BACK IN BLACK
I
spent Black Friday the right way – in the woods. I met up with Darrin and Jack for a hike for
the first time in a couple of months.
Brenda also joined us, along with Darrin’s friends, Nina and Sherron. I also
brought the dogs, Boone and Kona.
A
couple of months earlier Darrin had gotten a hot tip about a couple of
undocumented waterfalls from a guy that works at the Asbury Hills Camp. The waterfalls are on camp property. Because of the heavy rains on Tuesday and
Wednesday, we figured that Friday would be a good day to check them out. Darrin did a little scouting on Wednesday,
and found the access road blocked by a gate.
Apparently there is an ongoing dispute between Greenville County and a
private landowner. Luckily, Darrin ran
into a local that suggested a different access.
We
all met up at the junction of highways 11 and 276 near Cleveland, SC. We carpooled from there, taking two cars over
to Sky Ranch Road. We parked on the
shoulder near a gated dirt road. Signs
here indicate that it is a Wildlife Management Area, although the land is
actually owned by Asbury Hills. There
was another pickup parked here, and we were concerned that we might run into
hunters. Everyone had at least some
blaze orange on, including the dogs.
We
hiked up the old road under sunny skies.
After 5 minutes or so we encountered a number of “no trespassing”
signs. Although we started on Asbury Hills property, and the waterfalls were also on camp
property, there is a small parcel of private property in between. We could have, and probably should have, bushwhacked
around it, but of course we didn’t want to do that. We figured it would only take a few minutes
to cross it. We continued ahead, moving
quickly. As we hiked, I noticed somebody
on the ridge above us. It was a hunter –
probably the owner of the pickup that was parked at the trailhead. I cringed, because it could be the owner of
the land we were trespassing through, and he was holding a rifle! Fortunately he didn’t move or say
anything. Surprisingly, nobody else
noticed him, including the dogs.
We
reached a junction with another road heading west, but continued ahead. A minute later we arrived at a picnic table,
which was probably close to the boundary of the private property. We regrouped there to plan our approach. The table was adjacent to an unnamed
stream. According to Darrin’s info, one
of the undocumented waterfalls, a 40-footer, was on it, around an elevation of
1,900’. The other waterfall, a 100-footer,
was supposed to be on the next stream to the west, around 1,700’. We decided to continue upstream towards the
eastern-most waterfall. From there, we’d
traverse over to the western stream.
We
rock hopped the creek and followed the dwindling remains of the old road
upstream. Another crossing followed, and
a few minutes later we reached a tributary coming in from the right. There were some cascades ahead, and we tried to
follow the bank upstream. However, the
going was rough due to the steep terrain and fallen trees. There were some cascades through here, but
nothing that could really be considered a waterfall. After a bit of debate, we decided to
backtrack a bit and cross the creek. The
old road climbed the ridge on that side.
We thought it might be easier to climb up the hillside and then continue
up the valley above the creek.
After
a steep climb, we began side hilling above the creek. This was tedious due to the steep terrain and
the slippery leaves. I think everyone took
multiple spills along here. We
eventually reached a point where we could see up the valley. There were some cascades upstream, but
nothing remarkable. Darrin and Jack
scouted ahead, but didn’t find anything.
We regrouped, and then several of us scouted the eastern tributary. Darrin’s source of information had been a bit
vague, but we didn’t find anything there, either. There may be a waterfall along this creek, but
we didn’t find it.
We
were a little discouraged, but this type of waterfall exploration requires a
willingness to accept the occasional failure.
After a short break, we headed for the stream to the west. Initially we backtracked downstream to get
around some steep terrain. Then we headed
west, bushwhacking through relatively open forest. We tried to stay on the same elevation
contour, but that proved to be impossible.
What looked like a single high ridge separating the two streams on the
map was actually bisected by numerous gullies and smaller ridges. Twice we were forced to descend steeply into
a gully, only to climb steeply up the far side.
By
the time we reached the third gully we were all a little worn out. I suggested a different approach. We decided to follow this gully downstream,
as it would lead us to the creek. This
wasn’t easy either, due to the steep terrain.
Eventually we reached a point where we could easily climb out of the
gully. The ridge above had an old
roadbed. We followed it up the ridge for
a few hundred yards, before dropping down to the creek. We rock hopped the creek, climbed the bank on
the far side, and found another old roadbed.
After a short distance on this road, I spotted the waterfall ahead.
It
was worth the effort. The waterfall is
legitimately 100’ high, and even though the creek is fairly small, there was
enough volume to make it look good.
Conditions were poor for photography, but that didn’t stop us from
trying.
We
had lunch in a sunny spot adjacent to the falls. Afterwards, we spent some time exploring the
area. Then we headed back, but we took a
different route. We continued down the
roadbed on the west side of the stream.
Eventually we intersected a dirt road, which crossed the creek and
headed east. We followed it all the way
back to where I’d seen the hunter earlier that morning. We regrouped at the picnic table, before
hiking the rest of the way out. That
route was much easier, but passed through a larger chunk of private property.
It
was only 2:30 when we finished. We
decided to add one more waterfall to our agenda. We drove a short distance down the road to a
gate at a small pond. From there we
followed an old road across the dam and around the lake. After one wrong turn we backtracked to the
correct roadbed. We followed it up the
ridge before it petered out. We
bushwhacked down to a small stream, and then climbed the ridge to the
east. At the top of the ridge we found
another old road. We followed it
downhill to a small stream. We crossed
the creek right at the brink of Secret Falls.
Then we worked our way down to the base of the falls.
Secret
Falls is a small drop on a smaller stream.
Despite this, it has a certain charm.
It’s a true free fall, and Darrin and Nina demonstrated this by walking
behind it. We took a few photos there
before heading back.
This
was a great day of exploration! Although
we didn’t find the first waterfall, the second one more than made up for
it. I can’t think of a better way to
spend the Friday after Thanksgiving with friends out in the woods.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!