South River Falls - South River Trail Loop
June 2006

This was a hike that started out with such promise but that ultimately had to be cut short due to the torrential rains experienced along the entire Mid-Atlantic region that week. Normally, rain wouldn't have caused us to cut a trip short but when more than a foot of rain falls over a very short period of time mountain slopes, streams, etc. can be extremely dangerous places. Be that as it may, my good friend Joe Goucher and I had a good trip overall.

The circuit trail was listed as easy but when you get to be 50, is anything easy? The trail is well marked with blue blazing. At about a tenth of a mile, we crossed the Appalachian Trail (AT, blazed white) and continued downhill on a pleasant, easy to hike trail overall. It does get a little rocky as you approach the falls however. Continuing along the hike, we became drenched in perspiration due to typical hot, humid June weather. Fortunately the green canopy of the forest kept the sun off of us for the most part. And the songs of the birds, the occasional deer sighting, and the sound of the stream made for a very enjoyable hike.

After crossing a tributary stream the trail came alongside the river and we could hear the falls in the distance. A hundred yards further and we reached the observation deck with its stone guardrail above the South River Falls. The 83-foot falls has a single fall on its upper half flowing into a pool halfway down, then splitting into two streams for the lower half. Or so we've read, as the thick foliage prevented us from seeing the pool or the split. After a short rest, we decided to hike to the base of the falls and hopefully find a place to camp for the evening.

We proceeded down the trail, which soon intersected with an old road that once served as a park fire road and in fact joins the current south river fire road about a half mile up the mountain if one turns left. Turning right we continued down the road via switch backs to a clearing beside the stream below the base of the falls. As we did this it began to rain and would continue to do so until the next day.

Fortunately a very easy to pitch Eureka tent was up quickly and all of our stuff was quickly under cover. Rather than attempting to cook a meal in the rain we opted for a couple of fruit  and granola bars for dinner and after hanging our food settled in for the night. On a night of hard rain like we had it makes you glad you invested in a high quality tent.

In the morning the rain had stopped but the sky, from what we could see of it, remained fairly ominous looking. It was then that we could see that we were probably in the steepest gorge we'd ever camped in. It couldn't have been more than forty or fifty feet across and the sides seemed to go almost straight up for hundreds of feet. There wasn't a single bird to be heard, not even a cricket was chirping. The only thing you could hear was the stream close by. Looking at the hike up stream it would take to get to the base of the falls we decided not to go. Instead, after several cups of coffee, a few breakfast bars and some oatmeal we boiled water, filled our canteens for the trip out and broke camp.

Rather than retrace our steps going out we opted to take the fire road out due to the heavy rain the night before. It was any easy hike, footing wise, but uphill the entire way. Needless to say we took a couple breaks and reached the car just before before noon.

With the forecast calling for rain, rain and more rain, we decided against doing another circuit and after eating lunch headed home. All in all a good first trip out this season. Looking forward to the next one.

Here are some photos of the trip: South River Trip