One of the news stories about my fall in 2004

Posted on Wed, Mar. 31, 2004
Picturesque area also place where hikers often slip
PAUL ALONGI
Associated Press

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Allen Wilson doesn't remember his 100-foot drop at Wildcat Falls or the frantic scramble for help as he lay on a rock about a mile into the woods of northern Greenville County.

The slip just off a popular hiking trail gouged a nine-day chunk out of his memory and left the 20-year-old Marine with injuries so severe that he may never walk again.

Wilson, who lives in Berea, was one of three hikers to slide down the rocks at Wildcat Falls in the past year. Such a slip can befall anyone who ventures off the marked trails to take an up-close look at some of the Upstate's most beautiful but dangerous natural wonders.

Rescue workers said Wildcat Falls has become an all-too-common accident scene. Any sightseer willing to walk 15 minutes into the woods off U.S. Highway 276 can reach a steep rock slide.

Hikers sometimes step onto a ledge to take pictures, risking a fall into a rock jumble 60 feet down, said Sgt. Joe Woodman of Greenville County Emergency Medical Services.

"That's where they lose their footing, and they tumble down the front," said Woodman, who has performed several rescues at the falls.

The falls on Monday claimed their latest victim, a hiker identified as Charles Clark, a 23-year-old Alabama man who was camping in the area, said Caesars Head State Park manager Joe Anderson.

He was listed in serious condition Tuesday at Greenville Memorial Hospital, said spokeswoman Erika Spinelli.

Waterfall rescues are never easy, Anderson said. Rescuers have to rush through rugged terrain that ambulances can't reach. They must haul out victims who may have spinal or internal injuries, he said.

In the past year, there have been five waterfall rescues in the 10,800-acre wilderness area that includes Caesars Head and Jones Gap state parks, he said. One victim at Bald Rock broke his back, Anderson said.

"Every single person who we have rescued from a waterfall has said to us at one point or another, 'I didn't think it would happen to me,' " he said.

Many of the slips happen at "rock slides" where water rushes down grades less steep than waterfalls but can be just as precarious.

Tracy E. Mann, a Berea clerk, learned how dangerous they can be last July when she lost her footing and slid about 150 feet at Persimmon Ridge, not far from Wildcat Falls. She survived but had to wait for help as rescuers hacked through brush and rappelled down rocks to reach her.

Wilson said the last thing he remembers about Sept. 27, 2003, was stopping at a convenience store on the way to Wildcat Falls with his family, girlfriend and a Marine buddy. He doesn't recall his hike or walking beyond a sign that said "End of Trail."

What happened next still brings tears to his family's eyes. His 19-year-old brother, Anthony Wilson, remembers cuddling a puppy before hearing a crack like two rocks hitting each other.

He sprinted to the family vehicle and tried a cell phone that couldn't pick up a signal in the rugged terrain. He drove a few miles to a camp where he used a land line to call for help.

As a storm rolled in, rescuers carried Allen Wilson to a helicopter and flew him to Greenville Memorial Hospital, said his mother, Lisa Cress.

Cress said the family has hiked to Wildcat Falls numerous times over the years. Her son liked to sit on top of a rock painted with a U.S. flag and say, " 'Hey, mom, look. I'm on top of the world,' " she said.

Cress said she would like to see more signs posted near the falls to warn others.

"I probably would have been more cautious," she said.

Wilson, a 2002 graduate of J.L. Mann High, stayed in the hospital for five and a half months. He was released about two weeks ago.

Before the fall, Wilson hoped to use his heavy-machinery training in Iraq. But the job requires heavy lifting, and his plans are on hold as he waits for a doctor to tell him when he can put weight on his hips.

"My fall happened for a reason," Wilson said. "I don't know what the reason is yet, but one day I will."

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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com