Pisgah 400: High Falls on South Fork Mills River

Pisgah 400: High Falls South Fork Mills River & Buckhorn Gap Trail – 7/9/22 – 14.5 Miles

Here I am again at the intersection of “want to go” and “need help” for a waterfall hike in Pisgah National Forest. It’s not a bad place to be – out in the woods! – but I take safety in numbers seriously when looking at unmaintained trails and big water crossings. As part of the Carolina Mountain Club’s 100 Waterfalls Challenge, I’ve had this hike on my priority list for a year. Once Jim’s bout with COVID had passed (lingering affects?) he agreed to venture out with me.

Kevin Adams’ narrative for reaching the waterfall raised some caution flags for me [I trust Mr. Adams!] so I researched more information. Two of my resources, DWHikes and Brenda Wiley, offered blog posts with the level of detail I needed to decide how to tackle this hike. [Brenda’s description included info on an alternative manway as well.]

The most recent on-the-ground descriptions I found of the hike reported very overgrown, eroded conditions. Feeling cautious about a tough trail plus a possible deep crossing, I decided to take the longer but more traveled route: South Mills River Trail to the intersection with Squirrel Gap Trail and the bridge crossing South Mills River. Without crossing the bridge, we would then backtrack a quarter mile or so, looking for an unmaintained trail upstream to the waterfall (this worked!)

Afternoon thunderstorms were predicted (well, it is July) so we got an early start to get as much done as possible before getting drenched. We drove up scenic, windy Hwy 276 towards the Blue Ridge Parkway, turned right onto Yellow Gap Road (FR 1206) and turned right again at Wolf Ford Horse Camp (FR 476). A gate stopped us about .8 miles short of where we expected to park, adding 1.6 miles round trip to our hike. An early start is always a good plan for the unexpected.

Too much preamble? Let’s go.

So…we walked down the first .8 miles of rocky roadbed alongside South Mills River to another gate and the parking area we had expected to stop at. There were campsites beside the river. Perhaps this was recently closed? Who knows?

South Fork Mills River

The river and the trail curve right and then sharply left at Otter Hole, a deep pool with a little sandy beach. This may be a popular swimming hole, but the water was dark, tannic, not inviting to me in the least.

Another .9 miles to where the Adams’ hike description turns left onto an unmaintained trail. We took one look and confirmed we didn’t want to go that route. We crossed this concrete bridge instead. Now we were on the right side of the river.

From this point we were relying on GAIA GPS and our paper map. As we approached the intersection with Buckhorn Gap Trail, I broke the news to Jim that I wanted to connect the dots between this point and Black Mountain Trail if there was time later on (read more here). 

South Mills River Trail, a gentle, undulating old roadbed, winds in and out of coves, crossing many small creeks that drain down to the river, none substantial but all marked on the map. Fungi flourished in the wet conditions.

After about 2.5 miles on South Mills River Trail, keeping a close eye on GAIA and Brenda’s narrative, we spotted a faint path at the last hairpin turn before intersecting with Squirrel Gap. We walked further to check out this intersection and the bridge. (FYI, the intersection had no signage, I don’t know what you would do here if you didn’t have GPS or some navigation to keep you on track.)

A sign indicating where horses can ford the river and an ominous “Bridge Out” – hmmm.
The bridge was destroyed by the remnants of Hurricane Fred in 2021.

The bridge from our side looked damaged…

…and stepping aside for a clearer view, the rest of the bridge casually tossed onto the far bank was sobering indeed. Steel wires that held the boards were dangling somehow and a wasp nest was hanging on the end of one of the wires (looks like a volleyball).

For what it’s worth, at this point the river did look safe to cross if you chose your route carefully.

Backtracking to the faint trail, agreeing that we would go as long as the trail was obvious, we crossed Clawhammer Creek, getting our feet wet for the first time. From that point we had a very good trail, maybe .6 miles along the riverbank, a couple of campsites along the way. 

We got close enough to glimpse High Falls through the thick vegetation but couldn’t find a way to get down to the riverbed. Next we found a place to reach the water, but the river bent and we could only hear it…We tried going out onto the rocks in the river and could see some of it…

So close! Surely there is another way

Looks like I’m gonna have to fight through some rhododendron at the river’s edge. I slowly made my way upstream on the left side, hanging onto branches, around the bend in the river, out on the rocks. And there she was, a powerful beauty, called High Falls not because of her height but because she is the farthest named waterfall upstream.

