By Pam Reutebuch

Total Distance Paddled: 11.67 miles

Our adventure started early Friday evening, as everyone met at Devils Fork State Park campground in Salem, S.C. Our group consisted of Brian, Joe, Sherry, George, Brenda, Sheila and Pam. Sheila and I came in the camper, which served nicely as the base camp. Everyone arrived in time to enjoy a hearty dinner of hot dogs and sausages and homemade chili.

We then planned out our paddling adventure for the following day. Our goal was to paddle to a couple of waterfalls located in the upper region of Lake Jocassee and do a little geocaching. Brian, Joe and Sheila studied the various maps we had trying to determine where the falls were located.

Joe remembered seeing a map posted at the camp store that had the falls marked on it, so Joe, George and I hiked though the campground, cut through the day area and pavilion and walked over the small earthen dam to the store. The map was posted on a bulletin board across from the store. We noted the location of the falls and then returned to camp. We finalized our plans and enjoyed the crisp, cool air as we visited around the campfire.

Saturday started as a chilly, overcast day. We were up by 7:00 and shortly thereafter, were enjoying a breakfast of egg, sausage and bacon breakfast burritos, homemade cinnamon rolls and hot coffee. Everyone ate their fill and then gathered their gear and prepared for the day's adventure. We drove to one of the boat ramps located at the edge of the park. There was a brisk breeze and the water as a bit choppy. We watched in amazement as numerous trout jumped out of the crystal clear water. We then unloaded the boats and busied ourselves with the usual pre-trip preparations. Joe and Brenda were especially anxious to get on the water, as they would both be paddling new boats on their maiden voyage. We were soon on the water and on our way.

We paddled northwest as we left the ramp. We crossed a stretch of open water and then beared to the right into the Thompson River branch of the lake. We passed a couple of small islands and saw a few houses along the shore in the distance. The water's bluish-aqua tint reminded me of far-away tropical places and was a beautiful contrast against the often sheer rock face of the shoreline. The fall leaves, although past their prime, provided a splash of color here and there amidst the green of the numerous evergreen trees, mountain laurel and other dense under-brush. We rounded the corner into a small cove and could hear falling water ahead. We then came upon the first, and smallest, of the three waterfalls we would visit that day. After a brief stop and a few photos we were on our way.

The clouds gave way as the sun rose higher in the sky and what had started as a gray day was now a bright, crisp fall day. We paddled further north and soon found the second waterfall - Wright Creek Falls. It was at the back of a cove just past a big rock that jutted out into the water like the bow of a ship. As it turns out, this rock was a clue in our search for the geocache (more on that in a minute). This fall was quite impressive with several cascades, the lowest of which fell 15-20 feet off the ledge of a huge rock. You could actually paddle behind the fall and we spent a good bit of time taking turns paddling behind it. I imagine it would be great fun to paddle through the fall on a hot, summer day. When we were done playing in the fall, we turned our attention to the geocaching.

The clue was that the cache was located above the sister rock to the left of the ship-like rock. Brian and Joe found a spot to the right of the ship rock where they could get out. They carefully scaled the steep bank in an effort to find a way to the top of the rock. They looked around and had no luck locating the cache, so they slid back down, being careful to avoid the numerous rocks and roots jutting out of the ground. In the meantime, others in the group did some exploring of their own, and some scoured the shoreline looking for any sign or clue that might break the mystery as to the location of the geocache. Then by sheer luck, I spotted something in the trees above a big rock to the left of the ship-like rock. A quick look through the binoculars confirmed that it was the geocache container. It had a blue lid and a clear plastic base. Surveying the shoreline to the right and left of the rock, there appeared to be no access, so Joe and Brian returned to the spot they had previously abandoned to try to find a way over to the sited spot.

As they inched their way over the mountain face, I squeezed under a low-hanging tree to the left of the sister rock where I found a spot shallow enough to get out. From there it was a climb straight up the face of the mountain, but there were several small saplings, roots and jutting rocks to use as handholds, so I decided to give it a try.

Persistence and determination paid off and a few minutes later I was lifting the cache container from its hiding spot at the base of a cluster of small trees. I opened the lid and surveyed the contents: several hat pins, a couple of waterlogged books, 3 pairs of hemostats, a pair of tweezers, a small ball, a plastic bird beak, a light (that didn't work), some Kleenex in a zip lock bag, insect repellant (almost empty), some assorted neon colored cable ties, a fishing lure and a logbook. I took a picture of the cache and then carefully poured the water out of the container, at which time I found an ink pen. Surprisingly, the pen still wrote, despite the fact that it had been submerged in water. I signed the logbook on behalf of the group, placed the items back in the container and tucked it back into its hiding spot. Then it was back down the steep slope to my boat. The geocache adventure over, we re-gathered the group and set off on our way in search of the next waterfall.

It was approaching 1:00 so we decided to stop on a small island for lunch. We carefully beached our boats on the rocky shore and gathered at the high end of the island for our picnic. The view out over the water was beautiful. When we finished eating, we gathered for a quick group Photo, and then were off. After all, we had another waterfall to find.

We paddled further up the Thompson branch until we came to where the Thompson River dumps into Lake Jocassee in a spectacular, multi-tiered fall, crashing over huge rocks and fallen trees, and then taking pause in small pools before making its way down into the lake.

The area proved to be an adventurer's playground. Sheila and Brian did a little fishing and Sheila caught a nice sized brook trout. Brian, Brenda, Sheila, Joe and I waded through a swiftly flowing pool, climbed up huge rocks, ducked under a cave-like outcropping of rocks, and skidded over the slippery terrain as we explored the upper region of the falls. When we were done exploring, we carefully made our way back down to the boats where we re-joined George and Sherry who had been enjoying a relaxing break.

We got back in our boats and started the trip back. We retraced much of our original route and soon were passing the small island were we had stopped for lunch. We paddled and paddled and then paddled some more. When we finally made it back to the open stretch of water, instead of crossing back over to the boat ramp, we followed the northern shoreline around to the east so we could check out the primitive camping located on the peninsula due north across the water from Devils Fork State Park. From there, it was a fairly straight shot back to the boat ramp.

Our fun day of paddling now over, We loaded up the boats and gear. We made it back to camp just before dark. After a long day of adventure, we were all pretty hungry. A dinner of chicken bog, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and biscuits hit the spot. After dinner, we sat around the campfire and visited. We kept an eye on the cloudy night sky in hopes of catching a glimpse of the full lunar eclipse. We had just enough energy left to roast a few marshmallows before turning in for the night.

Sunday morning was cool and sunny. Perfect weather for a little hiking. There was another geocache we wanted to try to find, and directions were from the boat landing. Since checkout time was 2:00, we decided to go ahead and pack up camp after breakfast. We then set out on a hike through the woods back to the boat ramp where we had launched the day before. We started making our way toward the geocache area only to find that with the water level up and virtually no shoreline to walk, the cache was not going to be accessible by land. Oh well.... maybe another day. We took one more look out across the lake and enjoyed our walk back to the campsite.

We gathered one last time around the picnic table for a bite of lunch. We did our final packing and then were off - to the camp store to do a little souvenir shopping! We browsed around and bought a few mementos of our trip. OK. Enough is enough. We have to go home sometime... Sheila and I climbed into the camper and headed for Chapin. Thanks to all for another fun trip.

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