76 Triple Cherry Loop

    Driving down to the Triple Falls Parking Area at the bottom of Camp Orr Road, is not what I would call a ‘good’ road but that being said it’s in better shape today than it was the last couple times we were here.  The road conditions ‘go with the territory’ I suppose, wherever you mix steep dirt roads with rain and then put traffic on it, the road ends up falling apart quickly.  Just drive down slowly and you shouldn’t have any problem, though whenever it gets really bad, I wouldn’t try in anything less than a 4X4 with high ground clearance.

Dry Creek

    We start out south on the Triple Falls Trail for just over 100 yards to the signed trail intersection where we turn right and head to the top of the falls.  It’s a little steep for a while but levels out soon and turns to the left (south) onto a ledge along the base of a low bluff high on the hill above the creek.  This entire area is very nice, and we soon come down a little hill to the top of Triple Falls.

a 'waterless' fall

   With little water today in Shop Creek, Triple Falls is just a trickle, a ‘single’ trickle at that.  Any time after some decent rain Shop Creek splits in two near the top creating the right two falls.  We head upstream at first mostly on the bedrock at the top of the falls.  Off to the east we notice a spring low on the bluff with lots of moss and ferns but very little water seeping out, with a little rain this lower spring flows across the bedrock a short way before plunging off the edge forming the left and third fall.

    All together Triple Falls is a sight to behold, when there’s water.  This whole area at the top of Triple Falls is beautiful.  Farther upstream another spring, this one up high on the bluff also with just a dribble falling down the bluff and into Shop Creek.  Now on the east side of Shop Creek the trail continues upstream less than 100 yards, then climbs up the steep hillside for about another 100 yards to the Buffalo River Trail.

downstream symbolic Buffalo Canyon portal

    We turn left onto the BRT and as we head uphill, we soon come to some rock steps and two big boulders above us on the right, another 100 feet and after a sharp turn are more rock steps and the two big boulders are now just below us.  Leaving Shop Creek’s drainage, we curve around a point under the powerline and into Rock Bridge Creek’s drainage then gradually downhill to Rock Bridge Creek.  Crossing Rock Bridge Creek now it’s uphill and we leave the drainage on the ridge at Camp Orr Road.

stone steps

    Ever since getting on the BRT we have ‘zig-zagged’ in and out of small feeder drainages, eventually heading east and now leaving the third little ‘drainage’ we pass low bluffs on the right with some interesting small shelter caves.  Then the trail heads downhill pretty steep and crosses Dry Creek, up the other side in a tiny feeder stream we come to a nice wet weather fall at the point where the trail makes a sharp left turn.  This a two-tiered fall about 50 feet tall will be beautiful right after a good rain.

at Cherry Grove Cemetery (June 2020)

   From the waterfall the BRT heads in a northerly direction for about 200 yards and gains 150 foot in elevation along the way, making this the steepest section of our hike.  The woods have opened up some with nice scenery.  Now headed east and downhill, the next little side-stream with a nice 12-foot waterfall and cascade right above it.  Crossing the creek just upstream of the cascade we head north uphill a bit, then around a bend and downhill to an intersection.

another at Cherry Grove (June 2020)

    Continuing east on the BRT, the trail north is a short connector downhill to the Old River Trail.  For about a quarter mile the trail stays mostly level then gradually starts downhill and comes closer to the Buffalo River.  In the next 250 yards are three little feeder streams with a bunch of water features, the first has a nice cascade above a 15 foot waterfall, then the second has a little 10 foot fall with the trail crossing right at its base and a nice 30 foot fall just downstream a bit.

'road sign'

    Finally, as we enter the third drainage down below us is a real nice cascade dropping 20 feet and maybe 30 foot long, right above the trail crossing is a pretty 15 foot waterfall and beyond that, way up high in the box canyon a tall 50 foot waterfall, all need a good rain to be at their best.  The next quarter mile, the trail clinging to the steep canyon like wall along the Buffalo has lots of short ups and downs and even some rock steps but overall stays pretty level.  Then another waterfall, this one has two tiers and is over 40 feet tall.

on the ORT

    100 yards farther is a small bear-crack where we exit the canyon, at this the symbolic downstream portal to the Buffalo River Canyon.  And sure enough, you can see in the view downstream the valley opens up as the hills recede back away from the river.  From here we follow the BRT uphill some then around a bend into one last little dry side drainage, across this dry valley it’s uphill some more, then out onto a road and intersection.

sandy riverbank

    To the right the road goes to the old Parker/Hickman Farm, we turn left staying on the BRT heading downhill.  Less than 200 yards is Cherry Grove Cemetery, a large, fenced and well-maintained cemetery, Cherry Grove is well worth a visit.  We recognize many names of well know pioneers who settled along the Buffalo River a long time ago.  North of the cemetery the trail passes a locked gate then in 100 feet another intersection where we leave the Buffalo River Trail which heads uphill to the right.

Buffalo crossing

    We stay on the old road heading downhill, we are now on the Old River Trail.  As we near the river, round a bend at another intersection we continue to the left upstream on the ORT, the trail to the right is the ORT going down river and eventually the Erbie Horse Camp.  About 100 feet brings us to the riverbank and our first crossing, we change into our creek waders.  In June during our Parker/Hickman hike I went swimming here at this same spot, today the river level is much lower, and I hardly recognize the place, for details of that adventure see: (54 Parker-Hickman Eight).

the Farmer house

   Almost all of the ORT is on the old road that once followed much of the upper Buffalo River and was simply known as the ‘River Road’.  We follow the road for a quarter mile to the J.W. Farmer farm.  'JW' had a nice place here, a good-sized house with upstairs bedrooms, a basement and even electricity.  Out buildings included a big barn, smokehouse, chicken coup, pigpens.  The farm is one of the ‘better’ preserved homesites in the park, but time has taken its toll and some of the outbuildings are slowly crumbling into ruin.

JW Farmer smokehouse and barn

    Almost half a mile from the JW Farmer place is the next river crossing, our last today.  Here flood waters have widened the crossing, it isn’t too deep though just up to our knees.  On the other side there is no sign of the trail or the old road, everything has been washed clean leaving deadwood scattered along the banks and underfoot nothing but river rock making for some rough going.  After 100 yards of this we’re back on track and in another 100 yards the last waterfall of the day.

in the barn

    A pretty stair-step fall about 25 feet tall, past the fall the trail heads away from the river a little and back into the woods.  Then a trail intersection, this is the downhill end of that short (0.1 mile) connector trail that we passed earlier on the BRT.  We continue straight on the ORT and after another quarter mile the old road enters a ‘park like’ setting.

knee deep river crossing

    The trail and even the woods seem to be manicured, this very nice stroll in the park is possibly the result of hard work by the Boy Scouts.  After crossing Dry Creek it’s just under a quarter mile down the old road to the Triple Falls parking area, and the end of our hike.  Today we had a great time that included lots of nice waterfalls (more water needed), a historic cemetery and an impressive old farm, our total distance was just over 6 miles with an elevation gain around 600 feet.

bluffs behind long shallow river crossing

Triple Cherry Loop: Statistics Chart 76     Turn south off Highway 74 in Mt. Sherman at the canoe rental business onto NC 2650, go just under a mile on this good gravel road to NC 2656 (Camp Orr Road) a sharp right and continue downhill almost 2 miles to the parking area.  NC 2656 is steep and narrow, just drive slow, and enjoy.

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