UNDER THE DOME
On
Sunday Brenda, Scott, Kyle, and Kyle’s dog Ziggy joined me for an adventure on
the Thompson River. Our plan was to
check out a previously un-explored stretch of the Thompson River and visit
Standing Stone Falls. Standing Stone
Falls (formerly waterfall #3 on the lower Thompson River) is located just
downstream from Rich’s Falls, and immediately upstream from Big Falls. To get to it, you either have to hike to Big
Falls and climb up, or hike to Rich’s Falls and wade, scramble, and bushwhack
downstream. We intended to hike to
Rich’s Falls and go downstream. After
visiting Standing Stone, we’d work our way back up to Rich’s Falls and then
attempt to explore farther upstream.
Nobody that I know of has hiked that stretch of river. I didn’t expect to find any waterfalls up
there, but you never know.
We
accomplished none of those goals. When
we forded the Thompson River downstream from High Falls we found it running
high and fast. Down at Rich’s Falls it
was raging. Just getting from the end of
the goat path that descends to the river up to the base of Rich’s Falls was
challenging. The rocks were wet and
slick and the water was fast and deep.
Scott had made the descent to Standing Stone previously, on a dry day,
and he didn’t think the descent would be safe.
We debated trying to go upstream, but had serious doubts about that,
too. At best, it would be slow and
difficult.
Kyle
had never been to Big Falls, so Scott decided to take him down there. Brenda wasn’t really up for that, but I
managed to talk her into hiking up to see Hidden Dome Falls. Hidden Dome Falls is a remote, little-known
waterfall on an unnamed tributary of the Thompson River. I’d known about it for years, and had always
meant to visit it, but hadn’t gotten around to it. Today seemed like the perfect
opportunity. Our original plans had been
foiled by the conditions, but the higher water levels would actually be
advantageous at Hidden Dome Falls since it is on a small stream. Plus, it would be an easier hike than Big
Falls.
It
wasn’t.
Brenda
and I parted ways with Scott and Kyle shortly after leaving the river. We made tentative plans to reunite back at
High Falls on the way out. Brenda and
Kyle hadn’t been to that one, and it would be a great place for a swim near the
end of the hike.
None
of us made it there.
Brenda
and I rejoined the main trail and headed back up the valley. We passed high above Rich’s Falls. A few minutes later we heard a noisy stretch
of river below us. I had heard this
before and it had piqued my curiosity.
In fact, it had been the primary inspiration for wanting to explore
upstream from Rich’s Falls. The forest
off to our right didn’t look too bad, and it was still early afternoon. We hadn’t been able to reach that area by
following the river, but we might be able to bushwhack to it.
We
headed down through the woods, following a narrow ridge. Eventually we dropped off of it and into a
wet gully. That led us to the brink of a
cliff. We skirted around that, did some
gnarly bushwhacking, and dropped into another gully a bit farther north. This one was safer, with only one short
stretch of downclimbing necessary. That brought us to the river at 2,420’. Just upstream was the source of the noise
we’d heard. It was a big rapid / small
cascade. Though pretty, it wasn’t a
waterfall. Beyond that the terrain
looked pretty flat.
We
also explored downstream. I spotted a
water snake as we worked our way across some rocks. After a short distance a cliff on River Right
halted our progress. It would’ve been
necessary to swim to continue. The river
was pretty flat here, though it was beginning to drop as it approached a sharp
bend to the right. I knew that Rich’s
Falls wasn’t very far around that bend.
Could there be something in between?
Maybe. The other stretch of the
Thompson that is worth exploring is downstream from Simon’s Falls. The river drops a fair bit through
there. That stretch of river is closer
to the trail though. If there were any
waterfalls along that stretch they would most likely be documented.
We
returned to the trail and then headed for Hidden Dome Falls. After rejoining the main trail
we crossed an unnamed tributary and turned left onto an old logging road. There were lots of fallen trees to contend
with, but it was manageable. We passed
above several sliding cascades along here, but none of them appeared to be
worth bushwhacking down for a closer look.
Before long we neared a confluence of two streams. Our stream flowed in from the north. Rather than bushwhacking up that creek, we
hiked north cross country across a wooded knob.
The bushwhacking was tough, with lots of sidehilling,
but we were able to stay above the thickest vegetation. We eventually dropped down into the jungle
and waded through rhododendron and doghobble to reach
the confluence with two streams. This
time we followed the creek to the west.
Before long we could see a massive cliff above us. We burrowed through the vegetation towards
it. We hiked to the base of the cliff by
the path of least resistance before picking our way south to the creek. We arrived right at the base of the falls.
Hidden
Dome Falls is nearly 200 feet high. It
is a very steep slide over bare rock.
Photographing this waterfall is difficult. It is very tall, and the only vantage point
is right at the base. Backing up into
the jungle wasn’t an option.
After
a break I decided to try to reach the top.
I bushwhacked up River Right through the woods. Although it was steep, the forest was fairly
open. I reached a ridgeline and followed
it back towards the creek. Getting to
the very brink of the falls was pretty easy, but required a tremendous amount
of caution. One slip here means death. I made certain of my footing with each
step. Luckily there were a few trees to
hang onto also.
The
view from the top is fantastic. I looked
out over the brink of the falls. Beyond
was the dark green valley of the Thompson River, followed by waves of blue
mountains.
I
circled around through the woods and descended to another point a bit below the
top. This is the point that appears to
be the top when viewed from the base (the upper portion is out of sight from
that vantage point). From here I had a
similar view, plus I could see Brenda waiting down below. We attempted to take photos of each other
before I headed back down.
On
our return, we decided to stay closer to the creek. I figured it couldn’t be any worse than our
approach route. I was wrong. The creek was difficult to walk due to
numerous small waterfalls and cascades. The
banks were extremely steep and the jungle was thick. Following the bank required steep sidehilling and crawling.
The hike out was exhausting and it was a relief to return to the old
road.
The
rest of the hike was uneventful. Brenda
and I skipped High Falls, and we still didn’t finish before 7pm. Scott and Kyle had also skipped High Falls
and were long gone.
Sunday’s
adventure didn’t go according to plan, but we improvised well. We will have to return to Standing Stone
Falls and explore more of the Thompson River on a future trip.
Back to The Jocassee Gorges
Back to North Carolina
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!