June 25, 2015 - Beating Feet...

to beat the heat.  We decided to celebrate Donna's birthday and escape the 99 degree heat by heading to Twin Falls and Sassafras Mountain near the North Carolina border.  We followed Rte 178 northwest to the town of Pickens.  There, a sign warned that the rest of the route was winding and narrow, and recommended an alternate route for trucks and trailers.  The turnoff toward the falls was 12 miles from Pickens.  I knew we had missed it when we saw a sign for Sassafras Mountains since the falls are south of that.  We knew for sure we missed the turn when we saw the North Carolina state line sign.  So, we headed back and drove the so called road which was more like a cow path up to the summit of Sassafras, then continued south to try to find the turn off for the falls, which we finally did.

One of the signs cautioning about the switchbacks on the road.

Up here it was 22 degrees cooler than at the campsite.

Yep, we definitely missed the turnoff

 

But, we did make it to the summit of Sassafras Mountain

 

While I am not a full blown acrophobic, I sometimes get vertigo from heights.  I cautiously made my way out to the observation deck, making sure there was still solid ground underneath it.  Bob stayed behind with Charlie Dog.

 Sassafras Mountain is the highest peak in South Carolina, with an elevation determined to be 3533'.  From this point, you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. We then headed back to Rte 178 in hope of finding the turnoff for the falls. .

 

 

 

Now I see why we missed the turnoff to S-100...we were distracted seeing "Bob's Place" on the way up!

 

Not to mention the "Road Kill Grill" across the road. 

A pastoral scene on  Cleo Chapman Road aka S100 on the way to the falls is in great contrast to the turnoff on SR 178.

The start of the trail to Twin Falls

Bob was the first to notice this unusual tree/rock formation. It was like some dinosaur from Jurassic Park was holding the boulder captive.

Or a kraken had risen from the creek.  

The  "easy"  1/4 mile trail along an old "road bed" described in the travel brochure became less easy and more narrow.

Bob wanted to go forward, but I decided to stay behind with Charlie.  As you can see, Charlie couldn't believe the drop off to our right.

Bob said the rest of the trail was a bit rough, but worth the journey to see the double falls.  The one at the left cascades 75 feet down, and the one on the right is at a 45 degree angle. The twin falls are a result of a split in the stream above the falls.  I don't know why, but Twin Falls is also know as Eastatoe Falls, Reedy Cove Falls, and Rock Falls.  Maybe the folks at Bob's Place or Road Kill Grill can explain why, but I don't think we'll be stopping in to find out.

And today, after that hairy ride in a vehicle that we both agreed was not safe any longer,  Bob  traded in his 10 year old  diesel Dodge Ram truck that had  185,00 miles, and that  gave us 10 years of wonderful adventures, but had an air bag recall, needed new tires,  new a/c and  many other fixes, for a new 2015 Ram 1500 4x4 Econo diesel.  Here's to many more miles of adventures in the new Ram!