Location: Jackson County, S of Cashiers, E of Highlands. On E
side of upper Chattooga River corridor.
Access: From the NC/SC line on NC107 (Cashiers to Walhalla road), N on
107 to Cty 1100 (Bull Pen Road), then left (NW and W) to Cty 1102, then right
(N) to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. With permission, can park there
and follow woods road N into national forest land and up W side of Fowler
Cr. drainage and then NNW across nearly flat lands to the E side of Bearpen
Mt. where it forms a broad saddle with Terrapin Mt. Alternatively, continue
N on 107 to junction with Cty 1104 and follow it W for approx. .5 mile, park
and bushwhack up Coldsides Mt. and the saddle between Coldsides and Terrapin
Mts. Alternatively, continue N on 107 to junction with FS road 4598.
Follow 4598 S and then W about .8 mile to creek crossing where 4598 bends
sharply from SW to N. Bushwhack W to N-running spur of Terrapin Mt.
and follow spur S and SW to summit. Another possible approach is to
follow Cty 1100 farther W to junction with Cty 1101, then NNW to crossing
of Scotsman Creek, from which it may be possible to bushwhack NNE to the
SE flanks of Bearpen Mt.
From the W, take US64 to Cashiers, turn S on 107, then W on Cty 1107
past Norton Cemetary to crossing of Chattooga River. Take 1st dirt
road E of bridge to the SE and follow to crossing of Fowler Creek (a different
Fowler Creek from above), then southerly, paralleling the USFS boundary.
An old overgrown woods road (hard to locate) leads from just S of the Wild
and Scenic River corridor boundary and in a mile or two to the saddle between
Bearpen and Terrapin Mts.
USGS Topographic Quadrangles: Cashiers, Highlands
Features/Description/Potential:
- Offers outstanding scenic vistas of the Chattooga River basin including
the very high cliffs of Whiteside Mtn
- Cliffs. The western face of Terrapin Mt. is almost entirely a rock
face 800 ft high, and the south rock face reaches about 400 ft. Cliffs
of similar height form the south side of Coldsides Mt.
- The head of Fowler Creek has cliffs on three sides.
- Very large hemlocks 200-300 years old? (FS "old growth" inventory
indicates considerable 100+ yr old stands along the Terrapin Mt./Coldsides
Mt.axis (the Chattooga Ridge) and in the SE portions of the wild
area.)
- W side of wild area borders E side of the National Wild and Scenic Chattooga
River corridor, greatly enhancing the area's natural and backcountry
potential.
- Good potential for trails using existing old roadbeds
- Top of Bearpen Mt. may never have been logged.
- Tremendous diversity of habitats, cliffs, coves and riparian areas.
- Rare plants and animals: Include ravens, the green salamander, Fraser's
loosestrife, divided-leaf ragwort, Biltmore sedge, and the liverwort
plagiochila caduciloba
Some of the private land N of wild area is now available
and has been targeted by the FS for acquisition. There have been development
threats nearby. There is also the possibility of linking this wild
area to the NC portion of the Whitewater River from its upper falls and the
Foothills Trail* , staying on FS property all the way, crossing NC 107 at
Heady Mtn Gap. A trail connection from the Chattooga Ridge S only 1
mile (and crossing County road 1100) to the Ellicott Rock Wilderness would
also add to the recreational possibilities for loop trails. The Ellicott
Rock Wilderness and the included Chattooga River corridor extend S into South
Carolina and Georgia.
*Foothills Trail is maintained by the Foothills Trail Conference (in
cooperation with Duke Power Co.in the Jocassee watershed area). It runs
from Pinnacle Mt. in Table Rock State Park, SC, roughly 80 miles to Oconee
State Park in SC, crossing portions of NC on the way, including the National
Wild and Scenic Horsepasture River, Gorges State Park, NC Toxaway Gamelands,
and the Thompson and Whitewater Rivers of the Jocassee watershed.
