WOLF
We
had two full days to spend in DeSoto State Park and
the Little River Canyon. Christy wanted
to do a lot of mountain biking, and I had some canyons to explore. We started Tuesday with a nice breakfast. Afterwards, Christy started on her first
mountain bike ride. While she was doing
that, I drove down to the Little River Canyon to look for Greg’s Two Falls in
Wolf Creek Canyon (a tributary of the Little River). I was determined to find Greg’s Two Falls,
even though, as it turns out, I’d already been there. I didn’t realize it until later, when I was
reading through my own website, but I had actually hiked to upper Greg’s back
in 2009. So yeah, my memory is
terrible. That’s why I write these trips
reports – they are mainly for my own benefit, since I can’t remember shit.
My
memory is so bad, I actually managed to screw up the hike. I parked near the bridge over Wolf Creek
(good) and started hiking through open forest along River Left (good). After a short distance the left side looked
steep, but the right side looked more promising. I rock hopped across the creek (not good) and
continued downstream. Before long the
terrain forced me upwards. A few minutes
later I found myself cliffed out, high above the
creek. There was a waterfall down there,
but there was no way to get there.
I
backtracked and rock hopped the creek again.
I headed downstream on River Left and stumbled upon a beaten path. It climbed up onto the cliff above the upper
drop of Greg’s Two Falls. A short
distance beyond I found a scramble path down to the base. The upper drop is a beautiful, broad 15’
waterfall. After a short run of modest cascades the creek plunges over the lower 20’ drop.
I
climbed back up to the goat trail and climbed higher, above the lower
drop. The final drop was steep and wet,
but not bad. The lower falls spills into
a lovely pool that is surrounded by cliffs.
The base of Greg’s Two Falls is a little slice of paradise. On my previous visit I’d found the upper drop,
but not this one. From here, I had a
great view of both waterfalls, the pool, and the surrounding cliffs.
It
was a sunny day and the light was terrible for photos. I vowed to return.
Now
that I had re-discovered Greg’s Two Falls, I headed back out and drove back to
the campground. Christy had just
finished her mountain bike ride, so we had lunch together. Afterwards we drove north in search of DeSoto Falls.
The
official overlook of 90’ DeSoto Falls sucks. It is at the top of the falls, where you
can’t see much. Fortunately
I’d found two better vantage points on previous trips. We had visited the upper overlook back in
December. This time we planned to go to
the base so Christy could go swimming.
Yes, you read that right. She
planned to go swimming in the mountains of northern Alabama in March. It was a sunny, 60 degree
afternoon, so we thought it might be bearable.
We
parked at the same trailhead as we used on our December hike. It is adorned with a “No Camping in This Area”
sign. Wow, talk about vague regulations!
What does “this area” mean? My guess is “within sight of the road”, which
would mean that camping in the caves below the cliffs is ok. But don’t take my word for it.
We
descended from the parking area, passed under the power lines, and followed the
base of the cliffs north. We passed
between massive boulders and continued to the mouth of Icebox Cave. Icebox Cave starts as a broad overhang that
has a single passage leading back a good distance. From there, we descended a beaten path to the
Little River. We joined another primitive
trail there and followed it upstream. We
passed a sandy campsite before reaching the edge of the immense pool at the
base of DeSoto Falls.
We were surprised to find a family with two young children here. We were surprised, because the route to this
spot isn’t well known. In fact, the
tourists up at the official overlook at the top of the falls must have been
wondering how we got there.
Christy
wasn’t content with merely viewing one of Alabama’s largest waterfalls from the
base. She wanted to swim behind it. I wasn’t about to discourage her. The water was frigid, but that wasn’t going
to stop her, either. It took her awhile
to get going, but eventually she jumped in.
As I mentioned, the pool is immense.
She tried to skirt around the left side, but eventually she reached a
point where the current was pushing her backwards. Ultimately she conceded and swam back to
shore.
We
hiked out and headed into Fort Payne. Christy
is taking a class online, so I dropped her off at a coffee shop where she could
get some work done. I then returned to
Greg’s Two Falls to get photos under better conditions. That evening, we enjoyed another campfire
before heading to bed.
We
enjoyed another leisurely morning on Wednesday.
Then we headed back down to Wolf Creek Canyon for my third hike to
Greg’s Two Falls in 24 hours. When we
arrived at the falls Christy took an adventure nap while I explored down the
canyon.