High Falls on South Mills River

Jim the Hiker Model

We ate lunch and discussed our return hike. The short way was trying to cross the river and find Adams’ route back up (no thanks), the long way retracing our steps on South Mills River Trail (a known safe way), and the “middle way” of the unmaintained trail that Brenda indicated going straight up to the ridge. We chose the middle.

Backtracking to Clawhammer Creek, we turned right onto yet another faint trail just before crossing and began a short, steep climb. The trail was pretty good, narrow but clear, and we never lost it even as it gained the ridge line and followed through thick blueberry bushes and thick mountain laurel – not a scenic route but a straightforward one. More mushrooms!

South Mills River Trail was visible downhill on our left, close enough to bushwhack to it, but we kept our course until we properly intersected it. A great feeling to successfully follow the manway!

Our innocuous side trail

Now I faced my Pisgah nemesis: Buckhorn Gap Trail. It pops up at many intersections and this was the last bit I had not yet hiked, out-and-back (3 miles total). After our extra mileage at the beginning, this would make a very long day. Jim wasn’t feeling 100% but he encouraged me to do it because returning another day for this short remnant deep in the forest would be a pain in the a$$.

So we did it, a flat, dull trail that made me wonder a little bit about this completion thing I have. The last couple of miles to our car went faster, slightly downhill, and I forced myself to relax rather than hustle – sometimes going slower is really going faster. We finished about 4:15 pm.

Thunderstorms never appeared.

Changed clothes at the car – had the forethought to bring a cooler with sodas! We pushed to get home before dark and enjoyed pizza while watching the Tour de France, a small reward to Jim for hanging in there. He’s a good guy.

"At some point in life,
the world's beauty becomes enough."
~Toni Morrison

Pisgah 400: Avery Creek Trail/Twin Falls Loop

Pisgah 400: Avery Creek/Twin Falls Loop – 5/22/22 – 10.4 Miles

Looking at 7 pages of notes I wrote about this hike on the day I did it, figuring how to whittle it down to a post that my little band of followers will enjoy reading. Here goes.

Like many people, I’ve had more cancellations than successful plans since COVID rocked the planet. Jim and I managed to avoid being sick…until this week [in May 2022]. Now Jim is isolating (canceling our weekend in the mountains) and I am restless and thinking how to relieve the itching both short term and long term.

My waterfall challenge is SO close to being completed, but the remaining hikes involve swift creek crossings and bushwhacking that I will not attempt solo. The Pisgah 400 Challenge is always looking over my shoulder, though, so I settled on Avery Creek Trail in Pisgah National Forest, out-and-back, about 7 miles total. Not a full day but there it is.

Out of curiosity, I looked at Carolina Mountain Club’s “100 Favorite Trails Challenge” and saw that Hike #65 combines Avery Creek Trail with some trails I’ve done and some snippets that I have not, totaling 10 miles. Bonus points, it includes Twin Falls, a few more miles, a more interesting route.

Thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon, so I left home very early to give myself a good chance to finish before getting drenched (ended up having no rain at all, just overcast skies). With no traffic on this Sunday morning, I was on trail by 9:00 a.m.

I started on Buckhorn Gap Trail, which is long, disjointed, confusing and manifests multiple personalities. I’ve hiked this particular little stretch before and recalled that it crisscrosses both Avery Creek and Avery Creek Trail. These are horse trails with unbridged horse crossings and (hopefully) bridged people crossings. Signage is good but not perfect and blazes are sporadic.

Adding a degree of difficulty, Hurricane Fred had flooded Pisgah NF in August 2021, choking many of the creeks and drainages with piles of debris. Much of it will be there through my lifetime. That is how nature works.

Some bridges along my route were washed away as well. A few temporary structures have been put in place, challenging me to cross some sketchy logs to keep my feet dry. One particularly impressive debris pile was my only choice versus knee deep water. 

Turning left on yellow-blazed Twin Falls Trail, the previous night’s rain had left the trails wet/muddy in some places, dry on the south facing slopes, full foliage in shimmering green. I glimpsed a high waterfall on the left and took the first social trail I saw. A couple hundred yards in, that trail petered out. [This waterfall is probably only visible during/after a good rain event.] I backtracked to the main trail, went a little farther, and saw two high waterfalls on my right – the real Twin Falls.

I followed the slippery trail up to the base, but the best view is really farther down because there are multiple cascades. Really beautiful, even when the forest “gets in the way.” 

The left “twin”

The main drop with a large debris pile near its base

The narrow trail to the second waterfall was a bit more muddy and precarious so I opted not to go too far up. On my prior visit, I went all the way to the base and even walked behind the falls, but not today. 

