Laurel Fork and its Unknown Falls – 12-13-2016
There are many well known waterfalls along the Laurel Fork corridor of Carter County, TN. but, there are also a few unknown falls that have never been documented before. That is, until now. Yet another tip of the hat to my friend and fellow mountain man Larry Jarret for mining out another impeccable run of waterfalls that he was generous enough to share with his fellow ‘Camel Servicers’ ! Having already surpassed more than 250 major unknown and unnamed waterfalls locally, this run would only add to those numbers. Like any other Jarret find, the route required to reach them would definitely not be easy as there are no trails anywhere near where these well secluded beauties hide. It would also require crawling through one of the longest, continuous laurel hells that I have ever encountered just to reach the correct unnamed creek. Then it was an ‘up the gut’ steep climb to reach the various falls located there. Add in the fact that it was raining by the time we reached the off trail part of this journey and then crawling the last mile or more off the mountain in the dark and you end up with another typical yet, amazing Camel Servicer run ! We would be missing Tommy ‘Bol’Dar’ Warden on this amazing adventure but, those present would be our Jedi leader Larry Jarret, Resident Gnome John Forbes, my son Tyler ‘Little RAT’ Tarpley and me, the RATman.
Unknown, (until now) unnamed, dot-less beauty in the Laurel Fork area
This outing would begin after being thoroughly questioned and investigated at a check point by a large group of TWRA and USFS law enforcement officers on a well traveled route near Frog Level as we would proceed to pass by some of the known / named falls on Laurel Fork creek. The first of which is listed as Upper Laurel Fork Falls by modern folks although the locals have called these Moreland Branch Falls for many years. The water level was decent on this nice 25 footer which would be our first stop of the morning.
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
The next series of photos were taken with my larger camera:
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Tyler at Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Moreland Branch Falls aka Upper Laurel Fork Falls
Continuing upstream it is not too far to the next falls, also a named falls listed as Campbell Falls. Another very pretty falls about 20 feet in height that would be our next stop along the way.
Larry Jarret leading the way
My son Tyler doing his best to keep his boots dry
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Tyler sitting on the ‘mushroom rock’ at Campbell Falls
I took the following photos using my larger camera:
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls
John Forbes at the top of Campbell Falls
Looking back at John Forbes who is standing at the top of Campbell Falls
John at the top of Campbell Falls
From there I can not disclose the various routes taken in order to protect the unknown falls from the masses although, the distance and difficulty of the completely off trail terrain required would certainly make it hard for even the most hardcore of waterfall seekers to ever find as, these elusive falls are extremely well protected without any help from me. It would be a few more long and hard hours before we would reach the correct branch where the steep ascent up the gut would begin. It would start raining during this time which never did let up for the remainder of the day and into the night. We would find ourselves consumed by laurels, some of which were almost impossible to push through. We would all be tired and soaking wet by the time we reached the branch then the only passable path was right up the gut of it ! With renewed energy just knowing we were out of those evil laurels and on approach to several unseen before falls made the climb much easier. It seemed like no time before I could see the first falls showing high in the trees above me.
Pushing through over a half mile of this was exhausting
It was in ever direction as far as the eye could see. There was no getting around it only through or under it. We spent most of the half mile crawling.
Looking back at John and Tyler as they follow Larry and myself down into a ravine that finally gave some relief to the laurel hells
Looking back at the ravine we found in an ocean of laurels
Going down the ravine was much better than the last half mile of laurel nightmare
This ravine went at least another half mile.
John and Tyler behind me in the never ending ravine
John doing his happy gnome pose !
The ravine eventually became a small creek
Cool green thingies
Just because we were in the ravine did not mean we were out of the laurels ! But, hey at least we were not still crawling,,,
OK, I spoke too soon !!! we ended up crawling again for quite a ways as we had to get out of the ravine to go in the direction we needed to go
Larry leading the way on the crawl through the laurels
After crawling for what seemed like forever, we finally came out at the creek we needed to be at. Then we had to follow it down a click to find where another small stream flowed into it from the opposite side. This would be where the unknown / unnamed falls were hiding. Here Larry takes a breather before beginning the steep ascent of this stream.
