About this spot
Bonas Defeat Gorge on the Tuckasegee's East Fork holds a series of waterfalls, potholes, and house-size boulders below a 400-foot rock face, reached only by an unmarked, off-trail scramble through Nantahala National Forest. Rock climbers, paddlers, and experienced off-trail hikers document the gorge, and swimmers cool off in creekside potholes when conditions allow. The hazard that matters: Duke Energy controls flow from Tanasee Creek Lake upstream, and unannounced dam releases have caused flash flooding with only minutes of warning — hikers have suffered a torn meniscus and a compressed vertebra here. No permit is required on national forest land, but rescue is described as nearly impossible in the gorge. Only attempt with real off-trail experience, and never during or after upstream releases.