Waterfalls of Wildcat Tract - Dawson Forest

Dawson Forest Wildcat Tract:

Dawson Forest Wildlife Management area is comprised of more than 25,000 acres, ranging from foothills and mountain valleys to high country ridges and river gorges. Two rivers and several major streams meander through the WMA, adding scenic elements to a trail system rich with flora, fauna and unique topography. There are over 40 waterfalls in this WMA and 5 of the largest ones (ranging from 20 to 75 feet) will be visited during the hike.

The hike will be 12 miles long and have a total ascent of nearly 3,000 feet... 1,200 of that occurring in a single 1.5 mile stretch. Four of the five waterfalls we will visit are not along a trail, so visiting these will require about 1.5 miles of somewhat rugged "off-trail" hiking. This hike is for people with previous D4/D5 hiking experience and those who do not mind, (preferrably enjoy) some "off- trail" bushwhack hiking.

Itinerary:

We will begin the hike on a trail that closely follows the crystal clear, Wildcat Creek. This section of the hike is about 1.5 miles, relatively flat, but very beautiful. The trail starts at an elevation of 1,500 feet and is surrounded by hemlocks, rhododendrons, mountain laurel, and many other flora species. Throughout this trail, the creek cascades over small rock ledges and a rocky bottom causing a soothing sound that makes this section of the hike a very beautiful and peaceful experience. We will then venture a short distance down a old road bed to the next trail which will begin our first major ascent of the hike. This trail will include the first of several creek crossings and the last mile will be steep and strenuous, gaining over 1,000 feet of elevation. We will then walk along a ridgeline trail for about a mile reaching an elevation of almost 2,900 feet before heading down the next trail into a valley. On the next trail we will come to the first of the waterfalls, which cascades 75 - 100 ft. At the base of this waterfall we will take a break to have lunch and can wade in the large pool at its base - if you don't mind the cold. We will then continue down this trail approximately a mile before we will break off and begin our "off-trail" trek. In this next section we will be off-trail for 1-2 miles, so that we can visit more waterfalls along the way. During this section we will have some bushwhacking, some steep up and down terrain, a few creek crossings, but we will be rewarded by 4 more waterfalls ranging from 25 to 45 feet in height. I expect this portion of the hike to take about 1.5 hours, including brief stops at the waterfalls. After the last waterfall, we will find a "quasi trail" which will eventually lead us back to the trail on which we began the hike. The hike will finish with a nice 1.5 mile hike along the beautiful Wildcat creek until we reach the endpoint.

During the hike, there will be several stream crossings and some of these crossings will require either walking/balancing across fallen trees, or taking off your shoes/boots and socks to cross. The water is clear, less than knee deep, but above the level of hiking shoes or boots. I do not enjoy walking many miles with water-logged shoes and socks, so on a few of the crossings I will take the few minutes required to allow us to take off our shoes/ socks, dry our feet on the other side (please bring a hand towel), and continue on.  I expect the entire hike to take approximately 6-7 hours to complete.

It is optional, but I plan to stop at a relatively nice, new, Mexican restaurant located about 5 miles from the hike location. I'm sure that most of us will be quite hungry after we have completed this 12 mile hike!   If you are carpooling, I would recommend discussing your plans to eat, or not eat, with your carpool buddies.



The following is a link to photos from the previous Wildcat hike if you wish to view them:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101887953852690629953/WildcatTractDawsonForest?authkey=Gv1sRgCJT3z7Cii4b3gAE

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