A Favorite Place

For Holcomb, Overflow and Big creeks, it's the end of the line, but each goes out with a bang, tumbling over a waterfall to complete its run. Together, the merged flows form West Fork of the Chattooga River, a relatively short but spectacular river within the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River corridor. Just downstream of Three Forks, where the creeks converge, the West Fork pours through a remote and rugged gorge that can only be traversed with extreme caution and more than a little exertion - and only at low to moderate water levels. River-wide falls alternate with deep plunge pools as the river races between bluff wall and house-sized boulders. Rhododendron abounds and brown trout better measured in pounds than inches lurk in dark and difficult-to-reach places. So what makes the upper West Fork's gorge one of my favorite places? Splendid scenery? Fun fishing? Extreme remoteness? An indisputable Southern Appalachian flavor? To a degree, I suppose it's all of the above, because all are aspects of the true reason, which is a collection of memories of days on the West Fork with a good friend and the promise of many more to come.