‘The Waterfall Tour’ is the name ‘Rat Patrol’ came up with over 20 years ago to describe the loop hike from Sill Branch around to Devil’s Fork, stopping at every waterfall along the way.\u00a0 Although some of the trails were primitive, even back then, during the old ‘trail club days’, this was a very popular hike, and we walked it several times with many people; some of these adventures were \u2018epic\u2019.\u00a0 Originally, when the loop hike was first conceived, it was a 12-mile hike to see 5 major falls bordering the Sampson Wilderness Area, but after learning the mountains a little better, we found enough shortcut trails to lessen the mileage to around 9.<\/p>\n
![\"Middle](\"http:\/\/trailstealth.com\/site_pics6\/8318.jpg\")
<\/a>Middle Devils Fork Falls aka Josiah Falls<\/p><\/div>\n
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Perhaps you may remember the blog about ‘The Devils Fork Falls’ (published December 2009 on this website) where Rat Patrol, his son Tyler<\/a> and I hiked around and down the waterfalls in Devil’s Fork, accessing them from the ‘Longarm Branch Trail’.\u00a0 If you don’t remember (or haven’t read it yet), don’t feel bad, because I don’t remember it that well myself, except for the unbelievable log-buried trail we took over ‘Big Pine Ridge’ and how we climbed down the last 2 waterfalls and hiked out in the dark.<\/p>\n Log buried trail across Big Pine Ridge on the 'old route' in 2009<\/p><\/div>\n While wanting to hike the ‘tour’ from Sill Branch to Devil’s Fork and see all the waterfalls in there, without having to deal with that beastly trail over Big Pine Ridge, Rat and I studied our maps to find a better way.\u00a0 Rat is very good at translating maps, whereas I now rely not only on maps, but more on my ‘trial and error’ experiences, as well as the photos I have taken from various ridge-tops.\u00a0 The photos that I had taken from Longarm Ridge and Big Pine Ridge Knob (as well as some of the photos from Sampson Mountain) were very helpful in plotting the new route we planned to take, lessening the trail mileage to around 5 1\/2 (difficult) miles.<\/p>\n The Big Pine Ridges and the Devil's Fork Valleys as seen from Longarm Ridge<\/p><\/div>\n While we were both in agreement on the route up and beyond Sill Branch, we did have several discussions about exactly which hollow we would take to descend into the Devil’s Fork, or even if we should attempt to hike down one of the steep, super-gnarly ridge-fingers, instead.\u00a0 Eventually, after more map and photo study, we had a plan.<\/p>\n 'Sidewinder Cascades' along South Fork of Sill Branch<\/p><\/div>\n One of the fun things about the ‘Waterfall Tour’ is taking people who have never been there (on the top of the upper Devil’s Fork Falls, aka ‘Lillybeth Falls’),\u00a0 to the very edge of the cliff overlooking the falls, where by all appearances the trail, and possibly the entire world just ‘dead-ends’, pointing to the bottom and telling them we are going to climb ‘down there’, and watch the bewildered expressions on their faces.\u00a0 Indeed, it is a long way down–straight down.<\/p>\n View from the top of cliff above Lillybeth Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Our latest ‘victim’, Tyler probably remembered the abysmal trail over Big Pine Ridge and climbing down the waterfalls in the dark<\/a>, as well, and decided not to attend the hike, apparently, but ‘Dan-o’ and ‘Fireball’, who had been hiking with Rat and I a few times, did.\u00a0 So anyway, about 9 am on a morning in April, we left a car at the Longarm Branch Trail-head and began our loop hike by walking down the gravel road to Sill Branch.\u00a0 Bypassing the upper Sill Branch Falls trail, we climbed the steep, yellow-blazed south fork of Sill Branch to the old roadbed<\/a> below ‘California Fields’, which is named on the map as being ‘Willard’s Hump Road’.\u00a0 From there, we hiked on to where this ‘road’ met with ‘Forest Service Road 190’ at a place known as ‘The Big-R Curve’.\u00a0 We took a short snack\/map study break<\/a> at the ‘Big-R Curve’, wanting to make sure we descended off of the ridge in the right place.\u00a0 We found the hollow we had intended to take, and began our trail-less descent into Devil’s Fork.<\/p>\n Chosen route for the descent into the Devils Fork Valley<\/p><\/div>\n We hadn’t gone very far down when we encountered a rather significant cascade and a cliff<\/a>.\u00a0 Being early April, the water levels were elevated, even this high up on the mountain.\u00a0 While the cascade was unknown to us, the cliff, I was informed by Rat, was the same cliff we would have fallen off of if Kep’s truck hadn’t of been caught by that little tree when he accidentally drove off the forest service road in the pouring rain many years ago (it is a long, twisted story, so I will leave it at that).