BENEATH, BETWEEN, AND BEHIND
NOTE: I RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT PART OF THE ROUTE DESCRIBED BELOW CROSSES PRIVATE PROPERTY. SPECIFICALLY, THE OLD ROAD FROM THE TOP OF BRIDAL VEIL FALLS ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE LITTLE RIVER IS NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC ACCESS. AS A RESULT, I CANNOT RECOMMEND HIKING THROUGH THIS AREA.
I’ve always enjoyed hiking
in DuPont State Forest, but there has always been one drawback. The most interesting features of the forest
are found in separate areas that are difficult to combine in a single hike. 3 of the major waterfalls of the Little
River are near each other. In another
area, Bridal Veil Falls and the open faces of Cedar Rock are easy to
combine. But Stone Mountain is separated
from everything else, and an area of private property has always isolated Bridal
Veil Falls from the cascades found farther downstream. As a result, DuPont has always been ideal
for short hikes to the major attractions, or for long walks in the woods. That was true until recently. Now a dirt road through the private property
is open to hikers. As a result, it’s
now possible to combine Cedar Rock, Bridal Veil Falls, Triple Falls, High
Falls, and Hooker Falls in a single hike.
I got very excited planning this trip.
It would be THE ULTIMATE DUPONT STATE FOREST HIKE.
There was only one
problem. Jack and I would start the
hike on the west side of the river before crossing it on a covered bridge. From there to the base of Bridal Veil Falls,
the route cuts through private property east of the river. The official trail ends at the bottom of the
falls, while the trail to Cedar Rock begins at the top, and on the other side
of the river. How would we get across?
There are a handful of
obvious choices for crossing a river.
If you’re lucky, you may find enough rocks to hop across. If not, you may have to wade, or, if it’s
deep, swim. If there happens to be a
boat handy, you could paddle across. Of
course, if there is a bridge or a fallen tree conveniently located nearby, you
might be able to walk across.
Unfortunately, I knew there is no bridge near Bridal Veil Falls, rock
hopping seemed unlikely, and a boat was too much to hope for. That left wading, or swimming, depending on
the water level. Neither seemed
appealing in January. To make matters
worse, there is a ford of the river, but it is located immediately upstream
from the falls. Prior to the hike, I
asked Jack if he’d be willing to wade the river, and he was. Despite his agreement, I was fervently
hoping that it wouldn’t come to that.
Fording the river above the falls would be unpleasant at best, if not
dangerous.
Read on to find out how we
got across. Here’s a hint – it didn’t
fall into any of the categories listed above.
Instead, it was simply the coolest river crossing I’ve ever experienced,
and one that I’ll never forget.
I met Jack in Spartansburg,
and rode with him to the Hooker Falls trailhead. We followed some of Jack’s creative back road shortcuts, and
arrived less than an hour after leaving Spartansburg. For a warm up, we headed downstream ¼ mile to Hooker Falls. Hooker Falls is always a pleasant place to
visit, but 10AM in January isn’t the best time. We arrived at the base, looked towards the falls, and found
ourselves staring into the rising sun.
Some bushwhacking along the shore led to a decent vantage point, but
arriving earlier, or much later, would’ve been better.
We returned to the
trailhead, crossed the road, and followed a well-trod trail upstream. After a short distance, we explored a side
path that led to the river. The path
ended, but we were able to continue along the riverbank by dodging fallen trees
and icy patches on the rocks. With just
a little extra effort, we reached the base of Triple Falls. This is an attractive vantage point, and one
that is seen by relatively few people.
Unfortunately, the heavy mist from the falls marred my photos, but Jack
got some good ones. They can be seen
at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/546865713LBIltk
We flirted with the idea of
scrambling up the rock face alongside the waterfall, but icy rocks discouraged
us. We backtracked to the main trail,
and continued up to an overlook of Triple Falls. We descended a short but steep side trail to the middle overlook,
but our view of the upper two drops was ruined by the sun. We decided to stop there on the return hike,
and climbed back up to the main trail.
We followed a side trail
along the river all the way to the base of High Falls. We had a better view here, but the sun still
compromised our attempts at photography.
We both vowed to return on a cloudy day!
From the base of High Falls,
we crossed some boulders that were icy from frozen spray. We then climbed out of the gorge on a new
trail that returned us to the main path.
From there, we enjoyed an
easy walk upstream. The Covered Bridge
Trail led to Buck Forest Road, and the covered bridge crossing of the river at
the brink of High Falls. A right turn
on Conservation Road followed, and we made great time as we crossed through
private property. This road is now open
to hikers, as long as they stay on the road.
Areas off the road are posted as private property.
