After a year or more of trying to get my friend Daniel to Dick Creek Falls, it finally became a reality on June 7, 2015. Although this would turn out to not be the best choice due to very low water levels and intense bright sun all day, it was the only time he would be available so we made the best of it. I had been working on my old Chevy truck for the past year in hopes we could use it for this trip to eliminate a large portion of the hiking required and this would be its virgin trip since being put back in operation after spending many years of sitting. Due to the worn out suspension and so so tires it turned out to be a very rough ride but, we agreed it was better than walking (barely) and it did not let us down. Due to the long drive Daniel had to make to get to this area, it was nearly noon before we would meet up and get on the trail.
Lower Dick Creek Falls
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Posted on 14 July '15 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
After almost one month since my last mountain adventure, I finally was able to get out into the woods again with my friends Tommy ‘Bol’Dar’ Warden and John ‘The Gnome’ Forbes. This epic journey would be to show them one of my favorite North Carolina waterfalls, South Harper Falls. It is always exciting to see someones expression of seeing an awesome place for the first time and I was anxious to get there to witness it. It is not hard to find the trail head or the falls nor is it a long hike but, the name can be confusing as the map does not show the creek as South Harper Creek but, rather it shows Harper Creek. If you have been to North Harper Falls and Harper Falls you know that it is also called Harper Creek yet, it is two separate creeks ! They do come together just above Harper Falls so I guess that is how they decided to name them back then. Calling these falls South Harper Falls separates them from the other Harper falls but, both creeks do share the same Harper Creek name. To add to the confusion the trail is called Harper Creek Trail.
South Harper Falls (as seen from the cliffs above them)
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Posted on 10 July '15 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
It was a very warm day in early May when my friend Bol’Dar and I began our journey to see the two ponds on Chestnut Knob. It had been almost one month since I had done any real hiking and with some recent injuries and health issues, I was not in the best of shape for a hike of this magnitude although, I did not let that stop me. Getting a late start around 10 am it was already sunny and quite warm but, the worst part would be the annoying, blood sucking, biting flies that would plague us during the entire hike that would only get worse as we gained elevation. It was a long, hard climb from the valley floor to reach the high country so I had to take my time and utilize taking breaks often being very careful not to re-injure my right knee. After a couple hours of slow, strenuous hiking up some very steep terrain, I was very happy to reach one of my favorite old abandoned log roads near the top of the mountain.
Larger of the two ponds near Chestnut Knob
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Posted on 2 July '15 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
My name is 'RAT' and I love the mountains and waterfalls of the East TN. area where I live and I hope you enjoy this blog about my outdoor adventures.
