211 Plan B on the Buffalo

     When leaving the house this morning I thought I had a good plan, although I’ve never been down the road to my chosen destination.  Eleven months ago I was on top of Flatiron Bluff looking across the Buffalo River and noticed a round pedestal with a flat top at the point of Lost Hill (see: 188 Flatiron Bluff Loop).  Today I’ve decided to go to Lost Hill and see if I can get up on top of that round pedestal.

downriver around the bend is Hasty Landing

    In Hasty at the sharp curve on SR 123 I turn off the highway on the gravel road to Lost Hill, this road is actually in great shape.  Right as the road gets close to the BNR boundary there are two sharp turns and the road descends to Wells Creek.  Not a problem, this drive is a piece of cake.  The problem is all the ‘No Trespassing Keep Out’ signs along the road on both sides of Wells Creek.  I don’t get it, this is inside the National Park boundary.

on the old road

at bottle brush point

    I turn around at Wells Creek and drive back up the hill to the second hairpin curve where there’s a gate blocking an old road.  Backing in to the gate, I get out my map to figure out ‘plan B’.  I don’t look very far, quickly deciding that since I’m here I should just check out this old road.  This may turn out to be a very short hike, I don’t know how far the road goes or how steep the hill, I don’t know much really, just that the Buffalo River is down there at the bottom.

trail down off the point

    The road is pretty clean to start but does have quite a few young saplings growing in it, but still easy to follow.  The saplings don’t last very far, this road is in great (hiking) shape, just past a rusty shell of a TV, is a big fallen oak tree across the road.  This is the only one requiring a short detour to get around, and the road stays pretty level just some easy ups and downs.  After about 0.6 miles the road ends at what looks like an old farm.

gravel bar under the bluff

    I don’t see any remains of buildings besides scattered tin roofing but it’s obvious that this area was once cleared.  I’m able to keep going on a faint trail that begins near the end of the road, where a couple old fields of tall dry grass are beginning to look a little overgrown with blackberries.  The trail continues south and starts gently down the hill, it isn’t steep but in places the trail is hard to find.

near west upstream end of gravel bar

    I start heading more southeast to a descending ridgeline between the Buffalo and a feeder stream.  This looks to be the best route to the bottom, the ridge gets narrower and comes to sort of a broad point in a stand of big pines.  The trail suddenly gets a little easier to follow as I head over the edge and down the hill, but still not what I would call steep.  Heading southeast I continue downhill to the high bank along the Buffalo River.

shallows on the Buffalo River

low bluff at the river bank

    Following the bank east and looking for a way down onto the gravel bar, the bank gets shorter as I get closer to the side drainage coming down from the north.  I’m able to get on the gravel bar near a big downed tree where I find an old tire up against the tall bank.  While most of the composition is gravel there’s also lots of sand mixed in along with some brush struggling to maintain a hold when the river is high.

more bluffs along the bank

    But most of the deadwood has been washed away, only a few big trees are pushed up against the bank.  Across the river is a tall smooth bluff, looking at my map shows Collins Cemetery near the entrance to Hasty Landing up there back behind the bluffline.  I head west upriver near the waterline to the end of the gravel bar, here at a shoal that is only about 10-12 feet across it would be easy to cross the river and continue upstream on the next gravel bar.

near downstream or east end of gravel bar

    Instead I turn around heading back east along the top of the gravel bar where there are nice smooth low bluffs which are set in the tall bank I was walking along earlier on top.  Passing where I came down by the old tire I keep going to the little drainage from the north, it’s dry as a bone easy to cross.  About 200 yards past the dry creek I get to the east end of the gravel bar, just like the west end it would be an easy crossing here on another shoal.

beyond the bare sycamores is Chimney Rock Bluff

tranquil pool on Buffalo River

    Heading back west, soon after crossing the dry creek I climb the low sandy bank right away then pass some blue and yellow flagging tied to a tree.  This is an easier grade than at the old tire where I came down, other than losing the faint trail a few times I head back up the same route on the broad ridge.  Once I reach flatter ground I go around the other side of the old field which is also an easy walk.

deer stand in an oak near small pond

    At the old farm site there are many big old oaks, one just below a small pond has a tree stand with rungs up the giant oak for climbing.  While here I check out the little pond then continue on a faint trail, this one sort of in a northwest direction soon passing another small completely dry pond.  Above the dry pond I see a bunch of yucca gone wild to the northeast and since the road is in that direction, I too head that way.

bunch of yucca near old homesite

    Right away I see some stacked stone with mortar and realize I’ve found the remains of the farm house.  Besides the stone foundation there’s also a partial poured concrete floor a round capped-off well with evidence of indoor plumbing and more scattered tin roofing.  About 75 yards further northeast I land back on the old road.  On the road again it’s a quick 0.6 miles back up to the parking spot at the gate, the end of today’s unplanned adventure.

homesite included a well

    Some might think that this route is all bushwhack, but with the old road the many faint trails and the clean gravel bar along the river, I’d say only about 15% of the hike is a ‘true’ bushwhack.  Since this was completely unplanned I enjoyed a high sense of discovery, nothing ‘spectacular’ just an easy stroll down to the beautiful Buffalo River and back passing through an old farm along the way.  My total milage was 3.9 with 487 feet of elevation gain.

one large fallen tree before getting back to truck on top

Plan B on the Buffalo: Statistics Chart 211  It isn’t hard to get to the parking spot in front of a gate, but the road does make a few turns making it a little confusing.  Starting at the 90° turn at Hasty leave SR 123 go west turning north immediately on NC 3800, stay on NC 3800 for 1 mile generally in a northwest direction.  Then at a fork intersection continue straight northwest on NC 3802 going 2.4 miles sort of southwest to a sharp turn at the top of a steep hill.  Park here at the gate just inside the BNR boundary.