DEW Falls/Johns Jump Falls/Upper Bearwallow Falls – 2/26/21 – 2 miles
For those dark post-holiday-winter-forever-no-end-in-sight blues, Jim and I embraced the rain and chill for a weekend of waterfall hiking. I am closing in on Carolina Mountain Club’s Waterfall 100 Challenge. Most of the easy ones are done and the word “challenge” is now in play. Those remaining are concentrated in Transylvania County, the Land of Waterfalls, which looks simple but simply – is not.
After many hours spent researching and collecting maps, blog posts, and hike narratives, I compiled a big ol’ folder of printouts and a plan to find a dozen waterfalls in three days. [My main source for all driving directions and info was Kevin Adams’ North Carolina Waterfalls, Third Edition and his Waterfalls Index on his website.]
On Friday we endured a dreary rainy drive from Charlotte to Sapphire, NC. En route we stopped for lunch at Mills River Brewery to fortify ourselves for what would surely be wet wandering in the woods. An adult beverage in the middle of the day can either get you pumped up or dreaming of a cozy couch and a fireplace.
The trick is not to check into your Airbnb first.
The other trick is to remember that waterfalls are exponentially better during or right after the rain, and you are probably going to be the only humans out there.
Each of today’s waterfalls were warmups, easy-peasy short walks amounting to maybe 2 miles total – can we call that hiking? Yes, we can.
DEW Falls is on NC 281, about five miles south of the junction with U.S. 64 west of Lake Toxaway. Following Adams’ walking directions requires attention to detail (I don’t mentally measure in feet) and it can be challenging to keep count of the side paths that you do and do not take.
Adams gives background to the name of the falls: “Students from Hammond School in Columbia, South Carolina, built the trail to DEW Falls as a senior class project. The Forest Service allowed the school to name the falls. [The students] decided it should honor one of their classmates. Dorothy Ehlrich Walker died in a car accident on July 22, 2003, the summer before her senior year.”
The rhododendrons framing the waterfall belie the winter calendar,
giving the impression of a spring day.
The trailhead for Johns Jump Falls is almost directly across the road, but we drove the few hundred feet to a pull-off. The same as DEW Falls, there’s no signage to indicate Johns Jump Falls. Adams’ index does not list this waterfall separately, but directions are given in his book under “Nearby Waterfalls” immediately after the information on DEW Falls. [I cannot carry such details in my head, so I carry paper copies of the pages and the book doesn’t leave the car. Why don’t I just have photos of the pages on my phone? One, they are too small for me to read and, two, I try to keep my phone in my pocket when it’s raining!]
Adams’ description directed us to “climb the little hill to the right of the telephone pole and enter the woods.” We picked up the path to the top of the falls and made the steep scramble down to the base. It’s a good thing we were already wet so we could enjoy the spray.
Johns Jump Falls, full frontal view reached by rock hopping to the middle of the creek
Two more sources for Johns Jump Falls are here and here.
Well, we were wet now and there was still daylight, so we looked for one more waterfall before cocooning in our weekend home-away-from-home. Upper Bearwallow Falls in Gorges State Park was close by. It isn’t on a challenge list but it’s a simple one-mile round trip.
The half-mile trail leads from the Bearwallow and White Pines picnic area, crossing Grassy Ridge Road and then descending to an observation deck. The trail is wide and a bit steep going down, so remember that it comes back up. Children can easily skip there and back, but some grownups may be surprised at a little huff-and-puff effort.
From the viewing platform – this may be disappointing to some folks who like to get up close and personal (including me) but I appreciate the park’s efforts to protect the environment from being bushwhacked to death.
So how about that cozy retreat? Our Airbnb was retro ‘80’s with dark green carpet, a sectional sofa, and the same coffeemaker I gave Jim on his first Father’s Day (1984). Obviously this is a beloved multigenerational home and we appreciated the vibe.
Best decision of the day: soup and bread for supper
“Grace is finding a waterfall when you were
only looking for a stream.”
~Vanessa Hunt
No comments:
Post a Comment