Gorges State Park - Lower Bearwallow Falls & the Auger Hole (4.5 miles; d=5.40)
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Lower Bearwallow Falls & Auger Hole Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my hike to Lower Bearwallow Falls and the Auger Hole Trail, at Gorges State Park, as depicted a la Google Earth...***Note my side trip past the lime kilns is not depicted as this was an ill-defined portion of the route and not recommended.***
Lower Bearwallow Falls & Auger Hole Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my hike to Lower Bearwallow Falls and the Auger Hole Trail, at Gorges State Park...***Note my side trip past the lime kilns is not depicted as this was an ill-defined portion of the route and not recommended.***
Auger Hole Trail @ Turkeypen Gap
Being dropped off and picked up at Turkeypen Gap would allow me to make a considerably shorter hike to Lower Bearwallow Falls than starting over at the Frozen Creek Access (5-miles round trip vs. 8-miles). This is the Auger Hole Trail as it arrives at Turkeypen...from here its an almost contuinual 2-mile descent to the Toxaway River...
Despite the thick cloud cover, the fresh spring leaves still managed to light up the canopy...
Wildflower hunting had been rough so far this year so I was hoping this hike would help improve my record a bit. It wasn't long until I found my first of the day, Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), which was growing in very large numbers all along the trail...
The Auger Hole Trail as it winds through a dark cove about a half mile down from Turkeypen Gap...
Violet season has seemed to go on forever this year...even so, I hadn't got a shot of one of these yet...Northern White Violet (Viola macloskeyi)...
Passing a huge pine that almost seems to be oozing over the bluff above the trail...
Green, as only spring can provide...
Cloudy days...good for pics of waterfalls but incredibly frustrating for properly exposed trail pics...
About 1-mile in the Auger Hole Trail reached its first 'wet' crossing of the day, at Bearwallow Creek...I prepared myself for a shallow wade...
It doesn't take much rain to turn Bearwallow Creek into a more dangerous animal but the recent dry spell we'd had meant I wouldn't even have to take off my boots...no wading today...
A look at the Bearwallow Creek Crossing on the Auger Hole Trail. Just upstream beyond the rhododendron I could hear the unmistakable sound of falling water. No named waterfalls are listed near here so I immediately decided to add a short exploratory bushwhack to see what I could find...
Just upstream from the rhodo's in the previous shot I found this pretty 10' cascade...it sounded like there was something bigger above it so I set about trying to get around the ledges this falls drop over...
What I found above the first set of cascades was a deep, rocky pool with this beautiful 15' waterfall above it. As far as I can tell it doesn't have a name (I later saw it referred to as Ted's Falls), probably because there are many bigger falls on Bearwallow Creek both up and downstream...
Back on the Auger Hole as it leaves Bearwallow Creek headed east...
Auger Hole Trail-Indian Camp Road Junction
From Bearwallow Creek the trail begins a steady climb over a steep ridge. Near the top I passed a gated road, known as the Indian Camp Road, which follows a high ridge 4-miles or so to the upper portion of Bearwallow Creek...
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)...always a pleasant find...
As the Auger Hole Trail reaches the height of land east of the Bearwallow Creek crossing it traverses a large slide area from a few years back. The park has done a good job of cutting through the slide but one gets the feeling that it won't take much effort for mother nature to make a mess of this stretch once again...
From the trail atop the steep edge of the slide Bearwallow Creek can be seen far below...
One of my planned 'side-trips' for this hike was down to the old lime kilns along Bearwallow Creek. A very overgrown old path is the best way to descend but that didn't make it easy as briars and blow-downs made the going quite rough in spots...
As I neared the point where the old path makes its final drop down to the creek I found this old iron something lying in the middle of the trail. So focused was I on this peice of metal that I completely missed the lime kilns themselves which are dug into the hillside right next to where I was standing...
Making my way down to the valley floor, continuing my search for the lime kilns I had already passed, I found more evidence of man along the Bearwallow...
The serene Bearwallow Creek as it passes by the lime kiln area above Lower Bearwallow Falls...
