RATtreks

Wolf Creek Falls and Paint Mtn. – 6 – 14-2018

Our next adventure would take us (my son Tyler Tarpley and I) to one of my favorites, the beautiful Wolf Creek Falls. Located in Cocke County near the TN / NC border not far from Hot Springs, NC., there are basically 3 or actually 4 different ways to get to them. The most known route is a long drive past Max Patch Mtn. on a very bumpy, backwoods, gravel road. Fairly high clearance would be a plus for this route. This will get you within less than half mile easy walking of the falls. Another variation (and shorter drive if you are coming from the TN side) is to drive in from Del Rio, TN., on the road that goes to the primitive Round Mtn. Campground as it intersects with the before mentioned route.

The second most known route is from the TN side as well and is off highway 25/70 about 6+ miles from Hot Springs where you turn onto Wolf Creek Road. Where this road dead ends it is about a 3.5 mile hike to the falls. This used to be a nasty hike due to 4 wheeler activity and downed trees but, all that has been cleaned up and last I heard it is now a very nice, clean, walk through the woods. I would not know firsthand because I take the least known (shortest and easiest) route which my old friend Dave Aldridge and I found years ago before he passed away. This also comes in from the TN side from near Hot Springs, NC. on a very small road that passes by some very interesting locals then dead ending on the mountain about a mile or so above the falls. Of course finding this is the easy part. Knowing which log roads to take and which way to turn on the various log roads as you hike downhill towards the falls is the tricky part but, if you succeed you will quickly come out at the end of the road where the first and most well know route ends up. The walk back is up hill but, it is short, and very gradual on well graded log roads through a gorgeous hardwood forest.

We made it down to the bottom in a very short time since its all downhill and could soon hear the falls. It was turning out to be a warm and very humid day as the morning had already been burned off by the sun (aka waterfall picture killer) so I knew getting any good pics would be impossible. To make matters worse, the high humidity and the cold water I had in my pack where my larger camera was packed made it impossible to keep my lens from fogging up. I was unable to get any ‘keeper’ pics on this trip but, just being there made it all worthwhile. This was also Tyler`s first time seeing these falls.

I knew it was a waste of time but, I took some time to setup at the falls and get a few pics before it was decided that we would climb up high on the ridge in front of the falls and see if we could get any better shots from up there. Although that ended up being a crawl through the dirt and weeds resulting in some nasty chigger bites, we did get some unique shots from that angle that I had not seen done before.

We stayed as long as we could enjoying the beauty of the falls before heading back up the hill to the vehicle. From there I gave Tyler a road tour of Hot Springs, NC. where we crossed the French Broad river to drive up the other side to Paint Rock. Due to recent heavy rains, the river was nearly out of its banks and very muddy. After a few miles we had to stop due to construction work caused by the road being completely washed out by the swollen river ! We were forced to turn around and head home.

On the way back I noticed a forest road that I had seen on the map beforehand that I turned around and went back to check out. This ended up being a road that would take us up and over the mountain that would get us to Paint Rock /Mountain where we were trying to get to in the first place. It was very hot, almost 90 degrees by this time and I was hoping my Jeep would not overheat on these steep mountain roads as it had recently done just that sitting in the driveway ! It did fine and we soon found our way to Paint Rock where we made the insane decision to climb Paint Rock Mountain ! I knew there was an overlook up there and I did need the exercise but, I had no clue how steep and rugged that trail was going to be ! Add in the 90+ degree cloudless day and you can then start to get an idea of how bad it was ! Of course once I got so far up I was committed and would not stop until I reached the top even if it killed me. It nearly did ! Especially when I ran out of water just before the ‘and back’ part.

Tyler was not a happy camper during any part of this crazy steep and very hot climb but, I managed to somehow convince him to stay with me and see it through. It may have been just because he did not want me to die alone on the mountain but, regardless of his reason I am thankful that he did. After what seemed like forever, we finally reached the overlook at a trail intersection high above Weavers Bend where we found the view I was looking for. To me it was quite breathtaking. To Tyler, quote: “It wasn`t worth it !” .

I was glad I got to see the view but, I am pretty sure I will not make that climb again. After a good rest there and running out of water, we headed back down. Usually the ‘and back’ part goes much quicker when it`s all down hill on really steep trail like this but, not this time. The trail is so rugged from the mountain bike damage and overall steepness and lack of maintenance that it took almost as long to go down as it did to climb up it. I was happy to finally make it back to the Jeep and feel some very cold AC on the way home. Aside from the chigger bites (which lasted a couple weeks or so) and the stifling hot temperature, it had been a pretty good day in Nature and certainly beats a day at home or work any time. Until next time,,,,,