HAPPY

One of my wife’s many duties as a high school teacher is coordinating a student exchange program with a school in Denmark. Each year students and teachers from the school spend a couple of weeks in the U.S. They spend most of that time in Charlotte. The students stay with local families, and the teachers stay with us.

Christy spends a good bit of time planning out activities for the Danes. This year, she decided that one of those activities should be a hike. Back in January she asked me for suggestions on where she could take a large group of teenagers. She also hinted that she’d like me to lead the hike, if I could get a day off of work.

I actually had a tough time coming up with suggestions. There just aren’t that many places that are reasonable for a group of 40-50 people. It needed to be a place with good, safe trails, and without restrictions on group size. In my mind, it also needed to be something impressive. Those kids were flying half way around the world to visit to North Carolina. A boring walk in the woods wouldn’t be sufficient. I wanted them to have an experience they’d remember.

My first thought was the Appalachian Trail in the Roan Highlands. The scenery there is as good as it gets in the southeast. The problem with that destination is that the weather can be hostile in early March. Since Christy had to get the trip approved by the school system, we wouldn’t have any flexibility. If we planned the hike for Roan and the forecast looked hostile, we’d have to cancel.

Ultimately I went with a safer choice, DuPont State Forest. The views there don’t compare to Roan Mountain, but the waterfalls are some of the best in our region. I would’ve preferred a destination closer to Charlotte, but there just aren’t any places that I felt were worthy that are much less than 2 hours away.

I struggled with how to plan a hike for 40+ people. Initially I thought about a one-way route starting from the Fawn Lake access and ending at the Hooker Falls access. That would be manageable logistically, since the kids were traveling in a bus. The bus driver could simply drop us off at one trailhead and pick us up at another. However, as the day of the hike drew closer I began having second thoughts. Minor considerations that would be trivial with a small group seemed significant. How long would the hike take with that many people? Could we get everyone across Staton Road at the end of the hike without someone getting run over by a car? Most importantly, where would all of those teenage girls use the bathroom before, during, and after the hike?

I changed plans on the morning of the hike. Instead, we’d start and finish at the Buck Forest Road access. That would alleviate the bathroom problem and eliminate the death-defying dash across Staton Road. It would also give us flexibility with time, as we had a deadline to adhere to. If we were running behind schedule we could simply shorten the hike.

The Danish teachers, Morten and Christian, arrived on Saturday. We enjoyed getting to know them over the weekend. It was their first visit to the United States. They’d spent the first week of their trip in Washington D.C. seeing the sights.

On Monday morning we drove over to the high school. We met the bus there, along with two parents that were joining the hike as chaperones. We left the school around 7:45 in a strange caravan. Christy and I led the way, with the bus and the parents following. We were driving separately mainly because we wanted to bring our dogs. Boone, our 3-year old Weimaraner, loves hiking almost as much as I do. Kona, our 4-month old chocolate lab mix, was excited about her first real hike. Although she was eager to go, she was very tense during the car ride. No doubt she had no idea where we were going or what we were doing.

One thing I’d failed to consider in my planning was that the activity bus was limited to 55mph. The route I’d planned took us down I-85 to Spartanburg and then up I-26 to Hendersonville. I’d picked this route because it’s generally just as fast as taking RT 74 through Shelby. It also meant that we could stop at a highway rest area on the way. I figured it would be far more efficient for 50 people to use the bathroom there than at a gas station or a McDonalds.

This was a good plan except that at 55mph the route through Spartanburg takes a lot longer. It’s also a bit scary driving 55mph on the interstate. I was ahead of the bus, and frequently somebody would pass it and then pull into the right lane behind me without realizing that I was moving the same speed. On several occasions I thought somebody was about join us in the back seat!

We made it to the South Carolina Welcome Center in one piece and made a brief stop. Then it was on to Spartanburg and Hendersonville. The bus really struggled going up the mountain to Saluda, but it made it. The drive from Hendersonville to DuPont was slow, but at least there was a lot of pretty scenery to look at.