It
was a fun hike. Early on I saw two more
cascades with swimming holes. Then I
passed under a massive overhanging cliff.
Downstream from there I was finally forced to rock hop the creek. Most of the hike involved scrambling, rock
hopping, and steep sidehilling. My goal though was to reach the confluence of
Wolf Creek and the Little River.
Shortly
before reaching the river, I found the ancient remains of a car. This was interesting, as I doubt that there
was ever a road along either Wolf Creek or the Little River. There is a road along the rim of the cliffs
above though. I wonder if that car was
driven off the cliff above years ago?
A
short distance beyond I reached the Little River. It’s a lovely stretch, with high cliffs on
either side. I doubt many people see the
Little River from this vantage point.
The riverbank is thick with undergrowth, but I wonder if it is possible
to follow it downstream to the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon? Combining the two canyons could be a
fantastic off-trail hike.
I
hurried back to Greg’s Two Falls to rejoin Christy. We had a picnic lunch and I went for a
swim. The water was ice cold, but it was
refreshing after my hot, sweaty hike through Wolf Creek Canyon.
BEAR
Afterwards,
Christy decided to head back to the state park for more mountain biking. She dropped me off near the bridge over Bear
Creek. The dogs and I would spend
several hours exploring Bear Creek Canyon while she was mountain biking.
The
upper part of the canyon was brutal.
Most of the vegetation was briars and holly bushes, and scenery was
modest at best. Later, I found a steep
ridge line that looked like it would offer more direct access to the more
interesting parts of the canyon. When I
found it, I decided to exit the canyon via that route. That enabled me to spend more time in the
more interesting areas farther downstream.
I
fought my way downstream from the bridge, bashing through the vegetation and
wading the creek once. I was growing
discouraged when I finally found myself below some impressive cliffs. The topo suggested more rugged terrain ahead,
so I continued on. Eventually a sheer
cliff prevented easy passage on River Left, so I walked in the creek below
it. Beyond, I skirted around a bend with
some nice rapids and sheer cliffs overhead.
That stretch led to an impressive overhanging cliff, also known as a
rock house. There was a low-volume
waterfall spilling over the face. Just
downstream was a tall, low volume waterfall on a tributary that spills into the
river. I’ve never heard anything about
this one, but the brink of the falls is visible from the Parkway 400’ above.
I
took a few photos and headed back upstream.
I took my short cut out through thick briers and holly bushes and
reached the road shortly after I was supposed to meet Christy. I was a mile down the road though. Luckily I had just enough of a cell signal
that I was able to send Christy a text.
That evening we enjoyed one last campfire and prepared for the rain that
was supposed to move in that night.
Christy
woke me up in the middle of the night because she was really dizzy. We weren’t sure what to do about it, so we
decided to wait until morning. When we
woke, the problem hadn’t gone away. When
she got out of the tent she staggered around before doing a face plant. Yikes!
We considered going to the hospital in Fort Payne, but decided to try an
urgent care first. After a lengthy wait,
the doctor diagnosed Christy with an inner ear infection. He gave her a prescription for antibiotics. Unfortunately we had
to pay for the visit and the drugs.
Since Christy had forgotten her wallet she didn’t have her health
insurance card with her. Luckily the
whole thing only cost about $90. It’s a
good thing we were able to avoid the ER!
It
was a rainy day, with huge storms expected that evening. We had originally planned to start a
backpacking trip to Virgin Falls that day, but had decided to delay it by a day
due to the weather. With Christy’s
illness, even that was in jeopardy. We
considered going home, but we were reluctant to do that since we were meeting
friends that we hadn’t seen in several years in Gatlinburg, TN on
Saturday. Ultimately we decided to get a
hotel and wait out the rain and Christy’s illness. If she was feeling better by Friday we might
still be able to go backpacking, or at least car camping. If not, we would try to stick it out another
day, or head for home.
We
ended up at the Red Roof Inn in Cookeville.
I didn’t have any luck finding a free hotel that allowed dogs anywhere
in the area. The best option I came up
with was in Knoxville, and they charged a $75 pet fee. The Red Roof Inn was only $70 with no pet fee.
We
drove from Fort Payne, AL to Cookeville, TN that afternoon. We took it easy that evening in hopes that
plenty of rest would help Christy recover.
Back to Alabama
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!