance and parked on the shoulder. There is actually room for quite a few cars here.

Jennifer arrived a minute later. She had trouble finding the meeting spot, but saw us when we pulled off the road. Spencer had met Jennifer once in the middle of a hike, but otherwise it was our first time meeting. She was enthusiastic about our plan, which was to hike to Terrapin Mountain. Terrapin is nearly 4,500’ high, and towers above the Chattooga River gorge. Spencer had identified cliffs on the south side of Terrapin that promised great views – if we could get to them.

Our plan was to hike from highway 107 northwest, roughly following the ridgeline that connects Heady Mountain Gap, Heady Mountain, Coldsides Mountain, and Terrapin Mountain. This area is mostly National Forest, though we would need to skirt around a small area of private property on the crest of Heady Mountain.

Spencer, Scott, Jennifer, Boone, and I walked up 107 a short distance to an old roadbed heading west. It is overgrown and hard to see, but it is directly across from the beginning of Round Mountain Road. A short distance farther north is a gated driveway with no trespassing signs. We actually started our hike right at the private property boundary.

The first stretch of road was snow covered and thick with rhododendron. After a short distance the snow disappeared and the undergrowth eased up. We followed the road along the south flank of Heady Mountain, where it was warm and sunny and snow-free. Before long we reached the first of several junctions. At each we took the old road that went up and to the right. That kept us heading west and generally uphill.

Eventually the road we were following petered out. At that point we just bushwhacked uphill. The forest was mostly open, so the cross country hiking wasn’t bad. The steep grade was still tough on my tired legs though! At one point I actually tripped over a twig.

We eventually reached the crest of the ridge. A bit later we encountered a private property boundary, so we skirted around it to the south. We were happy to stay on the south side, as there was no snow there. The ridge tops were mostly clear, too, except in areas of dense forest. All of the north facing slopes still had lots of snow, but we were able to avoid most of them.

We arrived on the crest of Coldsides Mountain between its two summits. We climbed to the higher peak to the northwest, which was heavily wooded and snowy. There is actually an open cliff face on the southwest side of this mountain, below the summit, but we missed it initially. We did hike to it on our return, after seeing it from the cliffs of Terrapin.

We descended to the west, and then followed the ridge north and northwest towards Terrapin Mountain. Before long we reached the first open cliff face on Terrapin Mountain. This pleasant, sunny spot provided great views from the southwest to the southeast, as well as a preview of higher cliffs below the summit of Terrapin Mountain. Numerous lakes were visible, including Jocassee, Keowee, and Hartwell. We had lunch there and relaxed in the sun before continuing higher. After a short distance we passed another nice cliff with a potential campsite.

The final climb was a bit grueling. Near the summit of Terrapin Mountain we found two empty cans of Terrapin beer. I guess if there’s a gray area between art and litter, that is it. From there we fought our way through a briar patch to reach the wooded summit. Scott and I scouted the steep terrain on the northeast side but came up empty. The vegetation there is too thick to allow any views. That was a little disappointing, as the rugged peaks of Chimneytops Mountain and Rock Mountain are in that direction. Spencer even tried climbing a tree to get a better view, but it wasn’t tall enough to work.

From the summit we followed the ridge south. After a bit of a descent we reached a really nice campsite in the woods. From that point, there are open cliffs directly below on the west, south, and east sides of the southern end of the mountain. We headed south, and then southeast. This brought us to the cliffs on the east side. They offered a similar view to what we’d seen earlier.

After a short break we began exploring around the south face. We continued around to the west side, and the views kept getting better and better. First Rabun Bald in Georgia came into view. Then Satulah Mountain and Big Scaly above Highlands. Then Blackrock Mountain, and finally the grand prize, Whitesides. The view of the sheer cliffs of Whitesides from Terrapin is spectacular. It’s like being in Yosemite Valley. We took our time exploring the cliffs and absorbing the many views this mountain offers.

Terrapin Mountain was a difficult place to leave. We eventually headed back, more or less following the same route. We were on Heady Mountain when it started getting dark, and that may have contributed to our navigational error. We headed south down off Heady Mountain. The intention was to intersect the old road we had hiked in on. Either we missed it or didn’t go far enough. Regardless, we ended up bushwhacking along a steep slope that led into a series of nasty gullies. After we fought our way through the first one I checked the GPS and realized that we still had several more. We were uncertain whether the road we’d hiked in was below us. If it was, heading that way would provide an easy escape. If not, we’d end up way off course, wandering around in the dark.

I made the unpopular suggestion that we climb back up Heady Mountain to get above the gullies and then head east. Nobody wanted to go back up, but that was still preferable to the gullies. We actually climbed one of the gullies, which was awful. The vegetation was thick, giant boulders, blocked our route, the footing was wet and loose, and the incline was relentless. Fortunately the climb was fairly short. Once above the steepest terrain the hiking was easy. We continued east on a gradual descent. Before long we began seeing cars pass on highway 107 below. We scrambled down a final steep slope to regain the old road we’d hiked in and followed it a short distance to the highway. From there it was just a short walk back down to the cars. Spencer shared some beers as we celebrated a successful, thrilling hike.

Jennifer had just left when I noticed her hiking stick on the ground next to my car. I quickly turned my headlamp on strobe mode and pointed it towards her departing car. Her brake lights flashed, and a minute later she returned. She’d seen my signal! That strobe feature really works well!

I definitely want to return to Terrapin Mountain. Next time I’d like to camp up there, as those cliffs promise great views for both sunset and sunrise.

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