DuPont Forest

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Finally, it was going to be sunny Sunday. It seems like I have been waiting for months. Every Sunday it either was pouring-down rain or snowing. This winter has been lousy for any Sunday morning rides.

I left the house heading west on Rt 74 at about 7:00AM. The temp was in the mid 20’s – a little chilly to say the least. I stopped for a hot breakfast at the Hardee’s in Forest City and then I was off!

I followed Rt 74 as it merged with I26. I exited at Upward road and went over the interstate. After a couple miles, I went through the light onto Highland Lake Road.

I had been on this road before but from the other direction. I had to stop at the Highland Lake Inn to take a few pictures of the waterfall; pond and what looked like an old mill. It was very picturesque. If the inn is anything like what is seen from the road, it must be a nice place. I’ll have to come back and bring Cindy – at least for a meal at the restaurant.

I didn’t mention the snow. The roads were clear but there was snow everywhere. Also I saw many caravans with electrical “Cherry-Pickers” driving to help restore electricity. They must have had a major ice storm in the past couple days. If I would have known, I probably would have gone somewhere else. As it was, I made it this far so I was going all the way to DuPont Forest to see how much water was really in the Little River.

I stayed on Highland Lake Road until I turned left onto Greenville Highway. After a couple miles, I turned right onto Little River Road and passed the locked-up Carl Sandburg Home. Little River Road is a very twisty road that goes through upscale neighborhoods. The traveling was slow because of some traffic and some electrical workers getting fallen trees from the power lines. I was in no hurry so I took my time and enjoyed the view.

Eventually, I came to the stop sign where I turned left onto Crab Creek Road. Crab Creek Road meanders through a beautiful valley. I was looking at the trees on top of the hills on either side of the valley. They were sparkling in the morning sun. I looked closer and noticed that they were covered in ice. I wish I could have pulled off to take a few pictures but there was no place safe to pull off the road. Snow was up to the road’s edge on either side.

I turned left onto Dupont Road and after a few miles pulled into the Hooker Falls parking area on the right. Half the lot was clear and the other half was full of snow. I don’t think that anybody plowed the snow. It was just from where the sun shown that melted the snow.

I was the only one there. Nobody else was in the lot. It was like having my own beautiful park. I love going early in the morning but it wasn’t that early. It was almost 9:00AM.

I started walking across the parking lot to the trail-head and when I got to the snow, I realized that it would be a difficult trek to the falls. The snow had frozen over and the places where someone had stepped the day before were hard as rocks and very slippery. I was slipping and sliding even in my new hiking boots.

When I got to the part of the trail that went up to Triple Falls overlook, I had to walk up like I was on skis – with my feet at 45 degree angles so I could dig in and climb instead of sliding back down. It was worth the effort when I got to the top, the view was spectacular and the sound of the rushing water was almost deafening. I took a film clip of the scene for future enjoyment and then attempted to get down the trail without falling on my backside. I walked in the deep snow at the edge of the trail and had no problem.

When I got back to the parking lot, I continued down the path to Hooker Falls. It appeared that a motor vehicle drove down the path when the snow was soft and left deep slippery tracks that were not frozen over. It made walking very difficult.

After a short walk, I was at the falls. It was louder than Triple Falls because I was much closer. I decided to get even closer by walking down the trail and up the edge of the pond to the base of the falls. It was a rush standing there watching all that clean clear water rushing over the falls. I remember during the drought a couple years ago, I could have walked across with out getting my feet wet. I couldn’t walk across now. I’d be swept over the falls.

When I walked back up to the Hooker Falls overlook, I thought that I’d try to take my picture with the waterfall in the background. It turned out OK but I look a lot like the “Uni-Bomber”.

I backtracked to Crab Creek Road and stayed on it as it changed into Kanuga Road and went into Hendersonville. I turned right onto Main Street and followed it to Rt 176. I stayed on Rt 176 all the way down the mountain to Tryon. I stopped in at the Coffee House to drop off a couple USRiderNews magazines for Wendy. It was busy with the usual mix of people from all walks of life.

I turned east onto Rt 108 and then got back onto Rt 74 to Shelby. I got home before noon and took Cindy out for a nice pizza lunch. Even with the snow and the cold, it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

DuPont Forest

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