\u00a0 The way to the bottom of the cascades and beyond was very steep<\/a>, as well, what I like to call a ‘knee-knocker<\/a>‘ trail, because tendons and ligaments tend to get sore and ache on extreme descents, such as this one.<\/p>\n Cascades discovered along the Upper Devils Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Continuing our steep descent, following the creek, the valley we had climbed down opened up and joined a larger valley<\/a>, still well above ‘Lillybeth Falls’.\u00a0 This place was more familiar to Rat and I, as we had always went down to the falls through this part<\/a> of the valley, accessed by the now tree-buried trail over Big Pine Ridge.\u00a0 Despite a tricky place in the trail, or two, we didn’t have any trouble getting to the top of Lillybeth Falls (aka, Upper Devil’s Fork Falls).<\/p>\n Water Log in Upper Devils Fork Valley<\/p><\/div>\n After Rat Patrol shocked Dan-o and Fireball with the usual \u2018We are climbing down there\u2019 routine, we decided to eat lunch on top of the impressive waterfall\/cliffs, before meandering around and down the hidden ‘ninja trail’ to the base of the falls.\u00a0 From there, we continued our descent to the ‘Devil’s Slide<\/a>‘ and the adjoining cliffs<\/a>–which are actually two cliffs which allows the creek to form a rather large, open ‘gorge’ where the ‘slide’ is.\u00a0 It is much too dangerous to climb down the Devil’s Slide when the creek is ‘up’, as the rocks are steep and slippery, but there is a safe place to slide down the cliffs to the left.<\/p>\n Cascades just above top of Upper Devils Fork Falls aka Lillybeth Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Upper Devils Fork Falls aka Lillybeth Falls<\/p><\/div>\n There was only one noteworthy \u2018slide\u2019 incident:\u00a0 On the next level of cliffs–below the “Slide’ and just above the ‘Middle Devil’s Fork Falls’ (aka, ‘Josiah Falls’) –“Fireball’, who admittedly has trouble on steep descents, slid too far too fast and almost wiped me, and her, out while I was standing on a narrow landing just above another drop-off into the rocky creek. I was attempting to \u2018coach\u2019 her down to the landing, but Instead of sliding down under control and grabbing the laurel limb, as I said, she slid down out of control and allowed the laurel limb to grab her.\u00a0 After that, Dan-o had to do a monkey-swinging maneuver to get around her and help her down the last 3 or 4 feet to the narrow landing.\u00a0 I pretty much stayed well out of Fireball’s \u2018wipe out zone’ after that, which annoyed her, I suppose, but made for a few good jokes later on.\u00a0 Anyway, after crossing the creek (there is a split in the creek right above ‘Josiah Falls’), there is another steep, cliff-like encounter we had to deal with by sliding down<\/a> to the base of the falls beside a massive fallen tree.<\/p>\n Devils Slide Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Falls on South Fork of Devils Fork Valley<\/p><\/div>\n We were all ready for another break after all the cliff-sliding maneuvers, and we enjoyed the ‘middle set’ of falls for quite awhile.\u00a0 The trail from there is quite mellow, compared to what we had encountered already, except for a tricky place at the top of \u2018Pine Ridge Falls\u2019.\u00a0 It is not so bad climbing around and down this rocky obstacle<\/a> if you have done it a few times before (Rat, Tyler and I climbed down it in the dark the last time we hiked through here), but for someone who hasn\u2019t encountered this seemingly impossible narrow, rock passage before, it can be a bit unnerving.\u00a0 Since it is the only way down, even people with acute acrophobia must deal with it.<\/p>\n Middle Devils Fork Falls aka Josiah Falls<\/p><\/div>\n All told, It was an incredible day of hiking; all of the waterfalls and cascades were fascinating and overflowing, while the cliffs were as primitive and alluring as the day they were formed thousands, if not millions, of years ago.\u00a0 We walked (perhaps limped a little) down the trail and back to the car like conquers, victorious explorers from a lost world, tired but happy.<\/p>\n Cascades below Middle Devils Fork Falls (aka Josiah Falls)<\/p><\/div>\n Pine Ridge Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Lower Longarm Branch Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Jones Branch Falls and Overlook\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n On a sunny, warm day in late March, \u2018Fireball\u2019 and I went out for a hike in the \u2018Jones Branch\u2019 area.