BACK TO THE RIVER

A 3-day job in Atlanta last week left me with a convenient hiking opportunity. Instead of waiting for the weekend to hike (and driving at least 2 hours each way), I brought my hiking and camping gear with me. My plan was to car camp somewhere Wednesday night. I’d do a full dayhike on Thursday before returning home that evening.

Initially I considered heading up to the Standing Indian area in the Nantahala National Forest. Yet another winter storm hammered that area on Tuesday though. I wasn’t real interested in getting my car stuck (again), and that seemed all too likely if I went up there. Instead, I decided to return to a low-elevation area that I had visited a year earlier. My plan was to camp at Brasstown Falls, near Westminster, SC. From my prior visit, I knew there were a number of convenient places to car camp there. I was eager to visit Brasstown Falls again. On my previous visit, confusion and a lack of daylight caused me to miss the middle and lower drops of this waterfall.

I escaped from Atlanta early on Wednesday afternoon. After a surprisingly painless drive, I found myself in Westminster at 3:30. At that point, I began to think that I might have time to squeeze in a mini-hike before dark. Luckily, I knew the perfect destination. I headed west, towards the Chattooga River. I’d backpacked along the Chattooga a week earlier, but I certainly hadn’t seen everything the river has to offer. Today, I hoped to hike down to Long Creek Falls. I’d visited Long Creek Falls once, about 15 years ago, while rafting the infamous section IV of the Chattooga. The waterfall is on Long Creek, just before it reaches the river. It can be seen from the river, but this time I’d be approaching it from the opposite direction.

I followed directions I found here: http://www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/Waterfalls/Longcreek.html. They were more or less accurate, though the last few miles on a snow-covered forest road were pretty exciting. Fortunately it was a sunny, warm afternoon, and the lingering snow was soft and slushy. I arrived at the end of the road, and pulled off next to a spur road heading down towards the river. It might be possible to drive this spur road, but I wasn’t inclined to push my luck in my Corolla – even though I’m quite confident in its brakes.

I changed clothes quickly and gathered my gear. Any doubts that I may have had as to whether I was in the right place were quickly dispelled. A short distance down the spur road I passed a sign that simply said “LCF”. I took this to mean Long Creek Falls.

The hiking was easy on the old road despite the snow. Eventually the road ended, and I picked up the foot path leading from the right side of the dead end. The easy hiking continued as I contoured around the mountainside. Eventually I reached a point where I was high above the Chattooga River far below. I passed a couple of steep, faint paths heading down, but they didn’t “feel” right to me. They looked like they were heading towards the river, but where was Long Creek? I ignored them, and turned a corner into a prominent side drainage. At this point I found an obvious side path heading down. It was steep, but heavily traveled. This looked like a good bet, and I started down.

Fortunately the snow had melted here, and the descent wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected. I reached the river after only a few minutes. At this point, I was deep in the heart of the infamous section IV of the Chattooga. Here, I was a short distance upstream from the legendary 5 falls of the Chattooga - a long run of some of the most challenging whitewater in the southeast.

Long Creek joins the river here, and Long Creek Falls is immediately upstream. It’s a lovely waterfall, and it was more impressive than I remembered. My previous visit had been in the summer, when water levels were low. That wasn’t the case today! I took a few photos and enjoyed the peace and quiet by the riverside. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to loiter for long. The days are getting longer, but sunset still comes around 6:30.

I hiked out quickly. On the drive out, I was treated to a fine view of the mountains to the north. Dark, heavy clouds hung over the peaks there. It looked like it was still snowing up that way! Immediately I knew I had chosen my destination wisely. There was a fair bit of snow on the ground here, but at least it was done falling.

I drove into Westminster, and had a decent dinner at a Chinese restaurant run by Vietnamese people. After eating, I whipped out my laptop and worked on my report for work. That may have been the strangest place I’ve written a report, but that’s one of the concessions I have to make when camping and hiking on a weekday.

From there, I headed back over to Brasstown Creek. I parked at the end of the road, and carried my camping gear 100 yards down the trail to the beginning of a large camping area. I set up camp on the bank of the creek, where I could enjoy the white noise from the water rushing by. A clear sky displayed some spectacular stars, but I was barely able to appreciate them before falling asleep.

My alarm woke me at 7 the next morning. Getting out of my sleeping bag was tough – it was cold out there! I packed some of my gear and hauled it to the car, where I retrieved my pack, camera, and frozen boots. Then I headed back down to the brink of the upper falls. Here I picked up one of several goat paths clinging to the hillside above the falls. I headed downstream, high above the initial series of cascades. I continued beyond that drop though, contouring along the steep hillside. A few minutes later, I passed high above the middle falls. This was my primary destination for the morning. I wanted to get some photos of the middle falls, but I could see that doing so was going to be a challenge. The hillside ahead of me was shrouded in a cloud of spray from the falls. Temperatures were below freezing, and the entire hillside was covered in an icy glaze.

