UNDER THE DRAGON

Christy and I enjoy kayaking, but destinations are limited, as our sea kayaks aren’t designed for whitewater and we prefer to avoid large lakes with lots of motorboats. Still, there are a few appealing destinations. Last weekend we had planned to go backpacking, but Christy is dealing with a mysterious foot injury. We decided to take the kayaks to the southwest end of NC instead.

I had work obligations on Monday and Tuesday, and we decided to spend the July 4^th holiday at home. We headed out late Thursday morning. A long drive led us to Robbinsville, NC and on down to Calderwood Lake. Calderwood Lake is a long, narrow lake on the Little Tennessee River downstream from Fontana Reservoir and Cheoah Lake. We arrived late that afternoon, at the same time as the daily thunderstorms. The storms were up in the mountains above us, but there was a lot of thunder, and they were threatening to drop in on us at any moment. We stalled for a while, not wanting to be out on the lake in a thunderstorm. Eventually they passed, without a single drop of rain. We unloaded the kayaks from the car and packed them for the paddle down to one of the campsites.

There are 5 official campsites on Calderwood Lake. The first is at the mouth of Slickrock Creek. The second and third are on River Left. The second is in an open area under a power line. The third is just a bit farther, but it heavily wooded area that looked nicer from the water. The fourth is just up Parson Branch from the lake. This one is my favorite, but getting to it does require a short but somewhat difficult hike, including a stream wade. Just around the corner from the campsite is a 20’ waterfall and a swimming hole – but more on that later. The fifth site is in a pleasant spot at the mouth of a small stream. It is on River Right not far from the Calderwood dam. That site is nice, but that end of the lake is noisier and not as pretty. This one has a toilet. I’m not sure if any of the others do.

There is a primitive, free campground at the Magazine Branch boat ramp just downstream from Cheoah dam. Before the thunderstorms cleared, we had discussed camping there the first night. However, the campground was pretty trashy and not very appealing. That’s unfortunate, as it is a scenic area.

Since we’d gotten a late start, we decided to head for Slickrock Creek. Before we put in, the TVA began releasing water from Cheoah dam. This created an advantageous current. It also created a peculiar layer of fog on the surface of the lake. Presumably the fog was caused by the extremely cold water from the bottom of Cheoah Lake mixing with the somewhat warmer water of Calderwood Lake. The start to our trip was eerie as we paddled through the murk.

We eventually left the fog behind. We reached Slickrock Creek so fast we almost passed it because I hadn’t started looking for it! Unfortunately the water at the mouth of the creek was very low. In fact, we weren’t sure exactly where the campsite was. There was a poor campsite on the hillside on River Left, but we weren’t that desperate. Christy scouted upstream and found the campsite on River Right. To get there we had to get out and tow our kayaks up the creek channel. The campsite is ok. It’s very small, so it wouldn’t be good for a larger group. It has one small, slightly sloping tent spot and several good trees for hammocks, plus a fire ring. The other campsites on Calderwood Lake have picnic tables and graded tent pads, but not this one.

We set up the tent and both hammocks. We only have one tarp, and the trees were not configured in a way that would make it possible for both of us to be under the tarp. I figured if it started to rain that night I’d grab my sleeping bag and get in the tent.

We grilled steaks for dinner and enjoyed a campfire and cold beer. We brought two small coolers on this adventure. Our little Yeti had Christy’s beer and all of our chilled food. That one doesn’t fit inside our cargo compartments, so we strapped it to the top of Christy’s kayak. We strapped the camp chairs and the extra paddle to the top of mine. The other little cooler had my beer. There was more beer and ice in the big cooler in the car. I knew I could easily paddle back there and get more of both if needed.

We slept in our hammocks that night and avoided the rain. Unfortunately, our luck would run out the next day.

We started Friday with a leisurely breakfast. We noticed that the water in the Slickrock Creek arm was deeper, apparently due to water releases from Cheoah dam overnight. As a result, we were able to paddle out of our campsite without having to tow our boats. We kayaked all the way to Calderwood dam at the far end of the lake. Along the way we looked for the abandoned railroad tunnel. If the lake it low enough it is possible to kayak through the tunnel. Unfortunately, on this visit the lake was full and the tunnel was completely submerged. We will have to come back.

Our leisurely paddle had some additional excitement. We were near campsite 2 when we heard a series of loud pops coming from the hillside above. At first I thought it was gunfire. I looked up to see a huge, 100’ tall tree come crashing down. It was on the hillside across from us, and we had a great view of the carnage. At first I thought it might slide all the way down to the lake, but other trees stopped it. It was an incredible sight to behold. I’ve heard trees fall many times, but this was the first time I saw one.

