With the water levels still being kinda low on the Tennessee side we decided we would have to once again travel over to the North Carolina side to find any decent waterfalls to check out. Looking down ‘the list’ I noticed that we had not yet explored the Jerry Miller Trail also known as the ‘Whiteoak Flats Trail’ # 286 (although some maps will show #290) . I recall reading somewhere that there was a 100 feet high waterfall along that route so I decided we should go check it out. Dave Aldridge, Bol’Dar, and myself met at Hairnt-Quarters around 9am on a chilly Saturday morning and drove over to the Shelton Laurel area in Carmen, NC. The road dead ends where the gravel forest road #111 begins. You have to cross Dry Creek there just above where it enters into Big Creek, which does require a high clearance vehicle but, Dave’s car managed to make it with only minor dragging of his trailer hitch. The road is smooth from that point on and after about a quarter mile you will easily see the trail-head parking on the left.
Plaque at the Jerry Miller trail-head
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Posted on 31 January '13 by RAT, under RATtreks. 1 Comment.
I have been wanting to go see the Steels Creek Falls or, as my friend Dave calls them, the ‘Pothole Falls’ for quite sometime now and we finally got around to going on Wed. December 19, 2012. This would probably be the last chance of the year before the gate is closed and winter weather makes it harder if not impossible to get to the falls so we decided that this would be our destination for this hike. It was a cold and frosty morning when we left Hairnt-Quarters around 10am and drove the hour and a half over to the North Carolina mountains and found the forest road #228 open to Steels Creek so, we drove to the end of the road where the trail head is that leads up Steels Creek. As you will see during the drive on the gravel forest road, the Steels Creek Valley lies just below and on the backside of the towering Jonas Ridge where Sitting Bear, Hawksbill, and Tablerock Mountains which are above the Linville Gorge are located. The Mountains To Sea Trail which also goes over Tablerock Mountain is also located along part of the Steels Creek as well and actually goes right beside the falls we were going to see. We had not hiked very far away from the trail head when we met a young couple already on their way back who wished us ‘good luck’ !. I had to assume they were unsuccessful in reaching the falls and within minutes we came to a creek crossing that explained where they most likely had difficulty and decided to turn around. After all, not all trails to waterfalls are easy.
Steels Creek Falls
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Posted on 27 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
Ever since my friend Bol’Dar discovered the hidden waterfalls that we named ‘Wilderness Falls‘ we have been trying to get an accurate measurement of their approximate height but, due to the extremely steep terrain and growth around these falls, it has been a difficult task. We decided to make a trip there now that the leaves are all down and there is very little water flowing to see if we could get the numbers we needed. To do this we recruited the help of Dave Aldridge, our waterfall loving friend who has a laser hypsometer that he uses to get some very accurate readings on waterfall heights. It was a chilly but sunny morning when Dave, Bol’Dar and myself met at Hairnt-Quarters around 9:30am. It is a short drive to Clarks Creek from there so after stopping for coffee we were on the trail by 10am. The road is blocked at this time with the construction of a new bridge over Longarm Branch but, since we were actually going up the Longarm Branch Trail this was not much of a detour. We just had to negotiate around the new bridge by going up Clarks Creek as the bridge is located where the two creeks come together.
Bol’Dar standing at the base of the Middle Wilderness Falls
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Posted on 25 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
It was a rainy Tuesday in November not fit for any long trips to the mountains so, my waterfall loving friend Dave and I decided to go check out some places for a short hike and maybe get to see some waterfalls. We ended up in the Bays Mountain area near the Holston River where Dave knew about some falls he got to name ‘Big Logger and Little Logger Falls‘ named after the man who owns the property where the falls are located that just happens to be in the log business. We went there and spoke with that man but it was raining a bit too hard at that time so we decided to drive around to locate some other falls we had heard about in the Kiner Creek area. On the way we passed by the Bays Mountain Falls where I took some pictures from the road high above them. I will go back later when there is more water to get better shots from below them. We found Laurel Run Park where the creek comes out and parked there and started walking up the well maintained trail into the Laurel Run Hollow. It was still drizzling rain. The first thing we came to was a small waterfall that to my knowledge has no name. It is not very high but a nice falls with a large pool to say the least. We did not stop to take any pictures then but saved that for on the way back. We continued up the hollow and soon came to the Laurel Run Falls. These are only about 12 feet in height but are a very pleasant looking falls even in low water like it was on this trip.
Laurel Run Falls
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Posted on 24 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
Every Fall I try to go up to Viking Mountain to see the leaves when they are in peak color and the incredible views from Whiterock and Blackstack Cliffs. This year was no exception. Although the leaves were already past peak it was still colorful enough to make it worth the trip. Linda and I got to the top of the mountain around early afternoon and took the blue-blaze trail down to the Appalachian Trail and hiked North until we could soon see the Whiterock Cliffs off in the distance. These magnificent rock formations are located in and lookout over the North Carolina side of the mountain. There is a short side trail that leads out to the top of the cliffs. There is a sign marking the turnoff. It was a very bright, sunny day without any clouds which worked against getting any good photo`s but, it was still a beautiful site and a great day to be on the mountain. Linda had never been there so it was a treat for her as well.
