LOWER, LOWER, UPPER

Team Waterfall embarked on one of its finest adventures last weekend. The plan was to hike up the Thompson River from Lake Jocassee. The goal was to hike upstream as far as we could. We planned the trip for late September, when Musterground Road is open for hunting season. Early fall also means lower water levels in most years. That would make the hike easier and safer. Musterground Road requires 4WD. Luckily, Jack and Kitty have appropriate vehicles and were willing to drive.

I met Darrin, Bob, Scott, Jack, and Kitty at the Foothills Trail access in Duke Power’s Bad Creek facility Saturday morning. We combined into two vehicles there. The road was in good shape initially, but it deteriorated as we drove deeper into the wilderness. We definitely needed the 4WD! Once we began paralleling the Thompson River we began looking for a place to park. After a steep climb we found a spot where the road is wide enough to park two vehicles on the shoulder.

We started our hike a little before 10am. We began by walking back down the road. My goal was to hit the Thompson River where it enters Lake Jocassee. That wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The road is high above the river, and the hillside is steep. We eventually found a place that looked doable and headed down. A steep, thick bushwhack eventually brought us out just above the lake. My aim had been off, so we began sidehilling up the valley. This was tedious, but we eventually reached the very end of the river.

At that point we found a well-used trail heading upstream on River Right. It begins at the lake, and was obviously created by boaters exploring upstream. It took us below an impressive cliff along a nice run of cascades and small waterfalls. We spent some time here exploring and photographing the falls. The most interesting feature along this stretch was a spot where the entire river runs under a broad, flat boulder. Just upstream from there is a large sliding cascade.

I’m not sure if any of these features are named. I suggest “Jocassee Falls” for this final stretch of cascades and falls. The Thompson River was originally the Jocassee River, before being renamed. That makes Jocassee Falls an appropriate choice, particularly since those cascades are just before the river enters the lake.

From there, the “trail” got rougher. We traversed some slippery rocks, and at one point had to climb up a small cliff using a tree. Before long though we reached the base of “The Flume”. Here, the Thompson River squeezes into a narrow chute that creates a natural waterslide. River Left features a massive open rock face. The flume is probably not steep enough to be considered a true waterfall. On the other hand, if it was steeper, it wouldn’t be possible to slide down it. Darrin, Jack, Bob, and Scott all took turns sliding the flume. It is actually a fairly slow descent, due to abundant moss on the river bed, which creates friction. On the other hand, sliding the flume is probably not safe when water levels are higher.

After some swimming and fooling around we resumed the hike upstream. There was no trail beyond The Flume, so we simply rock hopped and waded up the river. This was difficult at times due to slippery rocks and deep pools. Everybody fell at least once. I actually fell backwards into the river. I still have no idea how it happened. At one moment everything was fine. The next, I was looking up at the sky and bracing myself for the splash. Luckily I’d brought my old camera – which somehow survived that fall without getting soaked.

We passed swimming hole after swimming hole during our hike. Darrin led the way in sampling each one. Our plan for the day was to hike upstream as far as we could go. Darrin seemed determined to swim the whole way. That led me to bestow his new trail name upon him - “Salmon”. I think Darrin “Salmon” Hamlin has a nice ring to it.

Lots of rock hopping and wading brought us to the base of the largest, and last, waterfall on the river downstream from the Musterground Road bridge. This is a scenic spot, featuring a towering sheer cliff on River Left. From there, a difficult climb thru the woods on River Right allowed us to reach the top of the falls. While we were bushwhacking, I caught sight of a small but pretty freefalling waterfall on a side stream. Bob took a nasty tumble just before we reached it, so we now we are referring to it as “Bob’s Fall”.

We returned to the river and continued upstream. This stretch had a couple of deep sections. At the end of one of them we had to crawl up a slick rock. A few minutes later, the Musterground Road bridge came into view. I was stunned. It was only 1:30, and I’d expected it take an hour or two longer to reach this point. We certainly hadn’t rushed either, since we’d stopped at every waterfall and swimming hole along the way.

We had lunch there at a sandy campsite. Originally we thought we might stop at that point, but it was early, so we continued on. We continued upstream, passing into NC. Shortly afterwards, we reached the next waterfall. It is a sliding cascade over a broad, open rock. More sliding, swimming, and other shenanigans ensued.