We stopped at Parson Branch for a break. I had circled a spot on Parson Branch that appeared to be a likely spot for a waterfall. It is just upstream from the lake, so I decided to check it out. I followed a faint trail on River Right initially. After crawling over a fallen tree I reached the creek. There was no choice but to cross. An easy wade brought me to campsite 4 on River Left. From there it was a short hike upstream and around a bend to the spot I had marked. Sure enough, there is a waterfall there! It is a 20’ drop in two tiers, with small cliffs on River Left and bigger, overhanging cliffs on River Right. The waterfall ends in a narrow slot before spreading out into a dark swimming hole. Incredibly, I have not found this waterfall documented anywhere. Tennessee Landforms notes a couple of waterfalls on low volume streams running into Calderwood Lake, but nothing here. I’ve proposed the name Henry Falls, mainly because I really like the Widespread Panic song “Henry Parsons Died”.

From there we paddled down to within sight of the dam. I didn’t like this end of the lake as much. The upper part is narrow, quiet, serene. This end is wider, and there is some traffic noise from the Tail of the Dragon on the hillside above the lake.

We doubled back to campsite 5 and had lunch and a swim. It was a warm, sunny day, and that cold water was refreshing! Afterwards we paddled straight back to camp. We arrived around mid-afternoon. When we arrived, Christy noticed that one of the tie out lines for the tarp had been uprooted. We also discovered that a gallon of water we had left at the campsite was gone. Apparently somebody had come into our campsite and had stolen a jug of water. It wasn’t a sealed jug, either. Just an old jug full of Charlotte tap water. This person didn’t take anything else, fortunately. I’m glad we didn’t leave the food and coolers there! Maybe he was really thirsty and desperate? I don’t know, but it certainly was puzzling.

It was still sunny, so we inflated our floaties and played around in the pool below the final cascade on Slickrock Creek. I discovered that there is an eddy at the bottom of the cascade. If you approach it at the right angle, it swings you around in circles, periodically passing directly under the icy water of the cascade.

The sky clouded up suddenly, and the wind picked up. Thunder began to rumble. We hustled back to the camp and braced ourselves for impact. This storm didn’t miss. We endured 30 minutes of torrential rain. I quickly discovered that I hadn’t done a great job with the tarp, and I spent most of this time keeping water from collecting on it. After the first wave of rain passed I reconfigured the tarp so that it would drain better. It held up much better during the second downpour and the lingering showers afterwards.

It was still raining hours later when I fell asleep in my camp chair next to Christy’s hammock. I woke an hour later, around midnight. The rain had stopped, but the babbling cascade that had been so soothing the previous night was different. It was too loud. I shined my light in that direction and saw a huge wall of whitewater. Where had the pretty little cascade gone? Then I noticed that the water was only about a foot below tent level. When we set up Thursday evening we had been nearly 10’ above the creek. Now the creek was flooding, and it was threatening our campsite.

The kayaks weren’t where we’d left them. I’d tied them to a sapling, but had done a half-assed job of it. I shined my light downstream and spotted my kayak, but I didn’t see Christy’s. I found the tie out line and reeled it in. Both kayaks were still there. What a relief!

Christy woke up and came to help. We took down the tent, as it was in danger of being swept away. After it was packed, we pulled the kayaks up onto dry ground where the tent had been. I then tied them tightly to a stout tree. We hauled the rest of our gear up the hill a bit before returning to our hammocks.

Incredibly I was able to sleep, despite the excitement. However, I woke an hour later due to a bright light. It was from a headlamp. There was a group of hikers on the Slickrock Creek Trail on the hillside above us. This was 1am, and I’m guessing they had been camped farther upstream on Slickrock Creek, but had bailed out when the flash flood hit. Either that or they like hiking in the dark and rain.

I managed to sleep the rest of the night, and there wasn’t any additional rain. When we woke, the creek was still very high, though a couple of feet below its peak. We had originally planned to hike upstream on the Slickrock Creek Trail to Lower Falls and possibly Wildcat Falls. That was no longer an option due to the high water. We had also tired a bit of our campsite. It was rather cramped, and it was full of creepy crawlies. We had both pulled several ticks off of ourselves. The first night I found a brown snake hanging out by our tent. The place was lousy with centipedes, and Christy had spotted a White Marked Hissock Catepillar, which can sting, the first evening. Also we were short on water since someone had stolen a gallon from us. And we were out of beer, so a return to the car was going to be necessary anyway. We decided to pack up and kayak out. We’d find a place to car camp that evening, and maybe do a hike that afternoon. Sunday’s plan was to kayak on Nantahala Lake.

