BLUE SUCK
Editor’s Note: The trip report title does not refer to Duke
or UNC or any other sports team. Well,
except for the Dallas Cowboys, who have won exactly one playoff game in the
last 15 years! Hahahaha!!
For
years now there has been a long-running debate in the Commonwealth of Virginia
about which of their waterfalls is the most spectacular. Many folks support The Cascades, outside of
Blacksburg, while others favor Crabtree Falls, in the central part of the
state. I’m glad to announce that I can
finally settle the controversy for once and for all. The most beautiful waterfall in Virginia is –
drum roll please – none of the above.
My
first work assignment of 2012 sent me to Natural Bridge, Virginia. Since my job was scheduled to start on
Tuesday, I decided to drive up a day early and do a hike somewhere new. After doing some research on central
Virginia, I settled on Douthat State Park. Douthat is one of
the six original state parks in Virginia, and it features an extensive trail
network that includes numerous mountains and waterfalls.
By
Sunday afternoon the weather forecast was looking marginal. The National Weather Service was calling for
temperatures in the low 30’s with a 30% chance of rain. That didn’t sound too bad, but the Weather
Channel’s forecast was worse – a 60% chance of rain, sleet, and even snow. Despite that charming outlook, my plans were
already set. After all, it wouldn’t be
the first time I hiked in nasty weather.
I
got up a bit after 5am on Monday. I’d
planned a 9+ mile loop hike in Douthat State
Park. Since the park was a 4 ½ hour
drive, I got an early start to make sure I’d have time to finish the hike
before dark. The early start also helped
me avoid heavy traffic leaving Charlotte.
The drive to Roanoke was smooth, and even the back roads from there
weren’t bad. Unfortunately rain did
start falling shortly after I crossed into Virginia. It looked like my Gore Tex would come in
handy.
I
didn’t drive directly to Douthat State Park. First I headed up to Covington, VA to check
out a waterfall. Falling Springs Falls
has been on my to-do list for years, but I’d never been anywhere near it. As luck would have it, the waterfall is only
a 30-minute drive from the state park. I
decided to go there first, before my hike.
Luckily,
the rain stopped a couple of miles before I reached the falls. Falling Springs Falls is easy to find, as
there is a developed overlook right on highway 220. I pulled into the parking area and walked
down the short, paved path to the official overlook.
My
first impression was “WOW”! Even from
the official overlook the waterfall is breathtaking. I was glad I’d made it my top priority of the
day. It’s a high-volume drop that free
falls about 80 feet, with additional cascades below. In my opinion, it’s the most impressive
waterfall in Virginia (though The Cascades do rate a close second).
I
took a few photos before exploring the area more thoroughly. The parking area and overlook is separated
from the creek and falls by a fence.
Beyond the fence I could see a ravine leading towards the bottom of the
falls. However, from my vantage point,
it looked like the descent would require crossing a nasty looking stretch of
rip-rap that was wet from the recent rain.
There used to be signs on the fence, probably prohibiting entry, but
they’d been torn down. Also, one section
of the fence was mysteriously missing, allowing easy access to the creek just upstream
from the brink. I wandered over there
for a closer look at the stream, which is lovely. There is an impressive swimming hole with a
rope swing there, but it is just a short distance upstream from the brink.
I
contemplated hiking to the base.
However, the descent looked tricky, and there was no telling how long it
would take. I still needed to drive over
to Douthat State Park and do
my 9-mile hike. I wasn’t really sure how
long it would take, and I was concerned about finishing it before dark. I knew that I’d be pushing my luck if I
fooled around at Falling Springs Falls any longer. With some regret, I started walking back to
the car. I knew I’d made the safe,
prudent choice. Unfortunately, it also
turned out to be the wrong one.
I
drove back to Covington and then on to Douthat State
Park. I paid the $2 parking fee at a
self-service station and eventually found my way to the Blue Suck Falls
Trailhead with the help of the park map and brochure. It’s funny, but there are road signs for
everything except the trailheads in Douthat State
Park. Here’s a hint – the Blue Suck
Falls trailhead is located near the Discovery Center, which is at the end of a
parking lot beyond a picnic area just downstream from Douthat
Lake.
I
started up the trail around 11:30am. It
was overcast and chilly, but at least it wasn’t raining. Well, it wasn’t raining for the first five
minutes of the hike. I was barely out of
sight of the car when it started coming down, and it didn’t let up for the rest
of the hike. I put on my rain gear and
put spare clothes in a waterproof bag before noticing the umbrella in my
pack. I’d packed the umbrella to help
with photography if I encountered drizzle or light rain. Under the circumstances I didn’t see any
reason to haul it around in my pack. I
whipped it out and resumed the hike. The
umbrella wasn’t really worth much, but it did allow me to hike without wearing
the hood of my rain jacket, which is annoying.
