I've decided to have another go at Suzy Jimmy Falls on
Richland Creek, back in December we only
went a short way up Sugar Gap Road before encountering ‘no trespassing’ signs
at a gate across the road, and gave up on visiting Suzy
Jimmy. Today I want to try another possible route to Suzy Jimmy Falls that doesn’t involve any private property or Richland Creek crossings. I park
in a sharp turn north of Moore right on the berm at one of those
‘water diversion’ channels plowed off the side of the road.
Getting as far off the road as possible, it
isn’t the greatest parking spot, but it’ll do at least there's plenty
of room for traffic to get around me. I start out east straight down the little diversion channel it’s a
little steep but not bad, I soon land
on an old road trace. After about 100
yards on the old road are some bearing trees designating the National Forest (wilderness) boundary, maybe 100 feet past this
boundary I leave the road on a good but faint trail.
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large boulder below ridge
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This will prove to be a mistake (you live,
and you learn) which I won’t repeat on the way back. I soon arrive on the banks of the creek. This
is Jack Jones Hollow and I’m evidently in a low
area with many fingers of the creek
it’s kind of like a ‘delta’ of swift moving water. I change into my sandals cross two fingers of Jack Jones and realize there
are two or three more yet to cross. While making my way downstream looking for a suitable crossing point, I notice
a low bluff across the creek and decide it wouldn’t be a good idea to cross
until I get past the bluff which doesn’t go far. But then I end up having to cross back in essence backtracking, continuing
downstream I soon come to the old road (that I should have stayed on in the
first place) at the real Jack Jones
crossing. Finally across the creek I
change back into my boots.
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Jack Jones near old road crossing
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The old road has faded away into a fairly nice trail, which soon
merges with a well-used horse trail.
Passing a couple more trail intersections I can clearly see Richland
Creek about 50 feet to the northwest and in less than a quarter mile is the
next creek. This is Rose
Hollow, smaller than Jack Jones I’m able to ‘rock hop’. Off to my left are three or more piles of rocks near
where the trail begins to head up the hill and cross a couple more, faint trail
intersections.
For a hike that I
expected to be all bushwhacking there sure are a lot of trails in this
area, after climbing about 120
feet in about a quarter mile I see a low bluffline about 40 more feet uphill
and maybe 100 feet off the trail. While
passing this bluffline I see what appear to be a few caves or shelters,
I decide to explore this bluffline on the way back (mistake #2). Continuing
north the trail comes to a steep little drainage where the trail curves around
to the east and up towards the top. |
Rose Hollow at crossing
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I end up too high and find myself on
top of the ridge (mistake #3) and decide that as long as I’m here I
might as well check out the top of the bluffline. To the north less than a
quarter mile, out close to the edge of
the bluff the view is spectacular; to my right looking downstream Richland
Creek is a long chute of standing waves and whitewater against bluffs. To my left upstream Richland Creek is
a placid pool calm as can be and at the north end of this tranquil pool I can see where the old road crosses.
From my vantage point atop the bluff, Richland Creek is over 400 feet below. That's 400 feet down to Suzy Jimmy and 400 feet back up, I had better think about this a little. While sitting on a convenient downed tree
near the vista I have some lunch and
come to the conclusion I may have bit off
a little more than I can chew. If I
head back from here, once again I fail to see Suzy Jimmy Falls but maybe I’ll
still have enough energy to explore the cool bluffline caves that I saw from a
distance earlier.
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massive tilting boulder
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I head back, not far from the vista point I’m back on the
horse trail and continue on this ‘tempting’ trail far past where should turn. This turns out to be ‘mistake #4’ as the
horse trail gradually curves around to the southeast and heads up a wide easy
ridge. I would be willing to bet this horse trail eventually ends at Stump Mountain
Trail farther up the ridge, realizing this I bail-out, off the nice horse
trail and bushwhack downhill to the south eventually coming to the top of very
steep Rose Hollow. I start heading
downhill parallel to Rose Hollow seeking the gentlest descent possible. As I near the bottom I wind up on an old road
trace which is still pretty steep and washed out resulting in lots of rocky
ruts. This old road winds its way down
and around two massive tilting boulders then fades away on the banks of Rose
Hollow only about 100 yards upstream of where I crossed earlier.
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cascades on small feeder stream
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At another place on Rose where I can
safely ‘rock hop’ across I realize
I’m already well past the ‘cool bluffs’ I wanted to see. Oh well, I think a return trip this fall
after leaf-off is in order to explore the cool little bluff with the caves and a closer look into tight and
steep Rose Hollow. I don’t know what to
say about Suzy Jimmy Falls though, except that I’m not giving up, I’ll be back.
After crossing Rose, I soon find my way back onto the horse trail and
this time I stay on it soon coming alongside Richland Creek which is flowing
high and fast. After crossing Jack Jones
and having learned my lesson, I stay on the old road which soon heads up a fairly steep hill along an old beaten down
fence line. Then curves around to the
bearing trees and ONF boundary, from there about 100 yards up the hill and
I’m back at my parking spot in the tight curve on Moore Road.
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on the ridge above Rose Hollow
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Well, partly because of all the mistakes I made choosing my route, I
still haven’t seen Suzy Jimmy Falls but that didn’t stop me from having a great
time exploring a little piece of the southside
of Richland Wilderness, today’s hike was 3.5
miles with 720 feet of elevation gain. You can read about that first
failed attempt to Suzy Jimmy at:
(107 Sugar Gap Road).
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