Today is the first day since the historic
storm of February 2021 that is supposed to be warm and I'm ready for some hiking. We decide on the Richland Creek area and somewhere we have never been, at Dickey Junction we turn down Richland Road. This road eventually takes you to the Buffalo River at Woolum, we’re not going that far. The three miles down Richland Road to the
trailhead is easy enough, we turn left at the ‘Stack Rock OHT Trailhead’ sign into the parking area
outside a closed gate.
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you can't miss the trailhead
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Our goal today is to see both Stack Rock Homestead Falls
and Orange Rock Falls, we decided to pass on Punchbowl Falls which is the
‘premier’ waterfall in this area but probably too far for us today, especially
since we haven’t done any hiking in over six weeks. We head through the gate on the Ozark
Highlands Trail north
and start downhill into a small drainage staying 100 feet or more from the
little creek, curving to the west we pass mile marker 151. |
OHT mile marker 152
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Downhill we cross a creek, which
feeds Stack Rock Homestead Falls further downstream, then another 300 yards is an intersection, the fork to the right with blue blazes is the spur to Stack Rock Homestead and the falls.
We stay on the OHT on our way to Orange Rock Falls,
we’ll come back to ‘Homestead’ on the way out. The trail continues west then swings around to the south, occasionally with nice views of the valley below and some huge
icicles up on the bluffs across Dry Creek, part of this route follows an
old road. |
winter still holding on
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After passing mile marker 152
the trail gradually heads downhill, then at a rocky bluffline break we climb
down where the trail turns back to the north as the descent gets steeper. The OHT is pretty rocky along this west
facing slope but the trail's in good shape, at a faint trail intersection we
swing to the left southwest on the Ozark Highlands Trail, the faint trail to
the north is the old OHT now closed due to a landslide a few years back. |
Dry Creek
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Another quarter mile down the hillside the trail approaches within 100
feet of a small creek in a little side drainage where we leave the OHT southeast down into this drainage towards Orange Rock Falls. It’s pretty steep and very overgrown, we get to about 50 feet from the falls and find the little grotto choked with deadwood that has washed downstream. We can see the black ‘stacked’ shale where
the falls are but no water, Orange Rock Falls is dry today, so we climb back up
to the OHT continuing downhill. |
OHT crossing on Dry Creek
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Less
than 100 yards further we cross an ATV trail then downhill some more to a nice campsite
just above Dry Creek. Down
the OHT to the banks of Dry Creek at the trail crossing we stop for lunch on a
big flat rock next to the water.
Dry Creek reportedly is seldom ‘dry’ and is definitely not today, lots
of water moving fast and here at the crossing maybe a foot deep. This is as far as we’re going today,
so after a nice long lunch while enjoying lovely Dry Creek, we turn back uphill. |
blue blazed spur to Stacked Rock Homestead
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It’s about a 600-foot elevation change on the way to the top but the
trail is good, and we take our time, the ascent isn’t bad until we reach the steep climb to the rocky crest, now we feel it in our knees and back. Circling back about three quarters of a mile later we come to the intersection with the spur
trail to Stack Rock Homestead and turn left. |
Stacked Rock Homestead
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It’s a quarter mile mostly downhill to the old homestead on our
left, some foundation stone and the fireplace are pretty much all that's left. This is a gorgeous spot for a home in the
woods with massive boulders here and there, and we can hear Stack Rock
Homestead Falls just out of sight east of the house. We circle around to the north then east climbing down through some rocks trying to reach the base of the falls. With thick undergrowth and slick rocks below the falls, we only make it to within maybe 30 feet. |
a unique look at Stack Rock Homestead Falls
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Stack Rock Homestead Falls about 35 feet tall but today with very little water flow, is mostly icicles about 20 feet across the top of the falls, enhancing this scenic waterfall and providing a unique waterfall experience. In front of Stack Rock Homestead Falls is pretty cool, literally: the icicles create a chilling effect,
the temperature feels much cooler here in the shade at the falls. We climb out back up to the trail noticing it
would be fairly easy getting down to the top of the falls. |
pool at the top of Stack Rock Homestead Falls
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We
return the way we came, uphill to the trail intersection then left on
the OHT about a half mile back to the trailhead and the end of a great hike, it
was great, just to get back out on the
trail. Today we hiked 5.4 miles with 906
feet of altitude gain.
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Dry Creek
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Stack Rock Trailhead: Statistics Chart 83 While the back roads
to the parking area can be a little rough, at least it is a fairly direct
route. From Dickey Junction which is the
intersection of Falling Water Road (NC 5080/ FR 1205) and Richland Road (NC
5085/ SC 12) go northeast on Richland Road just over 3 miles and turn left at
the signed Stack Rock Trailhead access road, up the little hill about 100 yards
and park near the gate.
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