RATtreks

Happy New Year From The Falls on Lower Higgins Creek ! – 1-1-2016

My friend Tommy ‘Bol’Dar’ Warden and I always try to go on a hike every New Years Day if we can. Maybe it`s because of an old saying my mom used to say that was, ” Whatever you are doing on New Years Day, you will be doing for the rest of the year “. Of course when mom was alive that would be eating black eyed peas, some form of greens and cornbread but, in the years since we have always tried to go hiking somewhere. On this New Years Day we would find ourselves in nearby Lower Higgins Creek. Not sure why. Perhaps because it is close and the water levels were up, who knows ? What I do know is that we had a grand time as we seem to always do no matter where we go. It was not one of those crack of Dawn starts, maybe she needed to sleep in but, rather it was after 10am when we met up and headed towards Lower Higgins Creek. It was not too cold nor was it too hot and there was no snow or ice yet, there was lots of water. It was very cloudy throughout the whole day which made for near perfect conditions to which we took full advantage of.

As we approached the parking area at the trail head I recognized the property owner walking up the road. I had met him years ago when I was with my friend Dave Aldridge at which time he had let us in on the location of a secret falls on Higgins Creek that I have since named (but not listed publicly) Hidden Falls since they are just that, hidden. We had another good conversation with him this time, mostly about the recent changes caused by the Rocky Fork State Park fiasco. I was full of questions about it and how it pertained to his property and about the rumors I heard of a campground being built there. He assured me there would be no campground there, and that the reason he allowed them an easement over his land to build a better road with a culvert creek crossing that leads farther up the mountain to a new parking area was to alleviate the parking congestion that has been caused by the announcement of the park and the state park signs being put up when there is not even a park yet ! It seems that every weekend there are dozens of cars trying to pack into the tiny area there at the end of the road at his private property which ends up blocking his access to the land there which he uses almost daily. Once this work is completed there will be no parking there and all traffic will be routed farther up the improved road to the new parking area which is much larger. I can understand where he is coming from.

From there we began our assault of the mountain following this freshly dozed and graveled road to its end at the new parking area to where the old gate was moved up to and then continued on the old road trail higher up the mountain until reaching the secret ninja trail that we take to get to the base of Hidden Falls as that would be our first stop. Creek crossings would be fun all day due to the high water flow but, I managed to keep my new boots dry. The Hidden Falls were looking marvelous as always and we spent a bit of time there getting some pics and shooting videos.

Our next stop would be farther upstream as we climbed these falls and continued towards the base of the larger and well known Lower Higgins Creek Falls. The water flow and light was about the best I have ever seen there and I tried my best to get some good pics as I inched closer to them before we would have to find a way to cross over the creek. Of course that would not be an easy task to accomplish and stay dry but, we did succeed !

Once across the creek we made our way to the base of the falls to get a few pics before the spray covered our lenses and we climbed the super steep ascent back to the old road trail high above. There has been a huge impact due to the increased traffic these falls are seeing now that the park has been publicized.

After a few shots from above we continued beyond the top of the falls where there would be two more difficult creek crossings.

We passed up the few other nice falls that are fairly well hidden behind thick laurels far below the road as we decided to go to the much larger Upper Higgins Creek Falls next as it was our main goal of the day. Not many people even know these falls exist and the route down to them is a bit tricky to find. It is a well hidden ninja type trail that leads steeply down to the base of these amazing falls. They were definitely worth seeing on this day. We spent a significant amount of time there in attempts to get good pics and enjoy the immense beauty found there.

From there we climbed back up to the old road and continued farther up the mountain as there is a smaller yet, very unique falls to be found farther upstream. Again, the goat trail down to them is very hidden and if you don`t know where it is you most likely will not find it or them. We had no trouble and were soon standing on a small, almost floating island (as water was running beneath it) right in front of them. On this day the four fingers of the small falls was flowing robustly so, we set up there for a spell to take advantage of it. Unfortunately I lost my pictures that I took of these falls with my pocket cam so I only have these from my larger camera.

While Bol’Dar was getting his shots, I poked my nose downstream where the creek drops sharply down another small cascading style falls before reaching the top of the previous Upper Higgins Creek Falls. It was mostly a vertical cliff there but, I could see a passable route down to which I was able to coerce Bol’Dar into following me down. This started out to be rather sketchy but, ended up being a first rate adventure as i provided us with views above the top of the falls not seen from any other vantage point. It also afforded us some first-class side views of the falls which led to us standing right at its base.

Of course this meant climbing back up the same trail again to reach the road making a cool loop but, one that could have been avoided had we known we were going to the falls above them before we climbed down to the upper falls in the first place ! Hindsight is always 20/20 ! Once back on the road I had to rest a bit from the steep climb. As I caught my breath I was realizing that we would have to climb down just as far and back up once again in order to get to the other two falls that are below the upper falls ! Going downstream from the uppers is NOT easier however, you will have to trust me on that one !

After we rested there we continued back down the road to the next jump off spot. I say that because that is exactly what it is like as the side of the road is so steep there it`s like jumping off a cliff once you find the narrow ninja trail that leads down to the next falls. It is somewhat easier now that there has been a lot more foot travel to them since this park thing has exposed them to the masses. It did not take long to reach the base of the falls and we were not able to stay there long as the light was fading into the late evening. These falls are as outstanding as any of the others and despite the conditions I was not pleased with my images captured of them.

From there we crawled through the dense laurels that hide the next set of falls just below us. I had not been back to these in a couple of years, the last time being with our dear friends Dave Aldridge and Lou. I could not help but think of them on this day. Dave is no longer with us on this Earth and I try to pay homage to him at every falls I go to that I have been to with him. We spent as much time as we could at this last falls on Higgins Creek before we knew we had to leave if we were to get back to the car before dark.

Another steep but, shorter climb back to the road and we would journey back down across the two creek crossings and descent the mountain on the old road back to the vehicle. We did get there by dark but, it was dark right when we reached the car as I had to use a flash to get the last two pictures of the day which would be the creek and large metal drainage pipes used to make the new road over the creek. What a superb day it had been celebrating the brand new year with Mother Nature and all of her splendor. I can only hope that this is what I will be doing for the rest of the year and the rest of my life. Until next time,,,,,,