Panthertown Valley - Schoolhouse Falls Loop (Jackson County, North Carolina)

Heavy rains cancelled my hiking plans yesterday, but with the storm front passing, I'm going not going to forgo today's trail miles. For a change, I'm hiking with a different Meetup group today, one that is known for doing more extreme hikes. Today, we're heading up to the Panthertown Valley area in western North Carolina. The event details listed a four hour time window to cover 13 miles and about 2,600' of elevation gain/loss. That's a pretty good pace, but I know this group hikes fast.

I woke up early at 4:30 AM this morning, even before my alarm clock went off, which I had set for 5:00 AM. It's a nearly two-and-a-half hour drive to the trailhead at Cold Mountain Gap and I wanted to ensure I had some padding in case of traffic. When I arrived, a group of backpackers were just disembarking on their trip. While I wait, I wander a few yards into the woods to water a thirsty bush and when I return, the a couple of the other members of today's little adventure have arrived. I have only met and hiked with one of the individuals on today's trip before, but as they all arrive, I immediately welcomed into the group. Since they don't know me, they explain that they were curious if I would show up. I explain that I lead hikes for a different meetup and that I'm very diligent about adjusting my sign-ups to reflect my attendance.

After a very quick round of introductions, we enter the wet woods of North Carolina. Today's trip visits several waterfalls as we make a large loop in and around the north-eastern section of the valley. My rough estimate of our pace assumed that we would be hiking over good trail on relatively flat sections, but almost immediately, I recognize that is not the case for today's little adventure. With yesterday's rains, much of the trail is a muddy mess and some of the waterfall visits on our agenda require traversing "unofficial trails". A few weeks ago when I lead a hike up the Arkaquah Trail, we had to deal with a muddy section where the trail had washed out. It was quite challenging. I'd estimate that probably thirty percent of our hike today is traversing very similar conditions. It's going to be quite a challenge.

The first waterfall we reach is a two-side split cascade. We maneuver ourselves out onto some rocks for a better view. Most of the crew decide to walk through the rushing creek waters to climb up the side of the waterfall, but as I'm not quite ready to get my feet wet, I decide to just hang back. I know I'm going to have to do some knee-deep crossings today, but I just don't feel the need to get my socks and shoes soaked so early in the hike when it isn't necessary yet. 

We make our way back up the muddy steep bank and partway back the we came. The entire time, we're avoiding soup-pots of mud and debris and dodging hanging limbs and thorn bushes. I manage to crack my skull on several low hanging branches along the way. The footing is so precarious that in my effort to be attentive to where I'm stepping, I end up totally missing some branch in front of me. Luckily, I don't hit any of them too hard, though after doing it a dozen or so times throughout the day, my head is a little tender to the touch.

Next, we make our way onto a limestone cliff overlooking the valley. It's an incredible view and we decide to stop here for a short lunch break. I mention that I don't see any way we are going to finish this hike in the roughly four-hour window that was planned, given the terrain and our need to move so slowly through much of it.. The group admits that the posted duration was a mistake and that it will likely take six to eight hours instead of the listed four. She does mention though that given the muddy conditions, she thinks the planned hike may be a bit more ambitions than originally planned and we discuss options while reviewing the map. After some discussion, we agree to cut the trail short a bit in order to finish closer to the planned time.

Our next stop is the popular Schoolhouse Falls, which is a common type waterfall rushing over a drop off and plummeting twenty-five feet or so into a large pool. The water here has a copper-color to it, which I assume is from mineral content. The water has carved out a small cave behind the actual falls and some members of our group decide to go explore behind it. Again though, I decide to hang back. 

From here, we cross the creek and begin making our way out of the lush vegetation. Unfortunately, some of the trails we planned to take out have been overgrown and we find ourselves bushwhacking a bit through thorny vines and up steep muddy embankments above the creek. One section in particular requires some rather precarious acrobatic work, but we manage to get past it without incident. 

As we hit a fork in the road, some of the members want to explore another short loop, but as the time is getting late and I hadn't planned on being gone quite so long, I opt to head back to the parking lot from here. A couple of the others join me. The group wishes me well and invites me to join them again. The hike back to my jeep is only about half-a-mile from here and once back, I say my goodbyes and remove my muddy shoes and socks, only to replace them with flip-flops. I was able to get in about 8.1 miles today, but it was some of the roughest hiking I've done since moving to Georgia. Panthertown Valley itself is quite beautiful and I suspect it will be a destination I revisit in the future.