I carefully worked my way down the hillside towards the base of the falls. This mostly involved sliding on my butt down ice-covered rocks. Eventually I reached a ledge with a great frontal view of the falls. Unfortunately, the spray from the waterfall was constant here. Photography was nearly hopeless, but that didn’t stop me from trying. Still, I’m going to have to return on another occasion to get better photos.

From there, I continued downstream to the base of the lower falls. This descent was easier, and I was rewarded with a nice view of the final drop. From there, I could also see part of the middle falls. After a few minutes, I headed back out. It was almost time for the day’s next event.

When I reached the top of the upper falls I had a decision to make. From here, I could see and hear Little Brasstown Falls just upstream. Little Brasstown Falls is on a tributary, and water levels are usually pretty low. That wasn’t the case today though. It was the perfect time to check this one out, except for one minor problem – getting to it would require wading Brasstown Creek.

I eyed the creek warily. I didn’t have wading shoes with me, but the sandy bottom promised a gentle ford. My larger concern though was the temperature. The sun was just cresting a nearby hillside, and temperatures were still below freezing. The creek was only knee-deep, but it would be cold! I contemplated this for a few minutes, but realized that my chance to see this waterfall at its best was right now. Plus, I figured that Brasstown Creek couldn’t possibly be any colder than the Lethe River in Alaska. I decided to give it a go.

I shed my boots and jumped in. My first thought was something like, “gee, this isn’t THAT bad”. Then the full sensation sunk in, and my skull tried to turn itself inside out. I was a holler’n as I splashed the rest of the way across the creek.

Once on the far bank, I pulled on my boots, sans socks, and hurried upstream along Little Brasstown Creek. That warmed me slightly, but I reached the base of the falls after only a couple of minutes. Little Brasstown Falls is quite pretty, and it was almost worth the misery involved in getting there. I took a few photos before reluctantly heading back. Somehow, the return crossing was actually worse.

THE ICE CATHEDRAL

I packed up the tent and headed back to the car. At this point, it was 9:30. This was pretty good timing, as my only work obligation of the day was a conference call at 10AM. I needed to be in a place with a cell signal at that point. I headed back towards Westminster, with a partially frozen bagel propped up on top of the dashboard of my car to thaw. My efforts were mostly futile, and the stale, frozen bagel I had for breakfast did little to warm me as I headed up highway 11 towards Lake Jocassee.

I joined my conference call in Westminster, and didn’t lose my cell signal until 30 minutes later. Fortunately, the call was virtually over at that point. My destination for Thursday was Caesar’s Head State Park in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness. It had been years since I’d hiked the classic loop around Raven Cliff Falls. I wanted to do that hike today, as it promised a good workout, as well as a reasonably short drive home that evening.

I drove up the mountain to the Caesar’s Head State Park Visitor’s Center, where I stopped briefly to use the facilities. From there, I made the short hike out to the Caesar’s Head overlook. There was still a fair bit of snow at this elevation, and the parking lot was an icy mess. The trail out to the overlook was actually worse. I made it to the first viewpoint, where I found a fantastic view of Table Rock cloaked in ice. From here, the trail descended an icy staircase. I could’ve managed it with Yaktrax, but decided to pass. After all, the main hike of the day was still ahead of me.

I drove a mile up the road to the parking area for Raven Cliff Falls. I was surprised to see 5 or 6 other cars there when I arrived. Raven Cliff Falls is an extremely popular hike, but I wasn’t anticipating a crowd on a snowy Thursday! By the time I paid my $2 entrance fee and filled out my dayhiking permit, it was after 11:30.

I crossed the road and followed the snowy trail towards South Carolina’s highest waterfall. This trail had seen quite a few footprints, and even some cross country skis, since Tuesday’s snow storm. Who knew that skiing in South Carolina was possible?

It had been so long since I’d hiked to Raven Cliff Falls, I didn’t remember the trail. It offered a nice walk through hardwood forest. Most of the route was snow-covered, though some of the open areas were just muddy. After a bit more than a mile, I reached a junction and the beginning of the loop. I headed left, to hike the loop clockwise. A bit later, I found the turn for the trail out to the new overlook of Raven Cliff Falls.