From there the excitement grew stronger as the higher we climbed the more falls there were to marvel at. It was worth being cold, soaking wet, and the camera I ruined when it decided to go swimming down the creek, all small sacrifices in comparison to the pristine beauty we would see on this run. The conditions made it tough to get any quality pics but, I did my best so I hope you enjoy them.
Following Larry as he climbs higher up the stream anxious to show off his newly discovered mistresses
The entire creek was one huge continuous falls but there are several individuals that stood out among the crowd. This was the first one.
This was just a small premonition of what was to come.
Another shot of these very nice falls
The following photos I took of these falls using my larger camera :
These photographed very well I thought
Not tiny but not large, these medium sized falls did not fail to satisfy
Larry picks up the pace as the sight of a very large waterfall comes into view. The rain was getting harder also.
This was one of the nicest of them all. At least 40 feet high with the beauty to match.
John and Larry getting ready for some side shots. It may be her best side !
Base of the falls
More of the falls
She`s a beaut ! Like all dotless falls are !
Top of falls
I thoroughly enjoyed being at these falls !
Side view
Side view
Side view from the other side I can see Larry and John through the veil
The next series of photos I took of these falls using my larger camera:
These wold be the largest and main event on this run
I took several pics and hoped the rain would not ruin them as I may never be able to get back here again in my lifetime !
A breathtaking discovery. I can not thank Larry enough for sharing her and her siblings.
Trying my best to get the look I was after
making my way towards the right side for her best side,,,
The side view. Definitely her best side in my opinion
Side view
Side view
Opposite side view as Tyler and I begin climbing up and around the falls
Following Tyler as we look for the best way to get around these falls. It was very steep and slick.
The next set of falls was just as tall and every bit as pretty !
Top part of these amazingly rugged falls
Miles from any trail in some extremely rugged territory hide some of the best hidden gems
The next set of photos of these falls I took using my larger camera:
There is no denying her beauty
They were all so awesome, i could not pick a favorite if I had to !!
The rain made it hard to get good shots
Tried to get a swirlie but, my camera just doesn’t have enough F stop !!
Not the best swirly but, not the worst ! My lens was starting to fog up.
A beautiful falls no matter how you look at it !
By the time we reached the last significant waterfall we were almost out of daylight. Realizing that going back down and crawling through another half mile or more of super dense laurels in a different direction to get back was not a wise decision so, our fearless leader Larry, decided we would climb higher and follow a series of confusing, connecting ridges and hollows that only he could navigate (esp. in the dark) in order to be in a more open and easier to travel terrain that would get us back to the starting point. Again, all off trail but, much easier than the alternative. It was a good decision and we did end up going down another branch by a few more very nice unknown falls yet, sadly we would not be able to see much of them in the pitch black darkness and the thick fog that has developed by that time. I recall them being nearly vertical and us hanging like monkeys from the laurels as we descended beside them. It was very dangerous esp. as tired as I was though, I love the adrenaline rush of such adventures.
Continuing to climb up this creek was yet another major falls ! Again very tall at about 35 to 40 feet it just kept blowing our minds. Typical of any Larry Jarret / Camel Servicer group run.
This would be the last falls of this size along this course and the sun was fading fast
If you look close you can see Tyler near the top of the falls as he adds in some sense of scale
Tyler checking out the top of these amazing falls. There was another 5 or 10 foot drop up there that cant be seen from below. This was the last picture I would take with my pocket cam as it went swimming right after this shot !
These pictures I took using my larger camera:
It just kept getting better.
There was yet another very nice falls above these that we would come across on our way out. I would call them X Falls (for obvious reasons) and the only pics I got were by using my larger camera:
X Falls
X Falls. John provided fog for a small additional fee.
X Falls. You can tell how dark it is getting which did help my swirlies !
X Falls
X Falls
X Falls
This would be the last falls along this stream and the last picture I would take on this trip as it was almost dark and we still had several miles to go so the focus now was on getting out.
Of course I would not take any more photos after the last waterfall due to the dropping of my pocket camera into the creek so this pictorial ends here. I did get the camera working again after a few days in rice though the flash now can not be turned off so, it is basically not worth carrying. I bought a new one and I will one day return to this area to see the unknown falls again and get pics of the ones we passed by in the dark that night. Until next time,,,
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.
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