The Waterfalls of Tough Hill Branch
Caldwell County, NC
Saturday, August 17th, 2019
Group photo by a nice waterfall on Tough Hill Branch
I manged to squeeze in a little Team Waterfall Adventure between Little League World Series Games!
Our plan was to explore the waterfalls of Tough Hill Branch. As usual I was running ahead of schedule and when I saw a message that Andy was running late, I decided to make a few stops along the way.
First up was Woodruff Branch Falls (page 62 of Kevin Adam's NC Waterfalls 3rd Edition). Jennifer had the same idea as she showed up just a few minutes ahead of me. The waterfall is visible from the road, but Jennifer and I safely found a route for a closer view!
Jennifer and Me at Woodruff Branch Falls
Woodruff Branch Falls
We continued approximately 1.3 miles further up Anthony Creek Road to check out Walker Hollow Falls (page 61 of Kevin Adam's NC Waterfalls 3rd Edition).
Walker Hollow Falls
Walker Hollow Falls
Continuing on Anthony Creek Road, we made a sharp right on Racket Branch Road. Since Jennifer only has a 2WD vehicle we found a large pulloff on National Forest property to leave her car and we combined into the my wife's Subaru Outback for the final drive to the "trailhead".
The last section of road is in very rough shape and I would not attempt the drive without AWD and adequate ground clearance! This is the approximate location where we parked (36.0876, -81.7477) to begin our hike.
Nobody else from the group had arrived, so Jennifer and I decided to begin our hike to the campsite!
Parts of this area are a maze of overgrown logging roads, many of which either don't show up at all, or do not exactly follow the way they are shown on the maps. We definitely did not take the most direct route to the "campsite".
Andy had given us the GPS point for the spot that he intended to camp which we eventually got to. However, this was definitely not a good place to pitch a tent!
Eventually Thomas and Kitty arrived followed soon after by Andy, Christy, Zack, Boone, and Kona. Together, we found a much more suitable location downstream to set up camp.
Our campsite along Tough Hill Branch
As we were setting up our tents, the rain started falling which further delayed the start of our adventure!
Eventually the rain let up and we continued our hike down to the confluence of Tough Hill Branch and Racket Creek (note: some maps show this as Gragg Prong, but I am going with Racket Creek).
We explored a short distance up Racket Creek to check out some swimming holes and small waterfalls that Andy found on a previous adventure.
Waterfall and Swimming Hole on Racket Creek
Waterfall and Swimming Hole on Racket Creek
The Badger (Thomas) behind a Waterfall on Racket Creek
Andy had pulled his groin and Christy's knees were acting up so they elected to take it easy and hang back with the dogs, while Jennifer, Thomas, Kitty, Zack, and I continued on with our planned adventure up Tough Hill Branch.
It was pretty much one waterfall after another! I didn't name any of them, but I numbered them from #1 to #8 (starting from the confluence of Racket Creek and ending at our campsite). There are also additional waterfalls upstream from our campsite which I did not get to.
Here is what we saw!
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #1
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #2
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #3
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #4
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #5
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #6
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #7
Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #8
GPS Tracks from this Weekend
Here are the interactive links to the GPS tracks:
This was the shortest and most direct route we found from the end of the "drivable" portion of the road to our Campsite
GPS Track from Saturday's adventure (starting and ending from our campsite)
After our hike we had a very enjoyable evening around the campfire!
Props to Jennifer for getting the fire going under some very wet conditions!
Andy Slow Roasting some Marshmallows around the Campfire
I had to break camp early on Sunday Morning to get back in time for my nephew's Little League World Series Game on Sunday!
This was another amazing weekend with awesome friends! And watching my nephew Liam play so well on Sunday made it even more rewarding!
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157710470289157
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