A tributary enters the river just downstream from this waterfall. That tributary has a minor waterfall on it, but I forgot to look for the creek and somehow missed it.

From there it was just a short walk to the Foothills Trail bridge. At that point it was only 3pm. We had a decision to make – do the sensible thing and head back, or push on to Big Falls?

There really was no debate. Hike to Big Falls on the Thompson River from Lake Jocassee? Who would do that? Probably nobody….except for Team Waterfall! There was simply no way that we could NOT do it. Plus, Bob had never been to Big Falls. We needed to fix that.

Jack did decide to head back, as he had some time constraints. The rest of us pressed on, once again hiking up the river. The final stretch was more difficult, as we encountered lots of huge boulders. We worked our way over and around them and reached the base of might Big Falls before 4pm. We spent the next half hour enjoying one of North Carolina’s most magical places. Darrin and Bob did some sliding and swimming, while the rest of us walked up the massive rock face on River Left to take in the view from above.

Continuing farther upstream barely crossed my mind. Maybe if we’d left a vehicle up at 281, that would’ve been feasible. However, we still had to hike back to Kitty’s car near the lake. The return hike was long and tiring. It was a relief when the Musterground Road bridge came into view. From there, a 10 minute walk back down the road brought us back to Kitty’s car.

That evening Darrin, Bob, Scott and I car camped along Bullpen Road. It was brave of Darrin to camp so close to the Chattooga River since he’d ripped the ass out of his shorts earlier in the day. The developed campsites along Bullpen were all occupied, but we found a decent spot in a pulloff. It featured a fire ring and plenty of room for hammocks and tents. Scott ended up sleeping in the car though, and Darrin and I just slept out under the stars.

That evening I grilled a steak and corn on the cob. We all enjoyed a few beers along with a campfire. I provided the evening’s entertainment. After cooking, I decided to add the hot coals from the grill to the fire. I shook them into the fire, but when I put the grill back down, it was too close to the edge of the cliff behind our campsite. The grill tipped over and went bouncing down the steep hillside. Oops. Luckily it stopped when it hit a tree. I scrambled down the hill and managed to find it. It was mostly unscathed, aside from a couple of minor dents.

The next morning we returned to Bad Creek to attempt to hike to the base of Lower Whitewater Falls. Lower Whitewater Falls is over 200’ high, and is one of the most impressive waterfalls in South Carolina. A spur trail from the Foothills Trail leads to an overlook of it, but most people find the view from there disappointing. We hoped to get a closer look.

We walked down Musterground Road until we reached a fence that begins a short distance before the bridge over the river. We started down there. The initial descent was very steep. Later we found a better approach slightly closer to the river, on an old roadbed. After the initial plunge the grade moderated somewhat. Some bushwhacking and another steep drop brought us to the remains of a small airplane that had crashed in 1972.

http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/4351634/

A Plane crash leaves 4 dead in N.C. \ CASHIERS, N.C. (AP) - All four persons aboard a single- engine plane were killed when it crashed Sunday in rugged, densely wooded mountains near the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Spokesmen for the Jackson County Sheriffs Department said the bodies were found badly burned. Thie bodies were taken to a Sylva hospital. .Jackson County Medical Examiner Dr. Emil 11. Jennings Jr. said after an investigation that he has asked the FBI to assist him in making a positive identification. "I'm not satisfied with the identification we have," he said. In Asheville, however, the owner of Asheville Flying Service, which leased the small plane, said the pilot was Freddie Taylor, 20, of Asheville. Lacey Griffin, the flying service owner, said the three passengers hired Taylor to fly them over some property near the area of the crash. Griffin said the four-place craft left Asheville-Hendersonville Airport at 12:30 p.m. A telephone call to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department reported the crash 30 minutes later. The area where the plane went down is about 50 miles southwest of Asheville. Searchers who found the wreckage said the airplane didn't leave a swath of destruction in the surrounding trees, indicating it went almost straight down. Pieces of the plane were concentrated in a 30-fool area. The crash site is near scenic Whitewater Falls, between U.S. 64 and the South Carolina border.

