The Devil's Pulpit

Due to unforeseen automotive difficulties, we have not had an adventure together in awhile.  Coming home from Costco one day, we could smell petrol from the car's engine.  After a quick look, we figured it was coming from the fuel injectors.  Only problem was all the auto shops within 10 miles were fully booked for 2 weeks.  That can be the downside to being surrounded by mom & pop shops; they fill up fast and not all are fully equipped for every problem.  Pedro called around and finally got a good referral, able to be book an appointment last week.  They fixed the car quickly (and moderately cheaply as a bonus) and we were able to get back on the road.  

The Devil's pulpit has been on my sightseeing list for a while now, as it's not something you can easily get to without a car.  Pedro managed to check it out first, going during the week, and found all the trails not to take, so when he took me today, it was a straight shot.  As with most scenic points around here, you have to squeeze into a small space on the side of the road and walk to the nature spot; there are no parking lots.  Out of the three possible parking places, we managed to find a spot at the second farthest one, which was still pretty close.  

The entrance is pretty misleading.  At the parking spot, there is a Devil's Pulpit sign next to an open gate leading into an field where you can see a clear path into the woods. This is the path Pedro (understandably) took the first time and took nearly 3 hours to find the actual pulpit.  He got some good nature sightseeing, but it wasn't the instagram worthy cliff faces and red river...

We walked along the road next to a stone wall for a couple minutes, watching the paths from the field branch off a bunch of different ways.  A couple approached us, walking parallel to the road just on the other side of the wall. They were looking for the pulpit too

P: You're trying to get to the place in the Google reviews right? You can't get to it from that path, but we're going there too - follow us!

Pedro went on to explain that there's a ton of paths leading from that field that just dead end into the cliff edge overlooking the pulpit, but not the stairs leading down into it.  We reached a break in the stone wall beside the road that had stairs going into the forest.  This is where we went through and followed a path up a hill to farmland, then walked along a fence only a few hundred yards.  Pedro announced we arrived and I would have missed it.  The couple Pedro was guiding probably would have missed it too. The path continues along the farm, but directly to our left, there was a steep stone staircase, disguised by shrubs, leading down to the river.

We quickly freed our hands and secured our gear to begin our descent.  Half the time, we didn't use the steps because most of them were half buried or sticking out at odd angles.  Hanging onto the tree roots and walls that were covered in red clay, we made it all the way down without slipping. 

As you can see, there was a small flat area before the river where we could have some room to get our gear out.  Luckily Pedro knew to bring a change of shoes for the river.  We slipped off our hiking boots and donned crocs and flips flops to slide into the water.  It was pretty cool, but not freezing - kind of reminding us of the springs back in FL. It didn't leave you numb, and on a warm day like today, we got used to it quickly. It was only about knee deep, and in some places up to our waists, but it was full of various sized river rocks.  We moved slowly to be sure of our footing before moving further always cautious in case there was a sudden drop.  

Just around the corner, the was another small area where we could walk around and most people were hanging out to eat lunch. Just a little further down the river was a cascading waterfall.  With all the red clay, it looked like root beer falls. 

There were a couple guys in wetsuits and hard hats that popped up just above the highest falls.  They looked like spelunkers and we wondered if it was some sort of private tour.  That is until one of them leapt over the falls and unceremoniously flopped into the river with a big splash. The other went to edge, thought twice about it, then sat down and slid all the way down.  They proceeded to climb back up and attempt various jumps off the falls.  Just friends having fun it seems - and all of us on the shore were just enjoying the show. After a few photos, we headed back towards the staircase to explore the river downstream. 

Of course we gotta add to the stack!

This side was undiscovered territory for the both of us.  Pedro knew the water was deeper on this side from watching others wading chest deep last time. We tightened our backpack straps to carry our gear higher and made sure there was nothing in our pockets.  There were less people on this side, all wearing bathing suits, plus the two guys from the falls that had floated past us.   -- Next time we'll come here without the expensive electronics and just have a swim....Not that slowly side stepping and period hastily waving our arms to catch our balance wasn't fun...we had plenty of close call giggles. But I'm happy to report our equipment remained dry!

The two guys in wetsuits dubbed this the 'floating zone'

There were 3ft tall rocks in the middle of waist deep water, peaks and troughs of the sand, and all kinds of teetering surfaces.  I ended up carrying my flip flops to get a better grip, and we both made it safely! After rounding a corner, we saw there was another small plateau to rest for a bit and secure our gear.  Further down, the river opened up wide, but was still shallow enough in parts for hikers to cross over.  Maybe we'll explore that area next time when we're in proper suits. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, a guy practically falls out of the tree line about 20 feet above us and asked if we knew where the pulpit was. After a few laughs, we explained it was just up river behind us and Pedro detailed the proper way to reach the staircase.  The guy (thankfully) did not jump or try to climb the rest of the way down, but said his thanks and went back the way he came to go around to the proper entrance.

We went back through the river, arriving back at the staircase.  At this point, more people had arrived, so we figured it was time to pack up and go home.  We definitely need to come back and spend some time there not worrying about getting wet!