CHANGES
I
finished up my job in Chattanooga on Friday morning. I had a long drive home ahead of me, but my
relatively early finish left me with a little bit of time to play around on the
way. After doing about 30 minutes of
research on Thursday night, I’d decided to take the Cherohala
Skyway on my way home. Along the way,
I’d do a few short hikes to area waterfalls.
Originally
I planned to visit Conasauga Falls first. However, by the time I reached Tellico Plains
I was beginning to question if I had time for everything I had planned. I knew there were some other waterfalls in
that same area, so I decided to save all of them for another visit.
I
picked up a sub in Tellico Plains and followed the Cherohala
Skyway upstream along the Tellico River.
A few miles outside of town I left the skyway behind in favor of a paved
forest service road that continues to follow the river. I enjoyed some fantastic riverside scenery as
I drove on to Bald River Falls. This
waterfall is on the Bald River, which is a major tributary of the Tellico. The waterfall is just upstream from the
confluence of the rivers, and there is a great view of it from the bridge. I parked just beyond the bridge to check it
out.
Bald
River Falls is one of the most impressive waterfalls in a state full of
them. However, today the water level was
much lower than it had been on my previous visit several years earlier. Also, it was a sunny day, and the lighting for
photography was poor. I didn’t spend
much time on photos before heading on up the road.
I
passed Baby Falls on the Tellico River after a short distance. I thought about stopping, but I could see
that the lighting wasn’t any better here.
I decided to catch it on my way back, hoping that the usual afternoon
clouds would provide conditions for photography.
I
continued upstream. My next destination
was a waterfall on the Tellico River just across the state line in North
Carolina. This waterfall has the
distinction of being the last entry in Kevin Adams’ guidebook of North Carolina
waterfalls. Kevin’s directions follow a
series of 4wd roads from Murphy, NC.
However, he also mentioned this approach in his guide. By coming in from Tennessee, I could avoid
all of the bad roads.
I
passed a bunch of campgrounds before finally reaching an information kiosk for
the Tellico ORV (off-road vehicle) area.
When I reached the kiosk, one sign immediately caught my eye. It stated that all of the trails in the area
were currently closed. This was
alarming, as I’d just driven a considerable distance to get here. I read the details of the closure, which
stated that all of the trails / roads were closed to vehicle use. This sounded fine to me, as I was planning on
walking. In fact, I quickly realized
that this might be a good thing. Closed
trails meant I could look forward to a quiet hike.
I
continued up the road 0.4 miles to a bridge over the river. The paved road crossed the bridge here, while
a gated dirt road continued upstream. I
followed the paved road, which began climbing away from the river roughly
following a small tributary. After a
short distance the pavement ended, while a gravel road continued, still heading
away from the river.
I
doubled back to the bridge and parked. I
consulted the Kevin Adams guide, and guessed that I was at the junction of
routes 1 and 5 that he mentions in his description. However, his guide described the road I was
on as being a rough dirt road – not paved.
I didn’t have any sort of map, so I couldn’t be sure if I was in the
right place.
I
decided to follow the gated road upstream.
Hopefully I’d find the waterfall.
If not, I’d at least have a quiet walk along the river.
The
guide stated that it was about a mile to a river ford. Sure enough, after 20 minutes I found the
road approaching the river. However,
there is no danger of getting wet here.
A bridge spans the river. I was
even more puzzled at this point. Was the
bridge new? I crossed the bridge and
entered a camping area occupied by construction equipment. What was going on? I didn’t have to wonder for long. I found a sign that described the project as
the “Tellico ORV Trail Obliteration”. I
was alarmed. Trail obliteration? This didn’t sound good. Were they actually sabotaging the trail
system?
Later
it occurred to me that the area might be marred by unofficial, user-created
trails. Perhaps the crew that was
stationed there was erasing all traces of unauthorized routes?
Just
beyond the camping area I reached another ford.
This time, I didn’t have the benefit of a bridge. However, the low water level enabled me to
rock hop the river. Once on the far side
I continued upstream, following an old railroad grade. After a couple of minutes,
I rock hopped a tributary. I
consulted the guidebook, and guessed that this was Peckerwood Creek. If so, I was almost at the falls.
The
hike from there continued to follow the old railroad. Numerous fallen trees and spiderwebs
presented the only challenges. After a
few minutes, I heard the falls ahead. I
found a scramble path heading down, and descended through more deadfall. I arrived at the base of the falls a couple
of minutes later.
This
waterfall is a nice one. Unfortunately
the sun was shining through a narrow opening in the canopy, illuminating a
small part of the waterfall. That pretty
much ruined any hope of a decent photo.
I had lunch there, hoping for a passing cloud to improve conditions, but
one never came. Eventually I gave up and
returned to the trail. From there, I
continued a short distance upstream to the upper falls. This part is probably a little nicer, but
photography was equally hopeless.
Despite this, I still enjoyed having this waterfall all to myself in the
cool, shady forest.
Eventually
I headed back to the car. Initially I
headed back towards Bald River Falls.
However, after a few miles I found a gravel forest road heading up the
mountain, signed for Stratton Meadows.
Stratton Meadows is on the Cherohala Skyway,
near the NC / TN line. That was where I
was heading, and this looked like a substantial shortcut. I decided to take it, even though it meant
missing out on a second visit to Bald River Falls and Baby Falls.
The
drive to Stratton Meadows was easy and smooth. I rejoined the Skyway, but
headed back west towards my final destination of the day. I passed the Rattlesnake Rock overlook, and 3
miles from the meadows I reached an unmarked parking area. I was pretty sure this was the trailhead for
Fall Branch Falls. I parked and headed
down the trail, eventually reaching a signed junction that verified I was in
the correct place.
From
there, I followed an old roadbed, which took me back out close to the
Skyway. I was beginning to wonder if I’d
find a waterfall along this trail when I stumbled upon a side trail to the
right. It led up briefly, before
cresting a minor ridge and plunging over the other side. I descended quickly, eager to get to the falls. My progress was only interrupted briefly by a
large group of hikers heading the other way.
As they were passing buy, one guy stopped and asked, “Did you come from
the parking lot”? I really wanted to
say, “Nope, I parachuted in here! Here’s
your sign!” (all apologies to Bill Engvall). I didn’t though, probably because he already
had a look on his face that indicated that he knew how stupid his question had
sounded. Instead, I simply verified that
I had, in fact, come from the parking lot, and continued on my way.
I
passed through a nice thicket of ripe blackberries before reaching the
creek. I could see the falls from here,
but rock hopped the creek and headed up the slope to get a better look. I arrived at the base a couple of minutes
later. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much
volume coming over the falls. Also, the
waterfall was in the sun, which wasn’t ideal for photography. I loitered around for a little while anyway,
and took some photos of butterflies swarming a cluster of wildflowers. Eventually I headed back up, knowing that I
still had a long (4 ½ hour) drive ahead of me.
I
definitely plan to re-visit Fall Branch Falls, preferably when there is more
water. I still don’t have a decent photo
of Bald River Falls, so I need to go back there, too. Fortunately, there is an impressive variety
of trails and waterfalls in that immediate area. I don’t know if I’ll go back to the upper
waterfalls on the Tellico River, simply because it is such an event to get
there. You never know though. There are many campgrounds along the river,
so if I find myself in the area, I might be tempted to return.
Back to Nantahala National Forest
Back to North Carolina
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!