I’d checked the forecast that morning before we left. Ray’s Weather was calling for temperatures in the 30’s with a chance of morning flurries. The good news is that we hadn’t planned to hike at Roan Mountain. Ray was expecting up to 5” of new snow up there. Somehow I doubt the activity bus would’ve made it to Carver’s Gap in those conditions! The good news is that the weather was better than advertised. Although it was breezy, temperatures were warmer than expected. It was a sunny day, too, which was enjoyable even if it made waterfall photography hopeless.

We arrived at the Buck Forest access around 10:45, 3 hours after leaving Charlotte. That was about 45 minutes longer than it takes me to drive it in my car. By the time we arrived I was ready to hit the trail. I wanted to visit Triple Falls, High Falls, Lake Dense, and Bridal Veil Falls, but we needed to finish the hike by 3pm. Everybody used the new bathrooms adjacent to the parking area before we started towards Triple Falls.

We were getting ready to start when I bumped into my hiking buddy Brenda. She had coincidentally shown up at the same trailhead at the same time, with plans to do the same hike we were doing. Brenda met Christy and Kona for the first time, and got to talk with the Danish teachers a little, too. It was nice to be able to hike with Brenda again, even if it was completely unexpected!

Before we started, we established a few ground rules. Christy and I covered the basics – staying on the trail, not climbing on the waterfalls, not falling in the river, and practicing Leave No Trace. The kids followed those guidelines to varying degrees throughout the hike.

We herded everyone past the gate and down Buck Forest Road to the Triple Falls Trail. The Triple Falls Trail is also a dirt road, and a short distance down it we had to get out of the way as a Park Ranger passed by in a pickup. The rest of this trail was uneventful as we descended to the upper overlook of Triple Falls. From there we descended a long staircase to an expanse of open rock at base of the middle drop of Triple Falls. There’s a great up-close view of the upper two drops of Triple Falls here, and the brink of the lower drop is only a few steps away.

I was a little nervous about having 40+ teenagers running around on the rocks there. After all, we were immediately upstream from a major waterfall. I felt even more queasy when one of the Danes climbed up the middle drop to the base of the upper fall. So much for my speech about not climbing on waterfalls! I guess karma was at play here, since I’ve ignored countless signs and guidebook warnings about that very thing over the years.

Fortunately the rest of the kids were content to enjoy the falls from below. Some of the kids unveiled a Danish flag, which they displayed while taking a group photo.

From there we climbed back up the steps and resumed the hike towards High Falls. We followed a dirt road upstream above the Little River. At the next junction we stayed left, onto the Riverbend Trail. We followed this old road along a calm, peaceful stretch of the river. That didn’t last long though. Before long a distant roar heralded High Falls.

Just before the base of High Falls we reached a sign that says “Trail Ends”. I didn’t recall seeing that before, and I was puzzled. A decent route continues below the base of the falls and joins a scramble path that leads to a spur trail descending from the upper overlook. We continued beyond the sign and reached the first obstacle of the hike. There are several trees blocking the “trail” here, but the kids weren’t fazed. They scrambled over and under them without hesitation. The adults struggled a bit more, but there weren’t any serious difficulties. The rocks beyond here were wet and slippery, but fortunately we didn’t have anyone fall in the river!

The river was up, and the spray was profuse at the base of the falls. Once everyone made it past the fallen trees we started up the scramble path. It was wet and slippery, but there were no issues. In fact, there was a lot more whining on the steep climb up the spur trail just beyond. That spur trail led us up to the main trail and a picnic shelter. It was 12:30, so we stopped there for lunch. By some miracle, there were just enough picnic tables and other seats to accommodate everyone.

The kids were doing well, though that last uphill had discouraged a few of them. After lunch I announced that we’d hiked 2 of the hike’s 6 miles to that point. However, I pointed out that we’d already finished the hard part. That seemed to reassure the kids that had struggled a little bit.

