THE BACK WAY

We got off to a lazy start Saturday. That’s the problem with hammock camping. After a night in a tent, I’m ready to get out. Hammocks are hard to escape from.

We had a nice breakfast, packed up, and drove all the way back out to Sunset and on to Rocky Bottom. Then we drove all the way up Horsepasture Road to Jumping Off Rock. Every little low volume tributary waterfall was roaring. It was a gorgeous morning – the kind of morning where you want to be on the top of a mountain. Fortunately that was precisely where we were headed. We stopped at a couple of the overlooks along the way, and despite our late start, we couldn’t resist the lure of the view from Jumping Off Rock itself. It’s always a great view, and on this morning, it was truly spectacular.

From there we continued down Bootleg Road. This road is seasonally gated, but it is open from March 20^th to May 20^th and again during Fall hunting season. We were nervous though. As we had found out the previous afternoon, the upper end of Shooting Tree Ridge Road was washed out. Many other roads in the area were washed out, flooded, or impassable due to fallen trees. And Bootleg Road isn’t exactly a major thoroughfare. If it was blocked, we would have to go with our backup plan. Our backup plan was to come up with a backup plan. Let’s say it was a work in progress.

Luckily the road was clear and in pretty good shape. We drove all the way to where the road ends on a peninsula jutting into Lake Jocassee. There is an old boat ramp here, though there isn’t much left of it. We parked away from the gate and unloaded the kayaks and gear. We ate lunch while packing, as we had a long way to go.

My plan was to kayak up the Toxaway River arm of Lake Jocassee and camp at either the mouth of Rock Creek or Toxaway Creek. By starting here, we avoided having to kayak across the large open part of the lake, which typically has heavy boat traffic. We also dodged a lot of South Carolina State Park red tape, such as parking hassles, parking fees, and designated campsites. Devils Fork State Park only allows kayak camping in one area, and they charge something like $25-30 for the privilege. The campsites are in an unattractive part of the lake, and from what I’ve heard, they aren’t particularly appealing. The State of South Carolina doesn’t allow camping elsewhere on the lakeshore. The good news is that Rock Creek and Toxaway Creek enter Lake Jocassee in North Carolina, where South Carolina rules do not apply.

We loaded up the kayaks and the moved the car to a shady parking spot. We started by paddling around the Bootleg Peninsula before heading north. The lake was incredibly quiet, considering it was Easter Sunday and a warm, sunny afternoon. Later we found out why. The main road into Devils Fork State Park had washed out on Friday night. Apparently one of the private neighborhoods had opened their gates to allow the public to access the park, but I don’t think many people realized that. As a result, there was far less traffic on the water than we expected.

We kayaked north below the cliffs of Jumping Off Rock. Then we headed up the Horsepasture River arm of Lake Jocassee. We actually saw some other kayakers here, which was a bit of a surprise. They continued up the river channel when we veered over to check out Mill Creek Falls. The waterfall spills directly into Lake Jocassee. Photography was difficult due to the sunny skies and the rocking kayak, but it was still nice to see. From there we continued up to the mouth of Bearcamp Creek. This creek ends with a series of cascades and small waterfalls. The last is visible from the water. I got out and scrambled upstream to get a better view along with some photos. I continue up to where I could glimpse the next drop, which looked similar. At normal water levels I might have continued upstream, but the creek was raging. Simply creek walking wasn’t an option, and the bushwhacking looked terrible. Plus, Christy was waiting, and it was getting late. Camp beckoned.

I returned to my kayak and we returned to the confluence of the Horsepasture and Toxaway River arms. We paddled up a narrow, winding stretch of the Toxaway that was quite picturesque. The lake widened again, signaling the mouth of Rock Creek to the east. We paddled to the mouth, where I was surprised to see two kayaks, with a tent in the woods beyond.

We retreated a bit and scoured the lakeshore for other options. Getting out along here (and along most of the lakeshore) is difficult. We paddled in through some scrubby trees not far from the mouth of the creek. It looked like a muddy place to get out, but it was better than it looked. I hiked inland a short distance to the Foothills Trail. I followed it south, but didn’t find any campsites. I even continued on down the lakeshore for a way after the trail turned to climb the mountain. We could’ve camped most anywhere in hammocks, but I didn’t want to slum it if I could find a better option. I returned and headed the other way. Almost immediately I stumbled upon a nice campsite in the woods. There was no beach or view of the lake, but it was a nice spot. It wasn’t far from Rock Creek and the other group we had seen, but it was far enough.

We set up camp, and met one of the guys from the adjacent site. They were the same group of kayakers we had seen earlier. It was a friendly bunch, with a couple of people from Oconee County and a Danish fellow from Asheville. The invited us to join their campfire that evening, which saved from having to gather firewood.

We joined them for a couple of hours after dinner. We enjoyed their fire and conversation while finishing off the last of our cold beers. You can’t beat kayaking with a cooler (or two) on a hot sunny day.

The next morning featured another lazy start. We paddled back down the Toxaway, but took a side trip over to Laurel Fork. This was the hardest part of the trip, as it was breezy and choppy. The wind and waves were coming in from the south, but we were heading east, making for some tough paddling. Conditions improved once we got up into the Laurel Fork channel. First we stopped at a nice waterfall on an unnamed stream that cascades directly into the lake. There was a family in a boat there, and they thought they were at Laurel Fork Falls. I chuckled and gave them directions to it. We headed there ahead of them.

Laurel Fork Falls is a monster, particularly when the water is up. We enjoyed the views of it as we approached. We took turns approaching the base, as there is only a narrow channel next to a large rock outcropping. The view from the end of that channel is incredible, even though most of the waterfall is out of sight, high above. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to get out of the kayak in that narrow channel. It is possible to get out onto that big rock outcrop, but the dismount looked tricky. Instead we paddled back down the channel a short distance to where an old road comes down to the lakeshore. That road is a spur off of the Foothills Trail. We got out there, and immediately encountered a huge swarm of butterflies. We had lunch there and enjoyed the view of both waterfalls spilling into the lake.

The area actually got a little busy while we were eating lunch, as several boats pulled into the cove. We took that as our cue to leave. We paddled back out to the main channel, where we were relieved to find calmer conditions than we had experienced earlier. The paddle back to our put-in at the end of Bootleg Road was pleasant and quiet. We rinsed off and enjoyed a cold beer while packing the car.

There were a couple of negatives. The damp firewood I had scattered in the sun behind our car was gone. Admittedly, I hadn’t had high expectations for it to still be there. Also, when we started the car, we discovered that one of Christy’s tires was low. It was at 20PSI, well below the 33PSI that is recommended. Yikes! We had a long way to drive on a rough dirt road before we could do anything about it. We scrapped our tentative plans to camp along Horsepasture Road that night. We wanted to be sure we could get out of there and attend to the tire as soon as possible.

We made it back to the gas station in Holly Springs without issue. I inflated the tire there, and we bought a can of fix-a-flat. Then we drove on to Walhalla and Long Creek and on to Brasstown Falls, where we would camp for the night.

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