A 2-minute side trip brought me to a disappointing view of the falls. The old overlook provided a fine view of the waterfall from the opposite side of the gorge. The new overlook is much farther away, and part of the falls is obscured by trees. Despite these shortcomings, the overlook did offer a sunny, dry spot for lunch. It was a nice place to eat, even though my soggy leftover Subway sandwich wasn’t very exciting.

After a quick lunch I returned to the trail. There I found a sign warning about the difficulty of the trail ahead. It suggested that I was about to descend 2000’ into the Matthews Creek Gorge. This was quite an exaggeration (the descent is more like 1400’ from the road). Still, with the snow and ice, I was a little concerned about whether I had enough time to complete the hike before dark.

I set an aggressive pace down into the gorge. Fortunately this stretch was mostly snow-free. The mud was a nuisance though, and I nearly wiped out twice as I hurried down the switchbacks. At the bottom of the gorge, I reached a junction, and headed back to the right towards Matthews Creek. I knew I’d have to cross Matthews Creek to complete the loop.

I reached the crossing a few minutes later. There was no bridge, rock hopping wasn’t an option, and wading would’ve been intense. My only option was a pair of cables strung between two sturdy trees on opposite sides of the creek. To cross, I’d have to traverse the lower cable while holding on to the upper one. Oh boy!

Crossing was awkward, as I had my hiking stick with me. I stuck it under one arm so I could hold on with two hands. The traverse wasn’t too bad initially, but it got worse. As I crossed, the cables gradually rose higher above the stream. By the time I reached the far side, I was probably 6’ above the creek. I dismounted carefully and headed upstream, relieved that the worst was behind me.

But was it? This side of the gorge was in the shade. As a result, it was completely snow-covered. I put on my Yaktrax in anticipation of some difficult footing. I headed upstream, excited yet worried that the path might prove to be impassable.

The fact that a trail from the bottom of The Dismal (the Matthews Creek Gorge) to the top of Raven Cliff Falls exists is pretty amazing. When viewed from the Raven Cliff Falls overlook, the area looks virtually impassable. It doesn’t look much better on a topo map. Whoever built this trail must’ve been highly motivated! I’m glad they were, because it provides one of the finest hikes in South Carolina. The first time I hiked it, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting close up views of the falls, which failed to materialize. Even without them, the hike is intense. The trail follows the base of Raven Cliff, with the falls thundering below. It’s impossible to get a good view of the falls along here, but the waterfall can still be experienced. The sound is overwhelming, and the power of the water makes the earth shake.

The climb out of the gorge was difficult initially, and then it got worse. I slogged uphill, climbing steeply through wet snow. Eventually my efforts were rewarded. I reached the base of Raven Cliff, which was almost completely covered in icicles. It was simply the most outrageous display of icicles I’d ever seen. I stopped to gape, before whipping out my camera. I’ve never had much luck with photographing icicles, but that wasn’t going to stop me from trying here!

The spot where I was standing almost defies description. I was at the base of a vast rock amphitheatre draped in ice. I immediately named this spot the Ice Cathedral. A lesser name would’ve been inadequate.

I was photographing an impressive hanging sheet of ice from below when a similar piece tore away from the cliff with a roar. I looked back up, and noticed that there wasn’t much holding the ice formation above to the cliff. At this point, it occurred to me that this might not be a good place to stand. I squeezed off one last photo and hurried out of the way.

The rest of the climb was grueling. The footing was tricky, thanks to the snow. A couple of short but icy ladders and one tricky scramble made the remainder of the hike exciting. Finally I climbed above the top of the falls and reached a suspension bridge spanning the creek. I strolled across, relieved that the hardest part of the hike was behind me.

I took a break there before completing the loop. From the bridge, I followed the trail upstream passing a couple along the way. They were the only people I saw all day.

The rest of the hike out was uneventful. I returned to the car at 4:30. From there I headed down the mountain, back towards highway 11. I briefly considered stopping at Graffiti Rock, but decided to skip it. Instead, I pulled over at Wildcat Falls. Wildcat Falls is a small waterfall on an even smaller creek immediately north of highway 11. I’ve driven past it dozens of times over the years without stopping. On previous occasions, the water level was low, or the lighting for photos was bad, or a bunch of kids were playing below the falls, or I was in a hurry to get home. This time, the water was up, the falls were in the shade, the place was deserted, and I was ahead of schedule.

I pulled over to check it out. Wildcat Falls is small, but it’s still kind of cute. Just upstream is another small but pretty drop. Beyond are the remains of an old homestead, including an impressive stone chimney. A number of trails begin from here, and I wonder where they all lead. I decided to save them for another time though.

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