GETTIN’ TANKED

It’d been a few weeks since the last time I’d crawled around in the woods looking for obscure, undocumented waterfalls, so I contacted Jack and Brenda about a hike. My suggestion was an exploration of Tankersley Branch, near Jones Gap State Park. Tankersley Branch flows down the same mountain as Fall Creek and Headforemost Creek, and judging from the topo map, it looked like a likely spot for waterfalls. Plus, I wanted to do the hike before it gets any hotter and the creeks begin to dry up.

I was also in need of some quiet time in the woods after a long week at work. I’d just returned from a job assignment in Chicagoland. To be specific, I was in Joilet. One evening after work I took a drive through the neighboring town, which is named – and I swear I’m not making this up – Romeoville. Personally I think it would’ve been more amusing if they’d just called it Romeo, but it is close enough I guess.

The highlight of the trip was the weather. It was in the mid-80’s every day, which is just a wee bit unusual for northern Illinois in mid-March. The people up there was so happy it was like someone had given them the greatest gift in the world. They were so giddy it was like they were drunk. I was surprised that the people I was working with actually showed up every day.

Great weather aside, it was a relief getting back home. On Sunday morning I met Jack in Spartanburg. We headed towards Jones Gap State Park, but made a brief diversion in search of blooming peach trees. Unfortunately the blooms were already gone. We then met up with Brenda at the Fall Creek Falls Trailhead just outside of Jones Gap State Park.

My original plan had been to explore Little Fall Creek first. Little Fall Creek is a tributary of Fall Creek, and the topo map suggests the possibility of waterfalls along it. From there, I was hopeful that we would be able to follow old roads east towards Tankersley Branch. That route would bring us to the creek upstream from the area that was likely to feature waterfalls. Of course, I realized that those hopes might be a complete fantasy. I’d arrived that morning fully expecting some hardcore bushwhacking.

The previous evening Jack had proposed an alternate plan. He suggested attempting to approach the waterfalls from downstream. He’d researched the property boundaries, and thought we could get there on public property. A large portion of Tankersley Branch was purchased recently by the Nature Conservancy. Jack thought that they had transferred the land to the State of South Carolina. If so, we might be able to access the waterfalls by a much easier route.

From the Fall Creek Falls Trailhead we drove to Gap Creek Road. After a couple of miles we turned left onto Rhodes Lane, and then right on Cedar Rock Drive. This road is gated after a short distance, but the area isn’t posted or developed. Jack pulled off onto the shoulder a bit before the gate and we prepared for our hike.

We started our hike by following the road beyond the gate. We climbed a couple of switchbacks before reaching a junction with an old dirt road. That road seemed to be heading the in right direction, so we followed it. After descending briefly, we reached a property boundary along a barbed wire fence. The boundary had recently been surveyed, and signs indicated that it was state property. We followed a rough trail along the property line / fence downhill. Before long we crossed a tiny tributary before reaching Tankersley Branch. We could see a house in the distance across the creek, so we were obviously close to private property. Fortunately, we didn’t need to continue in that direction.

We turned upstream, following the creek. Before long we reached a stone chimney at an old home site. From there we continued upstream, through relatively open forest. We followed occasional red ribbons along here, which might be marking the route of a future trail? A few minutes later we intersected an old road coming from the west. Just beyond we arrived at the base of the first waterfall.

This lower waterfall is pretty nice, but I didn’t find it to be terribly photogenic. Immediately upstream is a long cascading slide over open bedrock. We continued up the slope in hopes of getting a better look. The hiking from here on was quite difficult, with large boulders, thick vegetation, and abundant briars on a steep slope.

We looked for a viewpoint of the slide part of the way up but couldn’t find a safe vantage point. We ended up approaching the creek again farther up. This is a really cool area where the creek squeezes through a narrow passage on the far side of a vast expanse of bedrock. This stretch of bedrock is fairly steep, but the rock was mostly dry, and walking there was relatively safe. We spent some time exploring the area before continuing upstream.

