RATtreks

Gentry Falls – 4-30-2011

On Saturday April 30, 2011, my avid waterfall enthusiast friend Dave Aldridge, offered to take us to Gentry Falls, an awesome double falls located in Johnson County, Tennessee. He had previously helped the Forest Service do some trail work there by painting new blazes on the trail leading to them, so he knew how to get there. I had been wanting to go see these falls for quite some time now so I looked up some information on the internet which gave some interesting background of the history of the the creek and falls, and the surrounding area but the only information I could find on the current route to the falls was actually incorrect. If you believe what I read about the level of difficulty in getting to these falls, you would probably not even go !! It was a really nice trail that was not hard at all.  Dave picked us up at Hairnt-quarters that morning and we made the hour long trip through Elizabethton and Mountain City and then towards Damascus, Va. until we reached the turn off at Laurel Bloomery. We had to wait on some cleanup crews that had the highway blocked just before Mountain City as they were cleaning up some massive storm damage caused by the recent tornadoes that had passed through this area a few days earlier. After making a slight miscalculation and going up the wrong road, we quickly located the right route and it was not long before we were parking at the trail head. It was a sunny and warm day, not exactly conducive for taking photographs of waterfalls, but a wonderful Spring day to be in the woods nonetheless.

Gentry Falls

The trail is in good shape and crosses the creek many times as it makes its way up the long winding valley. There are many interesting rock formations to see along the way but I couldn’t help but notice there are not many animal signs as it seems there is not any food trees in this valley.The trail gradually gains in elevation although you can not really tell it until the hike back. We passed by several nice small cascades that we took the time to enjoy as we steadily continued toward the actual falls. There were apparently some log bridges that used to cross the creek at several locations but have been recently removed as we could tell by the piles of rock and wood material that was left behind after their removal. Now you must cross the creek the best way you know how ! The water levels were not high by no means but,  on the other side of the spectrum they were not too low either so crossing was not hard and there was enough water to make the waterfalls enjoyable.

Gentry Falls

There were assorted varieties of wildflowers that were blooming and everything was turning very green. It is only about 2 miles to the falls so it did not take long to get there. My first glimpse of the falls was over some large rocks up ahead that I could see Bol’Dar negotiating around.  Dave was ahead of me leading the way. I could see the valley ahead narrowing down to a sharp ‘V’ with rock cliffs on each side (typical of most waterfall locations). I could barely see the top of the lower part of these magnificent falls but as I approached one of the larger rocks you have to climb around; I could then see the upper and lower parts of the double falls. I was definitely impressed. Dave had climbed up on top of this huge rock where he said was one of the best views. I was already getting what I thought was an incredible view from where I was, so I stayed there long enough to set up the tri-pod and snap a few pics before joining him on top of the dinosaur sized rock.

Lower Part of Gentry Falls

Lower Part of Gentry Falls

I then proceeded down to the base of the falls to continue taking many pictures despite the bright sunlight and my lack of any filters. I noticed Bol’Dar on the other side as it seemed like he had found something of interest. It turns out it was a large geo-cache filled with all kinds of interesting objects ! After checking that out I climbed up the right side of the falls to get some shots from that angle.

Lower Part of Gentry Falls

Lower Part of Gentry Falls

Lower Part of Gentry Falls

These falls are amazing and every angle brings a different level of excitement. By the time I was finished shooting from the right side,  I noticed Bol’Dar was making his way to the left side in an attempt to climb to the top of the falls ! I made my way in that direction stopping only long enough to get his picture atop of the lower part of the falls. I then followed suit and joined him there. I could see Dave watching us from the bottom as if we had gone crazy ! Looking off the top was awesome but, I do not recommend this practice as many people get seriously injured and even killed by doing this.

Upper Part of Gentry Falls

Bol'Dar at Upper Part of Gentry Falls

Once at the top of the falls, you could see things you can not see from the bottom as is usually the case and is the reason why I climb waterfalls if it seems safe and within my capabilities to do so.There was much more distance between the upper and lower falls than can be determined from the bottom.  The upper falls are way taller than they seem from below and there is some nice chutes and cascades in between the two. There is also a large, deep pool at the base of the upper falls that is very nice.The rock formations on either side of the uppers make them an impressive waterfall all by itself.  I was taking pictures when I noticed that Bol’Dar was already standing at the top of the upper falls ! It took me a minute to climb these as the rock ledge was very narrow and slick but I soon joined him there. Once again looking down at Dave still standing at the bottom, looking much smaller from this viewpoint, but I could tell he still thought we were insane !

Upper Part of Gentry Falls

Upper Part of Gentry Falls

From the top we discovered there was an old road trail that crosses the creek just above the top of the falls ! I could not wait to check the map and see where that comes in from. I could already see that I would be coming back to this area sometime in the near future. As was expected, there were more significant cascades and small falls just above the top of the upper falls just before it goes over the edge that can not be seen even from the top of the lower falls, so I was glad we decided to climb up there.They were actually fairly tall. We climbed further up to check out the old road and from there we could still see Dave way down below, looking even smaller now, watching us,  knowing that we had definitely lost our minds !

Looking down from top of upper part of Gentry Falls

Side view of upper part of Gentry Falls

Upper Part of Gentry Falls

Going back down was a bit trickier than climbing up them, but taking my time I was able to do so safely. Taking more pics as I went, it was not long before we made it back down to the bottom to join Dave and tell him of what we found. On our way out I went below the big dinosaur rock to check out a long piece of old narrow gauge railroad track (left there from previous logging done years ago) that had been bent by nature and had large trees actually growing on top of it ! This was quite fascinating to me.

Narrow gauge railroad track

Although we hated to leave, we began the journey back out the long, meandering valley stopping once again to enjoy the various cascades and wildflowers found there. Since it was now slightly downhill it did not take as long to get back as it did to hike in. We made it back to the trail head in good time and I can not wait to come back to this set of falls again soon as it is definitely one of the nicest falls I have visited so far.

Cascades found along Gentry Creek

To see more pics of these falls and more, please visit The Gallery.