\u00a0 Although Fireball had hiked through here on the Appalachian Trail, she had never been to the Jones Branch Falls, or the Jones Branch Overlook, which is not surprising since neither of these places is well known, and the trails to them are quite primitive.\u00a0 Anyway, to make a long story short, we hiked up the Appalachian Trail to the waterfall trail.\u00a0 The last tenth of a mile to the falls is a trail-less bush-whack, but we made it through the dense laurels without too much difficulty.\u00a0 We reached the \u2018lower\u2019 set of falls first, a 10-foot plunge off a solid rock into a small pool in the midst of a thick stand of laurels.\u00a0 The main set of falls is just above and beyond.\u00a0 Although the path to them is appropriately rough, I really like these stair-stepping falls on Unaka Mountain.\u00a0 I remember when I first found them, quite by accident, several years ago; there has always been something about their seclusion and primitive nature that I found alluring and inspirational, and still do.\u00a0 These falls seem to have a spirit of their own, and I have always felt privileged whenever I visit with them.<\/p>\n Lower Jones Branch Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Jones Branch Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Just above the stair-stepping cascade is a fractured rock cliff-facing, the water cascades through a double-walled \u2018chasm\u2019 at the base of these cliffs and shoots out, following a recess in a seam of rock<\/a>, for the most part, before dropping down the moss-covered wall<\/a>, which is the main part of the falls.\u00a0 We climbed to the top of the falls so that Fireball could see the cascades and the chasm, which is pretty well hidden from below.<\/p>\n The Chasm - Jones Branch Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Jones Branch Falls<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m not sure how, but I allowed her to talk me into climbing above the chasm with the cascades, following the creek further up that particular valley, and try to access the Jones Branch Overlook from there.\u00a0 Having done this one time several years ago, I knew that it was possible (the Overlook is on the prominent knob in between the north and south branches of Jones Branch).\u00a0 Supposedly, there used to be an old roadbed that went up and down that stretch of valley, and while it is still intact near the top of the knob and can be seen descending in switchbacks, it disappears before it gets near the creek in the bottom of the valley, apparently, since we were unable to find a trace of it, even.\u00a0 Although we failed to locate the old roadbed, we did see some other interesting things on our way up the creek-bed, such as a rather remarkable rock-spine, along with some gnarly trees<\/a> and twisted vines<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jones Branch Overlook<\/p><\/div>\n View from The Jones Branch Overlook<\/p><\/div>\n View from The Jones Branch Overlook<\/p><\/div>\n The ascent up the side of the knob to the Overlook Rock<\/a> was a bit strenuous, but we eventually got there.\u00a0 We enjoyed the view from the prominent rock for a while before climbing the rest of the way up the knob to the old roadbed, which took us out to the other roadbed that intersects with Curly Maple Gap just above the shelter.\u00a0 From there, we followed the Appalachian Trail back down to the Jones Branch Valley, stopping only briefly to soak our tired feet in the cold water, before finishing our journey at the trail-head near the Nolichucky River.<\/p>\n Little Bald Mountain\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n On a warm day in April (it was Easter) I started out at Spivey Gap and hiked up to the summit of Little Bald and back.\u00a0 Along the way, I encountered at least 20 northbound thru-hikers, several of whom decided to camp at Whistling Gap.\u00a0 Anyway, what was really impressive to me was how the entire forest floor on Little Bald was carpeted in red trillium, trout lilies, and spring beauties<\/a>.\u00a0 It was a rather incredible sight.<\/p>\n 'The Bluff' that overlooks the TN side on the summit of Little Bald<\/p><\/div>\n Red Trillium<\/p><\/div>\n Trout Lillies<\/p><\/div>\n Old Forge Loop Hike\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n In mid-April, I made plans to go mountain hiking with \u2018Fireball\u2019, and we ended up going into the Old Forge Area<\/a>.\u00a0 Unable to drive to the trail-head at Jennings Creek, due to a locked gate (the Forest Service was building a new bathroom<\/a> at the campground that day, apparently) we decided to park by the gate and walk the extra mile of gravel road to get to the Jennings Creek Trail.