Slick Rock Falls, Cove Creek and Caney Bottom Trails, Pisgah National Forest

When we opened the back of the SUV to retrieve our packs, everything was soaking wet. Uh oh! Someone’s water bladder had leaked, and it turned out to be mine. Apparently, when I put my pack back in the car, I pinched the mouthpiece open and it completely drained the entire bladder in the few short minutes it took us to drive down the road. Well flarn! First we had to dump all the water from the collection tray in the back of the vehicle, then check for any damaged electronic equipment. We really lucked out that nothing was affected, other than our spare dry clothes now being wet, and I had an empty water bladder with six miles of hiking ahead.

Not to worry though. I remembered my trusty Purificup® portable water filter. When I initially got the water filter to review, it was for just such emergencies. Because it is lightweight and compact, I carry it with me on every hike, just as I do a compass and map. This hike is along a creekside trail for nearly the entire length, so there was plenty of water available for me. For now, I filtered 10 ounces, poured it into my bladder and off we went up the forest road to the Cove Creek Group Camp.

You have to walk a little less than a half mile up the forest road to get to the camp where the trailhead is. You will come to a fairly deep creek crossing, but don’t wade through, that is unless you just feel like getting your boots all wet. If you look to the right of the road there is a short trail for walkers that leads to a bridge over the creek. The road crossing is for the vehicles driving to the camp. Not far past this crossing you will see the large clearing that is the group camp, but keep a lookout for the blue blazes of the Caney Bottom Trailhead on the left just before you get to the camp. The trail skirts the camp through the woods so you don’t have to walk through and disturb the campers.

This is totally typical Pisgah Forest lower elevation hiking. The forest is hardwoods and laurels, and creeks and streams abound. You almost always hear the sound of rushing water. This hike has at least a dozen creek crossings, usually over logs laid across the stream. The trail climbs only 500 feet in its 3-mile length, so it seems nearly flat. This is definitely family friendly; easy for all ages, young and senior. Half a mile up, the Caney Bottom Trail meets the Cove Creek Trail heading off to the left and the blaze changes to yellow. Then another quarter mile after that is a junction with the Cove Creek Falls Trail to the right.

Be sure to take this short spur trail down to the waterfall. It is one of the highlights of the trip. The waterfall itself is of the slide variety, dropping about 50 feet in total. It’s kinda hard to get any really clear views of the falls because of the vegetation between it and the trail. Just keep going down the trail and eventually you will find some satisfactory viewing points. The climb back up is the steepest and hardest part of the entire hike.

Once you get back to the Cove Creek Trail, it’s a nice leisurely stroll through the forest. There aren’t any landmarks. There are no vistas or outcroppings. Just lush, beautiful deciduous forest as far as you can see. Throw in the creek sounds and it’s a pleasant, peaceful setting.

It’s hard to see when the leaves are out, but about a mile past the Cove Creek Falls there is a meadow on the left about a hundred yards off the trail. It’s easy to find in winter because you can see through the trees. As we discovered, not so much in June. We never did see it as we walked past. There is a series of campsites along the trail that mark the approximate location of the meadow, but we simply couldn’t see it this time of year. So we pressed onward.

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