I
followed the Blue Suck Falls Trail upstream along a small creek. The trail is blazed regularly, and the many
junctions I passed were all well-marked with signs. After a little more than a mile I arrived at
Blue Suck Falls. Blue Suck Falls is one
of the major attractions in Douthat State Park, but
my initial reaction was one of disappointment.
Blue
Suck Falls is a series of cascades on a tiny stream. Even on a rainy day in January the volume was
paltry. It looks like it might dry up
completely in a dry summer.
The
park brochure states that Blue Suck Falls is named for the deep blue pool at
its base. I have my doubts about
this. First, at my visit the pool was
more brown than blue. It was also about
the size of a bird bath. My guess is
that the waterfall was named by Beavis and Butthead. After hiking to the falls, Beavis was
overheard saying, “that blew!” Butthead replied with, “that
sucked!” And the name Blue Suck was
born.
I
probably shouldn’t bash Blue Suck Falls quite so hard. Honestly, it is kind of cute, as the rock
face it cascades down is covered with pretty green moss. I guess I was probably a little spoiled after
seeing Falling Springs Falls earlier that day.
I
had lunch there before resuming the hike.
I climbed away from the stream on a good trail featuring lots of
switchbacks. There were several overlooks
along the way, though the weather restricted the view to the valley below and
the next ridge. As I climbed, the fog
grew thicker, and even those limited views were obscured. I reached Lookout Rock a bit later. A serious scramble is necessary to get a good
view from there, and on my visit there was no point. I hiked on, eventually reaching a junction
with the Tuscarora Overlook Trail. I
followed this trail to a spur path leading out to its namesake viewpoint. I skipped it though, as visibility was about
50’ at this point. Instead I continued
ahead, onto the Stony Run Trail.
I
headed back down the mountain on this path.
As I walked, the rain changed over to sleet. Then big, fat snowflakes began to mix
in. This was actually something of an
improvement from the rain, but it didn’t last long. By the time I reached Stony Run it was back
to just raining.
At
Stony Run I followed a faint trail upstream to another waterfall. Stony Run is a little bigger than the creek
that features Blue Suck Falls, but its waterfall is even less impressive. I actually hiked past the waterfall
initially, thinking that there must be something more significant farther
upstream. There wasn’t.
I
returned to the main trail and continued downstream. I then picked up the Locust Gap Trail, which
took me back to the Blue Suck Falls Trail.
I followed the Blue Suck Falls Trail back to the car. It stopped raining about 5 minutes before I
reached the parking area. Sigh.
The
foul weather had encouraged me to hike at an aggressive pace. As a result, I finished the hike at 4pm. At first I was a little annoyed that I hadn’t
explored Falling Springs Falls more thoroughly that morning. Then it occurred to me that there wasn’t any
reason why I couldn’t drive back over there.
It was 30 minutes in the wrong direction, but I didn’t have anything
better to do.
This
seemed like a great plan until I got within a few miles of the falls. At that point the fog thickened up to the
point that I could barely see the road.
I parked at the overlook, but quickly realized that I could no longer
see the falls from there.
I
decided to hike to the base anyway.
Being an eternal optimist, I hoped that the fog would break by the time
I got down there.
The
descent wasn’t as bad as I feared. The
rip-rap wasn’t fun, but it was stable and not as hazardous as it looked. I worked my way to the base of the falls and
walked behind the veil of water. This
earned me a thorough drenching – at least I still had my rain gear on! I’d heard that there was a cave behind the
falls. Calling it a cave is an
overstatement, but there is a pretty impressive overhang that the waterfall
spills over. In fact, it’s big enough
that some of the stream actually runs backwards, underneath the falls, before
flowing around the side.
I
had fun splashing around in the puddles behind the curtain of water. I didn’t linger very long though, as the area
behind the falls reeked of sulphur. Eventually I wandered around to the front of
the falls and waited a few minutes hoping the fog would lift. Of course that didn’t happen. It was starting to get dark when I finally
gave up and began the hike back up to the parking area.
The
drive to the hotel was a quiet one. That’s
because my car’s radio (along with my clock and overhead light) had
mysteriously stopped working. I
eventually traced the problem to a blown fuse.
However, when I replaced the fuse, the new one blew. Apparently I have some sort of odd electrical
problem going on with my car.
Unfortunately, it made for a long, boring drive home after I finished my
job on Wednesday afternoon!
Back to Virginia
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!