The right “twin"

I had a bit of confusion picking up the trail continuing past the waterfalls – there is a campsite and many social trails around it. Once again GAIA helped me from getting turned around. [How did I do this in my pre-GPS days?? Oh, yeah, I didn’t hike solo in Pisgah very much.]

Continuing on Buckhorn Gap Trail for a short distance, I turned left onto another trail (Still Buckhorn Gap? Maybe Clawhammer?) and hiked the steep 1.3 miles to FS 5058, turned left again and walked a mile on the forest road, then turned right to pick up Buckhorn Gap/Clawhammer (?) again for yet another mile up to the intersection of Black Mountain Trail, an old forest road, and even more Buckhorn Gap Trail.

Too many turn-by-turn directions? Here are a few wildflowers along the way:

Fairy wand

Spiderwort and fleabane

At this intersection (the actual Buckhorn Gap) I stopped for lunch before tackling Black Mountain Trail. A young woman on a mountain bike came through and we chatted for a minute as I munched on my cheese and crackers. She shouldered her bike and climbed the stairs – impressive physical and mental strength, confident in what she wanted to do. Made me feel courage to keep going and push myself.

Mountain bikers were now showing up, solos and groups. Some were vocal in announcing their presence, a few just blowing through like they owned the trail. What is the etiquette? Yield to hikers? A myth.

Buckhorn Gap Shelter is on this stretch of Black Mountain Trail. I had not known of this shelter before seeing it today. The large three-sided structure with built-in bunks is raised up on stacked stone corners, like old log cabins, set in a large clearing with a couple of fire rings and space for multiple tents and hammocks. Didn’t see a water source but assume it is close by. The latest users left a very clean camp. 

This part of Black Mountain Trail follows along Soapstone Ridge, pleasant sandy undulating tread for a mile or so to Barnett Branch Trail. Another cycling group passed me, including a man pushing his bike, and for some reason he said that his wife was a ways behind him (perhaps to explain why he was walking?) Soon a woman came up behind me, also pushing her bike, and I realized it was the man’s wife.

I made small talk as she smiled gamely and said she was working hard to keep up with the group. I said that she didn’t need to keep up, she could just go at a pace that made her happy. She seemed to take encouragement from that, and I meant it.

Why am I relaying this interaction? Because I’ve felt like that woman many times, and it’s no fun when all you think is that you have to keep up to someone else’s idea of fun. “Hike your own hike” is an affirmation that, once internalized, can apply to just about anything.

Time out for a Vasey’s Trillium characteristically hiding beneath its broad leaves

Without apology, Black Mountain Trail is all about the mountain bikers. The terrain is awful for hikers, huge deep ditches of red dirt and steep curves, worrying that someone is going to come careening down on you. Sharing trails is the right thing to do, but for hikers it’s just a link to other hiker trails.

I was relieved to reach Club Gap. Rather than two trails crossing, this is the intersection of four different trails. Some clever folks carved logs with the trail names so there is no mistaking which is which. Brilliant idea and masterful execution.

My trail is this-a-way

The first couple of miles of Avery Creek Trail is a lot like Black Mountain Trail (but less traffic), lots of deep ditches and curves and a steep descent.

A ramp made from rock slabs that a better athlete than I would ride a bike over

About halfway down, the grade lessened and the trail narrowed to a more conventional
 hiking trail following Avery Creek

Multiflora rose (nonnative)

Mountain laurel

Galax

The only view today

Yellow tufted wood sorrel 

Recent human trail rebuilding

Beaver work

Once again I entered the tangle of Buckhorn Gap Trail and Avery Creek Trail, crisscrossing Avery Creek on piles of debris and rudimentary bridges. I passed Avery Creek Falls (accessible from the Avery Creek Trail side, in case you ever go looking for it). I ventured most of the way to the water’s edge, stopping short of the bottom because of slippery rocks. A beautiful moment to exhale.

Avery Creek Falls (photo taken from the main trail)

My final crossing of Avery Creek (hallelujah!), a big log crossing with no handrail. The water was about calf deep and no rocks, clear water, so I just waded it rather than try my balance on the log. Very refreshing! 

 Sometimes the hike is about meeting nature and sometimes it’s about meeting people on the trail. Today was both.

The drive home was okay with my music turned up loud. I was ready for a shower, pizza, and cider, in that order. Jim was feeling a little better after a quiet, restful day alone. We both agreed that life needs to jump start soon.

“Hike your own hike.” ~Everyone