\u00a0 The sky was threatening rain and the air was rather cool when we began walking, but by the time we reached the first creek crossing on Jennings Creek, we were warm and the sky appeared less threatening.\u00a0 The creek was deep and cold and the cascades along the trail were very appealing.\u00a0 We chose to stay on the \u2018Big Jennings Creek Trail\u2019, which is the larger of the Jennings Creeks on the way in, but planned to walk the \u2018Little Jennings Creek Trail\u2019 on the way back down the mountain. Anyway, the creek-crossings were somewhat difficult because of the high water levels, but that is a good thing, since it is the creek that is most scenic through the lower section of trail.<\/p>\n Cascades on Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Cascades on Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Further on, we encounter a rather large brown and yellow mountain snake<\/a> that was stretched out in the middle of the trail.\u00a0 After admiring this creature for a short while, we continued on to the \u2018Cowbell Hollow\/Poplar Cove\u2019 trail intersection\u2026basically the \u2018Big Jennings Creek Trail\u2019 becomes the \u2018Cowbell Hollow Trail\u2019 right there and begins to head up the mountain, while the \u2018Poplar Cove Trail\u2019 hooks back to the left toward the Horse Creek Campground.\u00a0 Taking the \u2018Cowbell Hollow Trail\u2019, we began our ascent up Round Knob.\u00a0 With the help of a few switchbacks in the trail, we were able to get a pretty good view of the Coldspring Mountain Ridges and the Jennings Creek Valley.<\/p>\n Brown and Yellow Mountain Snake<\/p><\/div>\n View from the Cowbell Hollow Trail<\/p><\/div>\n View from the Cowbell Hollow Trail<\/p><\/div>\n The air on top of the ridge was much, much colder for some reason, and by the time we had reached the picnic area at Round Knob<\/a>, we had to put on all the warmest clothes we had with us at the time.\u00a0 The dramatic change in climate did provide some amusement, however, when we listened to the people who were filling several gallon jugs at the spring.\u00a0 Having driven up from the valley, they were still dressed in t-shirts and short pants, and were freezing.<\/p>\n Wild Iris<\/p><\/div>\n Cascades on Little Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n To make a long story a bit shorter, we hiked back down the mountain using the \u2018Little Jennings Creek Trail\u2019, allowing us to loop back to Old Forge without hiking the same trail twice.\u00a0 The Little Jennings Creek was overflowing it\u2019s banks and there were several nice cascades to look at along the way.<\/p>\n Cascades along Little Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Cascades along Little Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Cascades along Little Jennings Creek<\/p><\/div>\n Gentry Falls\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n At the end of April, Dave<\/a>, \u2018the waterfall guy\u2019, had a plan to drive up to Johnson County, near the Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia state lines to view a pair of waterfalls.\u00a0 Having never been there before, Rat Patrol, Fireball and I decided to ride along.\u00a0 It was a fairly long, but comfortable enough drive up past Mountain City, where we saw plenty of storm damage from the tornadoes that blew through the region.\u00a0 After only one wrong turn, we found the trail-head for the Gentry Falls.<\/p>\n Gentry Creek Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Cascades along Gentry Creek<\/p><\/div>\n It was warm and sunny, and the trail to the falls was fairly easy to navigate.\u00a0 The path was well traveled up the long, open valley, and there were blue blazes painted on the trees.\u00a0 The pathway to the falls was slightly uphill through the spring flora and with several creek crossings.<\/p>\n Lower part of Gentry Creek Falls<\/p><\/div>\n Lower part of Gentry Falls (Photo by RAT)<\/p><\/div>\n After about 2 miles of easy trail and rock-hopping the creek crossings, we reached a giant boulder.\u00a0 Just beyond this \u2018dinosaur boulder<\/a>\u2019 were the Gentry Falls<\/a>\u2014two sets of admirable 40-foot waterfalls.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t taken very long to walk up to the falls, and since we had some time to spend, I decided to climb both sets of falls to get another perspective<\/a> on them.\u00a0 It was just a bit tricky, but not too difficult.\u00a0 Rat<\/a> decided to climb up there, as well, and we determined that the trail continues on beyond the upper falls on what appears to be an old railroad grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>