We debated extending the
hike to see Lake Julia, but decided that we had enough planned for one
day. Instead, we turned right on the
dirt Bridal Veil Falls Road. This road
led past an old barn and ended shortly before the base of Bridal Veil
Falls. We followed a path down to the
base, where we enjoyed a nice view of a long water slide cascading down an open
granite slope. The approach was
over. Now the adventure would begin.
Jack led the way up the
rock. Unfortunately I lagged behind
while taking photographs, and took the wrong route. I had made considerable progress when I found myself hemmed in by
ice. I couldn’t go anywhere, except
back down, without stepping on smooth ice.
I didn’t want to retreat, so I crawled to safer ground. This wasn’t pretty, but it was
effective. From there, the remainder of
the climb was simple. We stopped a
short distance below the base of the upper drop and had lunch. Well, I had lunch. Jack had a snack. While
we were eating, I mentioned that there is a small cave behind the
waterfall. I suggested that if we were
lucky, we might be able to get to the far side of the river by walking through
the cave behind the falls. Jack
finished his snack, and scouted ahead.
He returned with a grin on
his face. We gathered our gear, and
followed a rough path hacked through the Rhododendron along the side of the
river. The path delivered us to the
very base of the upper drop. Here we
found a narrow entrance to the cave, and the secret tunnel beyond. Jack led the way into the passage. I followed, scrambling over the rocks while
avoiding the thundering water only a few feet away. The sound was deafening, the ceiling was low, and the cave was
dark. I loved every minute of it.
I left the waterfall behind,
and found Jack waiting at the far end of the cave. Improbably, our river crossing was behind us. We didn’t rush off though. Aside from being an exceptionally useful
passageway, the cave was fascinating. The ceiling is formed by colorful rocks, and long hanging icicles
resemble stalactites. Thick vegetation
grows down from above, obscuring the entrance.
Aside from all of this, movie buffs would find this waterfall and cave
interesting. They were featured in the
movie “The Last of the Mohicans”.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t
stay there all day. I pleaded with Jack
to let me go through the tunnel one more time (well, ok, two more times), but
my request was denied. It was early
afternoon, and we still had 8 miles ahead of us.
We scrambled up above the
cave and climbed to the top of the falls.
Here we found the official river ford – a route I do not recommend. We turned away, following an old road along
the private property boundary. After a
few minutes, we succumbed to the growing heat of the day. We both shed a layer, and resumed the hike
in shorts and t-shirts.
This road led to a junction
with the Cedar Rock Trail, marked only with a cairn. We climbed bare granite slopes through scattered forest, before
reaching a pleasant meadow at the top.
From here we followed the Big Rock Trail down across more open granite
slabs. We found the best long-range
views of the hike here. The vista
extended north to Looking Glass Rock, Mount Pisgah, Black Balsam, Tennant
Mountain, and more high peaks in the Shining Rock Wilderness. This view was a nice contrast to the
intimate river and waterfall scenes we had encountered earlier in the hike.
A quick descent
followed. We passed the Corn Mill
Shoals trailhead, and followed the lightly traveled Longside Trail and Pine
Trail. The Pine Tree Trail led across
Staton Road and joined an old road that contours around Sheep Mountain. We followed it all the way down to Staton
Road, which we followed for 50 yards to the Buck Forest Trailhead. Here we found a packed parking lot. Even though it was January, the sunny warm
day had brought hundreds of people out.
All day long we passed hikers and mountain bikers. This route may be the ultimate DuPont State
Forest hike, but it’s not a particularly good choice if you’re looking for
solitude.
We followed Buck Forest Road
back to the Covered Bridge. In doing
so, we inadvertently took a long cut.
The Triple Falls Trail would have taken us to the High Falls Trail more
directly. In fact, hikers that are
opposed to backtracking would want to hike the Triple Falls Trail and the Galax
Trail back to the trailhead. However,
we wanted to visit High Falls and Triple Falls one more time. We were hoping that the late afternoon light
would provide better photographic conditions.
It was a little better, and
we both spent some time photographing both waterfalls. We reached the trailhead before 4:30, but
decided to skip a return hike to Hooker Falls.
We had already hiked 13 miles, and better photos of Hooker Falls could
wait for another day.
I’ll definitely repeat the
Ultimate DuPont State Forest hike. Next
time though, I’ll do it on a cloudy day so I can get better photos. Hikers interested in this route that don’t
want to cover 13 miles should consider doing the hike with a car shuttle. Starting at the Corn Mill Shoals trailhead
and finishing at Hooker Falls would shave off 5 or 6 miles. That part of the hike, while quiet and
pleasant, doesn’t offer much in the way of scenery. Also, going in that direction would provide better light for
viewing and photographing the waterfalls.
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