The paddle out was quick and pleasant. Christy went straight to the car, but I extended the trip a bit by paddling upstream to the mouth of the Cheoah River below Cheoah dam. That dam is ancient and spooky, but it was cool to see if from below.

We stopped at the put in for the Cheoah River and had lunch. Then we drove into Robbinsville and picked up a couple of things at Ingles. The next downpour hit as we were leaving the store. We decided to kill a little time, so we stopped at The Hub for ice cream and to plan the rest of our trip.

CHEROHALA

We contemplated heading over to Alarka Falls and then visiting Wesser Bald. Instead, we decided to drive up the Cherohala Skyway. That was a curious decision in the rain, but it worked out. After our hike to Fall Creek Falls, we were treated to fantastic views from the Parkway of fog rising out of the valleys below.

We did the short version of the hike to Fall Creek Falls. We didn’t see anywhere to park near the high bridge, so we continued west to the next overlook and parked. It was still raining, and only 60 degrees when we started. A five minute walk back down the road brought us to the bridge. From there, an easy walk on a somewhat overgrown old road took us to the official trail. The trail was steep and wet. In fact, parts of it had a stream running down it. Once at the creek, we followed the trail upstream to the falls. Fall Creek Falls is a really nice drop. I’d visited it once before, during a drought. This time it was raging! In fact, the water was so high the spray made photos a major challenge.

We hiked back quickly. The weather was improving, and we considered camping in a high elevation meadow. It was pretty windy though, and still fogged in back on the North Carolina side of the mountains. Instead we drove down FR81. Comically, there is a sign at the beginning of the road that says that FR81 isn’t suitable for passenger cars. I’m pretty sure the Prius could have handled it. We drove down Santeetlah Creek and stopped at the first official campsite. We had a pleasant evening there, with grilled chicken for dinner. I even managed to get a fire going, despite the wet wood. We slept in our hammocks that night, which worked out great, at least until the following morning.

We had a leisurely breakfast and broke camp Sunday morning. When Christy was packing up the tarp, she noticed that it was covered with small brown ants. That’s when I noticed the red welts on my left forearm. They looked suspiciously like ant bites. My arm still looks like a horror show four days later.

We drove back up to the Cherohala Skyway to check out the views and use the bathroom. It was still overcast up there, which killed the views. We drove down to Robbinsville and then headed on to Nantahala Lake.

UNDER WAYAH

We started at the Rocky Branch boat ramp on Nantahala Lake early Sunday afternoon. We had only paddled for a couple of minutes when I realized that my rudder wasn’t working. We returned to the boat ramp to check it out. The rudder cable had lost a screw and was no longer attached. Christy was able to fix it temporarily with some cord. We started again, heading for the south end of the lake. The lake was a little busy with power boats and jet skis, but it wasn’t too bad. Early on we passed two women in a canoe. They asked us if we were going to see the waterfall. We were! They said they were, too, but they were heading towards the mouth of Johnson Branch. They weren’t sure about where they were going, so I told them how to get to Clear Creek. That was clearly more than they wanted to tackle. They told us that the waterfall they were looking for was supposed to be a secret. My ears perked up at that!

We paddled up the Nantahala River arm of the lake and then turned into the cove formed by Clear Creek. There were several boats in the cove, but the end of it was empty. We tied off the kayaks and followed a rough trail upstream. We passed some minor cascades before arriving at the base of Clear Creek Falls. This is a nice 30’ waterfall! Kevin Adams gives it a brief mention in the third edition of his guidebook. He says it was covered in downfall during his visit, but most of it had cleared out, maybe during one of the recent floods. I took some photos and we ate lunch before heading back.

On the return, we made a short diversion over to Johnson Branch to look for this secret waterfall. There was a small cascade right where the creek enters the lake, and another small cascade above that. I followed an old road upstream along the creek for about 10 minutes, but I didn’t see anything that could be considered a waterfall.

We paddled back to the car and loaded up the kayaks. On the drive home we made one final stop. We drove up to Wayah Bald and did the short hike to the observation tower. This was my third visit here, but my first in good weather. It was also the first time I’d driven up there. My previous visits had been during hikes on the Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail. We enjoyed the views before heading for home. We got home late, around 11pm. That made for a brutal Monday morning flight, but it was worth it!

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