Baskins Falls! A Beary Great Day!

On a recent trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, we were going to hike a short 1 1/2 mile trail to Baskins Falls. Little did we know that on the very pleasant drive to get to the trail head we would have one of those chance encounters that really adds that something extra to an already beautiful day.

Just a mile or so before we arrived at the trail head this mama black bear jumped out right in front of our car. Needless to say, I didn't have my camera ready but managed to quickly grab it and point it in the general direction of the bear. I had my focus set on auto and trying to shoot through the windshield of the car made the pics a little blurry but was still very glad to get off this single shot before she crossed the road and went out of sight.

But little did I know that as I sat fussing about only getting one shot instead of paying attention, here came two little cubs scooting across the road in hot pursuit of mama. I flipped the camera on again and pointed it in time to take these two shots(sorry for the blur) through the windshield again.

They wasted no time as they quickly followed mamas trail and out of sight. This was really exciting and they were also headed into the same area that we intended to hike in just a few minutes.  

Well on to the trail head and the hike at hand. We walked the 1 1/2 miles to Baskins Falls and we were torn between excitement from seeing the bear and cubs to a little nervous about being in the same woods as they were, hoping to see them again but at the same time hoping not to see them again in the wrong situation.

Baskins Creek Falls is a beautiful water fall that is very much overlooked in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is located toward the base of the western slopes of Mt. LeConte originally known as the Bear Skin area. It was once prized among the early settlers for the amount of bear in the area and was a prime hunting spot for black bear. Somewhere along the way the name got changed from Bear Skin Creek to Baskins Creek and Falls.

We saw a family or two on the hike to the falls but we had the entire falls to ourselves when we arrived. The hike was moderate in nature and the trail was very good with only one moderately steep portion that descends down to the creek and falls.

Needless to say, it is still a prime area to see bear also. We didn't see the mama bear and cubs again, which was ok, but we were sure glad to have spent a little quality time in their woods.

"The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,

 The brooks for the fishers of songs,

 To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game

 The streams and the woods belong."

             Sam Walter Foss ( 1858-1911): Librarian and poet

Abrams Falls!

Access to Abrams Falls is located at the back end of the Cades Cove Loop Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is on Abrams Creek and you get to it by hiking Abrams Falls Trail which begins at a gravel parking area just off the Cades Cove Loop Road. It is a moderate trail of about 2.5 miles one way and follows the creek to this most beautiful waterfall. It is a perfect place to take the family and have a picnic lunch around the pool that surrounds the lower side of the falls. It is about a 31/2 to 4 hour roundtrip hike and you will want to spend some time just admiring the falls. This shot was taken on Feb 19th, 2011 and the flow was good due to the heavy snow melting in the high country.

              We Must Go

"Streams are the arteries of the earth; 
and waterfalls are the adrenaline 
that turns a slow and placid flow
into that incredible and beautiful rush
that awakens every sense 
God gave to man.

For what man or beast can,
upon hearing the first hint
of rushing water as it roars
over ageless rocks,
resist its temptation.

We must go,
and smell its' freshness,
lay eyes upon its' beauty, 
put hand and feet to its' cool
and warm embrace.

We must go,
and give ear to listen
to its' music made,
to taste its' sweetness,
to admire its' grandeur,
to refresh our soul." 
        Randy J. Schultz  

Falls at Fall Hollow

On a recent trip to Nashville, I decided to take the Natchez Trace Parkway from North Mississippi up to Nashville. Needing to stretch my legs a bit, I stopped at this location called Fall Hollow at mile marker 392 and was pleasantly surprised to find this fine water fall-cascade. There were several other falls all within a short walk along a nice trail maintained by the park service. It is always nice to find a place you have passed by many times before. This adds another beautiful spot to my list of God's beautiful places, and all because I just needed to stretch my legs.

"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child"
Marie Curie  (1867-1934): Polish Physicist and Chemist

Cane Creek Falls

This is a shot of Cane Creek Falls as it plummets into the Cane Creek Gorge and then into the Caney Fork River. This beautiful waterfalls is located in Fall Creek Falls State Park, near Pikeville, TN. Notice the rainbow formed from the sunlight reflecting off the mist generated by the waterfalls.

"The richest values of wilderness lie not in the days of Daniel Boone, nor even in the present, but rather in the future"

Aldo Leopold   (1887-1948):  American Ecologist, Forester, Environmentalist

Piney Creek Falls

Piney Creek Falls is located in Fall Creek Falls State Park near Pikeville, TN. At 75 feet, it is not the tallest falls in the park but it is considered by many to be the most beautiful. The area contains some beautiful trees that have never seen a loggers saw. You will find many fine specimans of Hemlock, Yellow Birch and Yellow Poplar in the gorge below the water falls if you care to hike off the main trails. If you have never been to this state park, you should plan a trip in the future. Fall Creek Falls is nestled on the Cumberland Plateau in east central Tennessee and is a beautifull park with lots of things to do. More photos to come later.

"All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again."
        Ecclesiastes 1:7  New International Version, Holy Bible