We explored the wreckage and took photos before continuing. From the plane, moderately steep bushwhacking took us down to the base of Lower Whitewater Falls. The descent was safer and much easier than I expected, and the view from the bottom is fantastic. Although the upper part of the waterfall isn’t visible, the lower 200’ including the middle vertical section was right in front of us.

We spent the next hour or more taking photos and soaking it in. Originally I’d planned to hike downstream to the brink of Moondance Falls – the last waterfall on the Whitewater River before Lake Jocassee. I was sore and tired from the previous day though, and nobody else was particularly motivated. Eventually we started back up, but with the intention of looking for some additional vantage points of the falls on River Right. Bob had found a raft while exploring downstream, so we dragged that along behind us.

We hadn’t gone very far when we ran into Spencer, Stephanie, Preston, and some other friends on their way down. They had originally planned to meet us at the trailhead, but had been running late. It was great to run into them, although it was hard to chat on the side of a jungle-covered cliff. I considered going back down with them, but Bob had already continued on ahead of us. They ended up rappelling down Moondance Falls and hiking all the way down to Lake Jocassee. That was quite an achievement!

Darrin and I ended up getting separated from Bob and Scott. Scott went back down with Spencer and Stephanie, while Bob was ahead of us. Darrin and I explored out to the edge of the falls at two different points. Both were on sloping rock. It was dry, but leaving the relative safety of the trees was still a risk we weren’t willing to take. The second vantage point was right at the base of the vertical portion of the waterfall. Meanwhile, Bob ended up at the top of that section. From there he had a good view of the upper portion of the falls. He also met Preston, who had just free-climbed up the rock on River Left. Preston crossed the river above the main drop and chatted with us briefly before heading back down. We reunited with Bob and Scott at the plane wreckage. From there we climbed directly back up to the road.

I plan to return, as I’d like to see the falls at “normal” water levels, and maybe during a full blown flood. I’ll bet it is intense down there! I’d still like to explore downstream, to the brink of Moondance Falls, and I’d like to see the upper portion of the falls from the vantage point Bob found.

We had lunch in the parking lot before heading over to the trailhead for the upper Whitewater Gorge. I was just there a week earlier, but Darrin and Bob hadn’t been. Scott had some things to take care of at home, so he decided to pass on this part of the adventure. We were just about to start the hike when a white Toyota pulled in. It was Thomas! The Badger had just returned from a week in Florida. He had literally driven straight from the Greenville airport to the trailhead without knowing that we would be there.

It was mid-afternoon, so we made this an express trip. We went to the base of Exit Falls first before climbing up through the cave to reach the brink. From there, all four of us swam upstream into the Whitewater River’s slot canyon. That water was frigid! The sun doesn’t shine down in that slot canyon, so it is always cold in those deep, dark holes.

We swam through the first deep pool, which is just behind the brink of Exit Falls. This is actually safe (at least at low water) because there is a dramatic rock lip that forms the brink of the falls. There were only a couple of inches of water flowing over it. The current is mild there, too, though it gets much stronger in the narrow part of the canyon upstream. Beyond that first pool we scrambled across a submerged ledge, splashed into another pool, and climbed over a partially submerged log that is wedged into a very narrow cleft between the canyon walls. Beyond is more deep water, and another submerged ledge. This ledge offers a pleasant place to relax and take in the scenery. At this point we were deep in the canyon, and Little Canyon Falls was directly across from us.

From there, it is necessary to fight a strong current to go any farther. It is worth it though, as continuing provides a better view of Little Canyon Falls and the slot canyon immediately upstream. Darrin and Thomas both attempted to swim to the very bottom of Little Canyon Falls, and Salmon was successful! He was able to overcome the current by swimming underwater. He was able to climb up next to the falls, but scaling the cliff above proved to be impossible.

It was a hard place to leave, but the cold water provided motivation. I was actually shaking after we got out. Fortunately the climb back up from the river warmed me. On the way out, Thomas and I made one final stop. We made a scary descent (pucker factor 8) to a ledge with a spectacular view of Sculpted Falls deep in the slot canyon. I’d made that descent a week earlier solo. This time we tied off a rope, which added a bit of security – even if the benefit was largely mental. Getting down there takes very little actual skill, but quite a bit of courage. One slip there and you’ll fall off the cliff into the deepest part of the slot canyon.

Thomas and I took some photos before heading out. I’ll definitely return here many times in the near future!

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