I usually go camping for my birthday at the beginning of April. Checking the weather the past week rain was in and out of the forecast. The original plan was to leave Friday night from Atlanta and barrel up to Clayton, Georgia (north east corridor of Georgia/North Carolina/South Carolina triangle). Forecast was thunderbolt shit Friday night and partly sunny on Saturday. Saturday morning early would be the departure up north about 2 hours.
My camping buddies had gone out the night before and met some unscrupulous women. 10am both were group texting they were in rough shape but ready to head out. The dudes were hungover and took a few hits of the vape pin for the road. Rock and roll 70's Joe Walsh blared through the FJ speakers full bore. It was on. Cruise control through cop territory up I-985.
There was an old fly fishing campsite right on the Chattooga I used to camp back in the 90's. I knew it was off old Warwoman Road on the outskirts of Clayton. I remembered 25-30 minute drive took you to the South Carolina border and the Chattoga River divides the two states. The old trail is littered with waterfalls and you camp right on the river...about 3 miles hike in.
Blaze through the main street of Clayton and take a left on Ricksman Rd. That will take you to Warwoman Rd about a mile or two in. There's Andy's Meat Market is a good stop for steaks, onions, moon pies, etc. for camp dinner. We stopped and got corn on the cob, rice crispy treats, rib-eyes and coffee. "" It's fucking on""
Photography of Andy's was framed up on the wall. The butcher tells me he's a local. All this shit is shot on my iPhone by the way.
I can't read the artist's name ....but it intrigues me.
By the mean isle Jason is wasted out of his mind on tequila, IPA, Pabst Blue Ribbon and weed. Seriously, he was fucking wasted and making no sense at this point. Deer head on the wall...I shoot him in sight of the deer. Weird yes, I know.
We drive down Warwoman enjoying the views, sipping some Funky Buddha lager and listening to some Waylon Jenning shit on Spotify. 25 minutes in we cross over a river and I'm thinking it's the Chattooga River at the South Carolina border and there's one of those brown signs that marks park sites pointing to the left. I think this has to be it, but the parking lot looks different and there's a road that goes up.
"Maybe the state park has come up here and things have changed?"
It's different. The truth is I don't know where I am. I have been up here once before and couldn't find it. We drive in about a mile up this dirt road that's in good shape. We see camp sites by the river; I realize we aren't on the South Carolina side just yet, but it's obviously another part of the Chattooga and there are some people camping. It's green with new spring growth and the river looks inviting. We go for it.
Some old truck is parked along the road.
We park and walk down to the river, there's a campsite right on the river and Rick yells, "I don't want to camp next to other people. There's 8 good ole boys around a bonfire drinking Bud. No one else. Lots of dead wood for a fire and Jason is drunk as fuck. Rick goes, "Ain't no way this boy is hiking in 3 miles to find a waterfall."
Decided. Camp is on.
Jason is adding no value to this camping adventure.
Beers are flowing and wine is about to be cracked open. Time to filter to river water. By the end of the trip we figured we made almost 3 gallons of water .... slow drip.
We managed to grill up pork chops, onions, ribeye, corn in heavy tinfoil for cookware/plates. While cooking we here, "Come get your boy! He just got in our tent"
We run over and Jason is red eyed, plastered, son of a bitch...he babbles, "I don't think I can make it"
Dude....
He was out. There was video made. It was fuckign funny.
we got up early and it rained. The rain had stopped by 9am and we dried our stuff while smoking more weed and laughing at Jason. Drank a ton of water and barreled on back to Atlanta.
Old barn on Warwoman Road.
For those who want to go to the location (which is amazing), here's the address: 919 Overflow Creek Rd, Clayton, GA 30525