Waterfall Hunt 2015: Cedar Creek Falls

Last year we decided to start a new tradition: each thanksgiving morning would be spent finding a new waterfall to tire out the pups and work on our appetites. We hit up Isaqueena Falls last year and considers it a success.

I grabbed the trusty hiking boot a day early this year and thumb through to find our next target. We decided on Cedar Creek Falls which was about 90 minutes away, a 1.2 mile hike which both Wyatt and Bones could handle and had a neighboring falls not officially listed in the book but mentioned in the comments as nearby but not safely accessible.

We travelled back over to Sumter National Forest in Walhalla, SC and made our way down dusty dirt roads to find the trail head: a gated Forest Service road. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and hunting trucks were dotted alongside the road here and there for deer season.

We all jumped out of the van and started down the FS road following the description in the book which said to go 1/4 mile before turning right at some boulders.

I had bought Wyatt a new coat and chose the pretty bright orange color without thinking about hunting safety. I was really glad he had it on as we made our way down the road and ran into a guy out hunting. 

Wyatt running and laughing his way down the road with Bones limping along behind him. 

Bones still has a lot of spunk at 8 years old and with a massive tumor in her front left leg. Dusty had given her a week to live back in March. She has done a great job at proving him wrong. 

The FS road was all downhill to start and ended at two large boulders. The book said to turn right at the first set and we saw a blue blaze marking the trees.

Bones found the first puddle and jumped right in. She loves the water. 

Einstein doesn't have any undercoat and gets cold way easier than Bones. He jumped int he puddle after her and quickly regretted it. He spent the next few minutes rolling in the leaves. 

This trail led down to a small creek and the book warned us that there was a steep scramble about 40 feet vertically down to the falls. I was really worried about Bones making it down this. We had debated leaving her behind, but Dusty wanted to give her as much outdoor time as possible. We let her make up her own mind and pick her way down s Dusty carried Wyatt.

Making their way down to the falls

Once I made it down, I was so glad we chose this one. It was absolutely gorgeous!! Be prepared for photo spamming below.

Cedar Creek Falls which feeds into the Chauga River

Einstein got in the water again and then started shivering

Bones. You can see how large her left front leg tumor is just above her foot

Looking down stream with the falls at my back. The horizon line is Blue Hole Falls. Below that is a steep walled canyon that has no safe way to make it down to the bottom. 

I walked down a ways to see what I could of the lower falls

Dusty took Wyatt s far as he could and actually saw a lot of the Blue Hole Falls. I am a wimp though and didn't make it as close. 

Stolen from Dusty's phone as I did not make it this far down the side of the falls

Looking back to Cedar Creek Falls 

The creek flowing between the two

 As I made my way back to the boys and dogs this is what I saw:

Wyatt hd wanted to get in and I had told him he couldn't get his shoes all wet and cold. When he made it back to Cedar Creek Falls without me he quickly ditched the shoes, socks and his pants too. Boys. 

Einstein ditched the water and found a nice stick to chew

We grabbed a quick and very rare selfie of us all in front of the falls as well

Wyatt is working on his camera face. When he is asked to smile this is what he does. 

I also asked Dusty if he could snag a shot of Bones and I. I thought the falls in the background would make for a wonderful photo of my baby girl and I was right. I absolutely adore this photo and hope print it out and frame it.

My favorite shot of Bones and I ever

Last but not least here is my favorite pictures of the entire day:

Proof he wore pants

Loving life

After everyone was cold and wet we scrambled up the hill and hit the trail back to the FS road. It was a great morning and we were all hungry for my mum's Thanksgiving dinner later that afternoon.

Bones, My Sweet Baby Girl

I could spam you all day long with pictures of my girl. Bones came to live with us in May 2007 and my heart will break in a million pieces when she leaves us. She is an irreplaceable pooch and holds a special spot in my heart.

 

My podiatry school held a black tie fundraiser for the scholarship program every year and I always volunteered to help. The first year I showed up in my turquois ball gown and was handed a leash. On the other end was a puppy named Cinderella. She was 14 pounds at 8 weeks of age and I spent the entire night walking her around and trying to get people to bid on her in the silent auction. I couldn't help but open the bidding on her and told myself that it was ok because someone else was bound to outbid me. I wouldn't allow myself to bid more than once.

 

By the end of the night there were three bids. I lost. Except both the others had significant others who nixed the puppy. Now if it was up to me I would have forced the top bidder to pay anyway since it was a fundraiser and all and then offered the puppy to the next in line. But life isn't up to me and they let them bail. It was on me. I took her.

 

There was one big issue though. My SO also didn't want a puppy.  Good thing he was at work that night and not with me.

 

It was 1 am when the night ended and Dusty was working emergency at the time. I wasn't super comfortable bringing home a puppy in the middle of the night to our cats and dog, so I headed to Dusty's work. I walked in looking all pretty with my puppy on a string and his jaw dropped. Not in a wow you took my breath away sort of way but in a what the heck is that sort of way. It didn't help that he was in the middle of literally searching for a needle in a fat lab's abdomen and was already in a foul mood. Ooops...sorry honey. Can she stay the night and you bring her home?

 

He wasn't happy then, but if you asked him now he wouldn't trade Bones for the world.

 

Dusty and baby Bones always spent the mornings snuggling in bed

Hero took to Bones right away and they played all the time

Bones ended up being a Doberman/Great Dane mix weighing in around 100 pounds. She was and still is absolutely adorable.

 

My only other dog experience had been Hero who was a very high energy, super smart Corgi who needed constant stimulation. Bones was the opposite. A single day outside playing would wipe her out for the next three days.

 

She was happy when we bought her the proper sized dog bed: a human love seat

Bones is a love. Her bark can scare the most staunch offender, but I like it that way. Living in Cleveland with the hubby working nights and weekends made me nervous. Even though the worst Bones would ever do is lick your skin raw, if you came to the house you would hear her tremendous deep bark and run away.

She goes from bed to couch to bed all day long and just wants to sleep

She adores snuggling and has tried to take my place from day one with Dusty

She had her own faults at first and to this day any food left out when you turn your back is gone in a  flash. She has eaten entire loaves of frozen bread left out to thaw, a whole plate of raw hamburger patties waiting to be put on the grill and countless left overs. She knows she isn't allowed at the table when you are eating and she won't beg, but if you get up and walk away its fair game.



Can I come out to play?

She loves car rides, hiking, swimming and in general just wants to be around you and loved by you.

One day in WI I went for a run. I hooked her up and decided to take her not knowing if she would enjoy it or not. She was awesome at it. We paced well together and she just loved it. The next time I went out, I changed into my running clothes and was going to go out without her. She went ballistic. Form then on, anytime I ran, I ran with Bones.

We also decided to go kayaking with our WI neighbors (Hi Shauna!). I had spent my youth doing competitive whitewater slalom and it felt great to be back in my boat again. They brought their dog along per their norm and encouraged us to bring Bones. She had a blast.

Bones is 8 years old now and still my sweetheart. She has done well for being such a big dog. Sadly, we diagnosed her with osteosarcoma in her front left leg this past spring which already had gone to her lungs. We are loving every moment we have with her right now and she still goes on our hikes every weekend and hogs the bed nightly.