RATtreks

Spivey Gap Falls – 2-18-2016

Due to my good friend Bol’Dar not being able to attend on my last trip to Spivey Gap Falls, it was decided that we would go there for this next adventure. My son Tyler also came along as he too had not ever seen them but, was with me when we discovered a new, unnamed falls over on the other side of the mountain not far from this location. I had been informed sometime back about some downed trees directly on the falls so we took some small pack saws and loppers in case there was something we could do to improve the situation. It was a sunny yet, chilly morning and we did find some snow and rime ice in these higher elevations. It was not deep and was actually enjoyable except for the slush the sun was causing to fall from the trees overhead ! There is no marked trail for these falls and they are not listed and I hope they stay that way for their own protection. We began the hike through the enchanted old growth Hemlock forest where there are actually a few survivors from the pine bark beetles that ravaged this area some years ago.

It is not a long hike to reach the falls and the route is not obvious so if you are not sure of where you are going you could get very confused. The falls are well hidden and you really can`t see them until you are very close to them. There are some very large and impressive rock formations there as well as a huge cliff system which only adds to the ruggedness and charm of the area. It does border private property so one must take care not to trespass. Once we reached the falls we could see that there was indeed some very extensive damage with multiple trees down right on the falls that completely hid them from sight. This was disparaging and we were not sure if we would be able to do anything but, we were certainly going to give it a try.

We began by removing the first thing in the way which was a fairly good sized tree that had the laurels pushed down from the right side which prevented us from even getting close to the falls where even more downed trees had fallen from the top. It was all caused by one huge tree that had fell from high above that knocked all the others down with it. That tree was precariously balanced on the top and very narrow edge of the rock cliff on the right side of the falls. We definitely had our work cut out for us and we did not really have the right tools for this job !

After a couple of hours of tedious work all of which were on ice covered surfaces and involved being in very cold water during the whole time, we finally made enough progress to where we could actually see the falls. If not for my son Tyler this would not have been possible as he climbed up the frozen Gnome hole and around to the top of the falls where he then carefully made his way down the HUGE fallen tree that is laying down the gut of the falls which he somehow was able to stand on despite it being completely covered in frozen spray from the falls. He sawed one limb at a time and passed them down to us so we could move them farther downstream so as not to clutter up the area below the falls. This was a time consuming and painstaking job and I admire his fortitude because I know how hard and dangerous it was and how cold he had to be while doing it. Eventually he had done all he could do from that vantage point and all that was left was the widow maker over his head that was now wobbling on the narrow edge since a lot of its support limbs that were holding it up had been cut. Since it would have crushed him had it fell, he aborted the area and came on down to join us and try to warm up some.

By this time the sun had gotten high in the sky and was ruining any chances of getting any quality pics of the falls but, we did not mind as we were very satisfied with the work we had done there and vowed that we would be back with heavier equipment to finish the job up on a warmer day of course. I was able to get the following shots of the falls:

Since it was still early afternoon we decided to climb around the large cliff there to the top and beyond to wander a ways up the huge valley above the falls. This is a very nice area and although I am sure there are no other significant falls to be found, it still is worth exploring some day.

After spending some time in the valley above the falls we descended back down the cliff and took the high route back out to the route we came in. It had been a really nice hike and we were very productive with our hard work on these falls. I plan to come back as soon as I can to finish the work needed when the additional help that is required is available. Until next time,,,,,