One of the great pleasures Rock Sprite Kitty Myers and Badger share is wading across mountain creeks and “schwacking” up adjacent waterways in search of the best views of falling water. This past Saturday, we got back to our roots in the truest sense.

With Helene closures still blocking favorite routes near Balsam Grove and NC Hwy 215, we chose a waterfall neither of us had ever visited: Summey Cove Falls. My GAIAgps showed a short but solid hike followed by creek wading and honest bushwhacking which is exactly the kind of off-trail summertime adventure we’d been craving. Kitty was all in, especially since she was the one who conceptualized the adventure.

We were familiar with Courthouse Creek, and the crossing went smoothly enough, but a view of the tributary on the far side offered only a modest trickle at first. Badger took the lead and pushed through the narrow, unassuming but rhododendron-choked entrance. When the thicket opened, Kitty opined that it looked like her namesake drop near Panthertown, Rock Sprite Falls.

What greeted me on the first level was a pleasant surprise: a steep 17-foot drop flowing in two distinct rivulets. “There’s more up here!” I hollered.

Rock Sprite worked her way up, and we continued climbing. The terrain grew tight and increasingly vertical. We scrambled, crawled, and grappled with slick rocks and thick vegetation river right.

Despite a heart-skipping but predictable near-slip, I accessed the next tier, then did Kitty. Her voice rang out with pure joy: “This is like the good old days, Badger!” Her assessment was undeniably accurate.

The upper tiers of Summey Cove Falls proved even more impressive with tall, plunging drops tucked deep in the cove. On the way out, we bushwhacked down to Courthouse Creek, then over and up to USFS Forest Road 140 (which now serves as a trail due to Helene) and passed a beautiful stand of Rosebay rhododendron glowing in the afternoon light, a most splendid way to cap the day.

Wet, scratched, and grinning, we made it back to the vehicle.

Rock Sprite and I may not have checked every box on the list, but we met our real objective: reclaiming the rugged creek adventures that first drew us to these Western North Carolina mountains and drew us together eleven years ago. After everything the region has been through since Helene, days like this feel especially rewarding. By the way, we also took some photos!

Photos by Thomas Mabry ©️honeybadgerimages 2026

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