View from Whiterock Cliffs
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Posted on 20 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
After our recent trip to the Grandfather Mountain area along the Blue Ridge Parkway the week prior, we decided to come back and go to the Grandfather Mountain Park in hopes that the leaves would be more in peak colors. Linda had never been to the park and I had not been there since I was a kid around 1966 or 1967. We tried to get there as early as possible to beat the crowds but it was around 1:30pm before we could make it so, they were beginning to line up at the entrance gate already however, it did not take but a few minutes to pay and get through the gate. They give you a CD to play on your way up the mountain road which describes all the details and history of what you are seeing along the way. We stopped at the first overlook on the left to get a view of what the leaf colors were like before making our way further up the winding mountain road.
Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain
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Posted on 17 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
The Fall colors came later in the season than usual this year and in my opinion were not as vivid as years prior except in spots. Since the colors begin in the higher elevations first and were not even beginning to turn in the lower valleys, we had heard on the local news that they were in peak in the high country of North Carolina. This prompted my girlfriend Linda and I to take a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway to check it out for ourselves.
Linn Cove Viaduct along the Blue Ridge Parkway
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Posted on 12 December '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. 1 Comment.
Ever since my waterfall crazy friend Dave Aldridge took me to see Little Lost Cove Creek Falls (North Carolina) back on July 5, 2012, I had wanted to go back and walk the old road trail above them down to the Lost Cove Creek to see where it came out at. Dave had been looking at that area on his Google Earth and thought he saw the whitewater of some waterfalls on Lost Cove Creek near the end of that road and contacted me to see if I was interested in going on a short hike there, so on September 27, 2012, Dave, my girlfriend Linda, and myself, went to the Little Lost Cove Creek area and followed that old forest road past the turnoff to the Little Lost Cove Creek Falls until it eventually ended at the Lost Cove Creek in the valley below. This is about a 2 mile hike on a very nice old road trail so it did not take long to reach the bottom where it intersects with Trail 262 that follows the Lost Cove Creek all the way down past Huntfish Falls to where it enters into the Gragg Prong Creek. That trail also loops to Roseboro via the Timber Ridge Trail. Once we reached this trail intersection, we took Trail 262 downstream for a short distance until we found the gps point Dave was looking for. It seems the whitewater he had seen was not a falls at all but a small cascade ! It was really not worth the effort to walk down there and back but then again, it was just a short hike to get a little exercise and besides, any day in the woods is a good day right? Plus, now I know where that road goes to and I found where the Lost Cove Creek Trail (262) crosses the creek there and heads up to Timber Ridge to get to Roseboro. I want to do that loop one day. I also scouted out another trail at the intersection that leads back towards the ridge in the direction of the Big Lost Cove Cliffs and upstream on the Lost Cove Creek which I also want to further investigate as I am sure I seen some nice falls with a large pool there on the Google Earth map. Linda found a small garter snake laying in the trail before we got to the cascades which was the highlight of the trip.The weather was great and we stopped for BBQ at the Highlander in Roan Mountain on the way home.
Old forest road trail that leads down through the Little Lost Cove Creek Valley to the Lost Cove Creek / Valley
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Posted on 29 November '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. 2 Comments.
I was recently contacted by my friend and fellow trail maintainer Doug Corkhill, and informed that he was planning a work trip to Big Bald to work on his trail section. We had both been invited earlier in the month of September by the Trail Supervisor, Tim Carrigan and long time trail worker and former Trail Supervisor and engineer extraordinaire, Howard McDonald, to go in with them but they ended up canceling so Doug said we would go anyway. On Tuesday, September 25th, we met at the trail head to my section at Spivey Gap where I left my car and rode with Doug (who goes out of his way to drive to Spivey Gap to pick me up) to Big Bald. We obtained a key to the gate and drove to the grasslands below the bald and down the old road to near the shelter. My girlfriend Linda went with us and helped me paint all the blazes on my entire section which is over 5 miles long. We first had to hike to the shelter (The Carolina Condo) where we met a nice local couple who had been out hiking for about a week. From there we continued on the ridge the 2 miles out to the top of Little Bald (aka Big Hairy, aka El Grande Chi Chi) where my section start/ends. Doug accompanied us to that point where we all had lunch and then he went back the way he had come to work his section on the way back to Big Bald.
View from TN side of Little Bald summit looking towards No Business Knob, Temple Hill, with Erwin and Johnson City in distance
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Posted on 28 November '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
This years adventure found us hiking along 25+ miles of the Mountains To Sea Trail high in the mountains of North Carolina. Starting on the day after my birthday, September 9, we began our journey by driving to the Upper Creek area on NC highway 181 that leads between Pineola and Morganton. My plan was to start at Beacon Heights on the Blue Ridge Parkway and come out some 25 trail miles later on highway 181 but, the dilemma was that I felt it was not the best idea to leave a car parked along the side of the road for 5 days or so. To combat this issue, I contacted Kate Dixon who is the executive director of the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail foundation and she replied back to me almost immediately with some people to contact that could help me out. This would be Doug Veazey who put me in touch with Bob Benner, both of which are longtime trail maintainers who were able to help us out tremendously. They were happy to help us as fellow trail maintainers for the Carolina Mountain Club and Bob found us a great location to park my car behind a gate in a gated community located near to where we would be coming out at, and also volunteered to meet us there and give us a ride to Beacon Heights to start our hike. I can`t say enough about all these wonderful folks who went out of their way to help us. Since Bob is more or less the trail boss over this entire section of trail and then some, and since it was such a beautiful hike the entire way, we made many daily references to the old ‘Blues Brothers’ movie by saying many times: “Beautiful place ya got here Bob ! “.
RAT and Bol’Dar at Beacon Heights
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Posted on 22 November '12 by RAT, under RATtreks. 1 Comment.
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.