A long series of cascades and small waterfalls followed. There were several scenic drops, but the area wasn’t particularly photogenic due to the thick vegetation.

We continued upstream. As we hiked, I monitored our progress using a GPS app I’d recently downloaded onto my IPhone. Jack had suggested the app, which he had downloaded a few months earlier. My app was working better than his though, since I have Verizon and he has AT&T. It turns out that the app only works if you have a cell signal!

The map suggested that we were nearing the top of the steepest terrain. Jack and Brenda headed back towards the creek to check out a cascade, but I decided to forge on ahead towards the top. I was beginning to think that we’d seen the best that Tankersley Branch had to offer, but I wasn’t quite ready to turn back. Plus, with steep cliffs all around, it looked like there might be something hiding around the next corner.

I pushed through some nasty briars before arriving at a thick tangle of rhododendron. Walking through there was simply not an option. I was going to have to crawl. I ditched my pack and dropped onto all fours. I crawled forward and immediately encountered a big pile of crap in my path. Really. As if the briars, boulders, and rhododendrons weren’t enough.

I managed to get through the tangle without rolling in it. Next up was a massive cliff. I traversed the base of it by crossing a rotten log that looked like it might collapse at any moment (it did later, when Jack was crossing it. Fortunately he landed well). At the far side of the log I crawled under a fallen tree and an overhanging boulder. I crawled out from under the rock and was greeted with a view of the best waterfall of the day. The upper-most waterfall on Tankersley Branch is about a 40’ vertical drop. It’s the prettiest and most photogenic waterfall along this creek, and I doubt many people have seen it. There certainly wasn’t any sign that anyone had ever been there.

I spent a few minutes taking photos before heading back. I found Jack and Brenda near where I’d left my pack. They headed up to check out the falls while I relaxed and ate lunch.

They returned a few minutes later, thrilled with our discovery. After a bit of lounging, we contemplated our options for the rest of the day. It was still early afternoon, so we had plenty of time for additional exploration. I suggested hiking west towards Little Fall Branch. If we could find our way down to the Fall Creek Falls Trailhead we could take Brenda’s car back to our starting point. That was an intriguing idea, but it had one flaw. Brenda had left her car keys in Jack’s car!

Another idea was to head east towards the Peters Branch drainage. The map suggests that Peters Branch may have waterfalls, too. However, we weren’t sure about the property ownership that far to the east. In the end, we decided to head back down. However, we chose to make our descent farther east, in hopes of finding easier terrain.

We descended a bit and reached the remains of an old road. We explored it to the east before it faded away. At this point I caught the sound of falling water in the drainage ahead. This drainage is just a tiny tributary that isn’t even shown on the map. Still, the sound lured me on. I clambered through another rhododendron thicket and was rewarded for my efforts. I reached a cute little 10’ waterfall in a small grotto. The waterfall is small, and it’s on a tiny stream that probably dries up in the summer. On the other hand it is a true free fall, with a small alcove behind it. It was a neat spot, and it added some interesting scenery to the day’s adventure. It reminded me a bit of a miniature Moore Cove Falls. I decided to call it “Less Moore Falls”, in honor of its resemblance to Moore Cove, while acknowledging its diminutive stature.

I rejoined Jack and Brenda and we resumed our descent. The route we chose was very steep, and our bushwhack evolved into a buttwhack. We made it down in one piece though, and were treated to a nice variety of wildflowers along the way. We eventually reached the creek again, and after a few minutes we found a place to cross. Once on the far side, we rejoined our approach route from that morning. The hike out from there was easy and uneventful.

We returned to the Fall Creek Falls Trailhead around 3pm. I suggested a second hike to explore Little Fall Creek, but Jack was ready to call it a day. We’ll just have to save that one for next time!

Back to South Carolina

Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports

Home

Please remember to Leave No Trace!