After lunch we hiked back out to Buck Forest Road. At that point we were less than 10 minutes away from the bus, but of course I didn’t mention that. Brenda parted ways, as she had plans that afternoon. The rest of us crossed the covered bridge at the brink of High Falls and turned right on Conservation Road. After a few minutes on this road we turned left onto the Pitch Pine Trail. This trail is nice in that it is an actual trail, not an old road. We followed it as it wound through the woods. Eventually we emerged onto another road. We turned right, went a few yards, and then turned left onto the trail to Lake Dense.

Lake Dense is a beauty. It is a lovely green, and is backed by the impressive cliffs of Joanna Mountain. I heard lots of oohs and aahs as we approached the water through the woods. Most of the kids fanned out onto the two docks that extend out into the lake. Boone went for a swim, and even Kona got in the water a little. One of the teens from Denmark also thought about jumping in. He’d stripped off most of his clothes and was preparing to jump off the dock when one of his teachers stopped him.

We lounged there for a bit enjoying the abundant sunshine. While we were relaxing I overheard one of the American girls say, “This place is so beautiful. I’m very happy right now”. That put a smile on my face that lasted the rest of the day. Teenage girls aren’t the easiest creatures to please. To get that reaction from one of them was quite an achievement.

We stayed there for about 15 minutes. I think most of those kids would’ve been happy to lounge there in the sun for another hour before heading back. However, I still wanted to visit Bridal Veil Falls, and time was running short. We eventually got everyone moving and made the short walk over Lake Alford. Lake Alford is just a tiny pond, but it’s pretty. From there we picked up the new Three Lakes Trail, which isn’t on my map. I knew where it led though, thanks to a recent trip report from my buddy Jack. We followed it through the woods to views of Lake Julia. We passed above the dam that forms Lake Julia and continued back out to Conservation Road.

At that point we were behind schedule, but I still wanted to include Bridal Veil Falls in the hike. Once everyone caught up, I asked them if they wanted to visit one more waterfall. There were a variety of opinions on this. Ultimately some of the kids elected to wait there while the rest of us hiked to Bridal Veil Falls. In the end most of them continued on to the falls.

We hiked up Conservation Road and turned right on Bridal Veil Falls Road. We passed the barn and arrived at the upper overlook of Bridal Veil Falls. Although the view here is somewhat obscured by trees, it does give a great overview of the entire waterfall. More oohs and aahs ensued. Witnessing their reaction to it made me really stop and look at the falls. For me, it was like seeing it for the first time. Sometimes when I visit a familiar waterfall I’m so caught up with how to get a good photograph that I don’t really LOOK at it. Today, it was like I was seeing it through their eyes. Before the hike, I wasn’t sure how much I’d really enjoy the experience. Leading a huge group of people on a hike really isn’t my thing. I DID enjoy it though, mainly due to the enthusiasm of those kids.

By the time I reached the base there were a couple dozen teens scampering up the rocks alongside the falls. That had definitely not been a part of my agenda, and I’d even reminded everyone about not climbing waterfalls on the way there. I’d been ignored, but I didn’t really blame them too much. Hell, I wanted to climb it, too.

Fortunately the rocks were dry, and the scramble was relatively safe. I had some trouble getting Kona off of a 5’ high boulder to access the scramble, but eventually she let me pick her up. On the return, she actually jumped / scrambled up that rock all by herself! We strolled up the waterfall and caught up to the kids a short distance below the upper part of the falls. Several of them had discovered the cave behind the falls, and they were all taking turns walking behind it.

The kids had a blast there. Walking behind the falls is really cool, and I’m glad they got to experience it. It turns out that the kids seemed to enjoy Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Dense the most. I’m glad we were able to include those destinations in the hike.

We hiked directly back, as it was nearly 3pm when we left Bridal Veil Falls. We returned to the bus at 3:30. Fortunately the driver wasn’t upset that we were behind schedule. The drive home was smooth, and ended a great day in the mountains.

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