fear not

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.
--Elbert Hubbard

Above: Lower Higgins Creek Falls (detail)

Changes to Lower Higgins Creek

 

With the purchase of the expansive Rocky Fork tract in Unicoi County, TN and the recent creation of the Rocky Fork State Park, efforts are underway to  make it more accessible to larger numbers of visitors. On the northern edge of the park, at the Lower Higgins Creek entrance, you can see a great deal of work is underway: the rickety, old bridge has been replaced and the road leading into the park has been widened. I'm happy to see more people visiting and enjoying the area, and the new bridge was desperately needed. I'll miss the wildflowers that used to line the path in this section of the park. Things are in pretty rough shape at this point, and parking still limited. But clearly changes and improvements are underway.

The top photo is of the first waterfall you come to, Lower Higgins Creek Falls (100 ft tall). The second is of the area where the new bridge was installed. Next is the widened road leading into the park. The bottom photo is of the turn around area where the road ends and a new gate has been installed.

appreciation

I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what's best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does; so in appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something truly sacred.
--Fred Rogers (1928-2003) TV personality, minister, author.


Above: Lower Higgins Creek Falls, directions here.

potential

Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
--Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Prime Minister.

Above: Detail of the base of Lower Higgins Creek Falls in rural Unicoi County, TN.

arrow-heads of gold

The sweet calm sunshine of October, now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold.
--William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) poet, journalist.

restful

What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt - it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else. 
--Harold V. "Hal" Boyle (1911-1974) writer. 

Above: Lower Higgins Creek in Unicoi  County, TN.

determination

It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down resistance, sweeps away all obstacles.
--Claude M. Bristol (1891-1951) author

wisdom

Committing a great truth to memory is admirable; committing it to life is wisdom.
--William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) author

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.
--Anonymous

One of the larger waterfalls found along Lower Higgins Creek (this is the fourth waterfall you come to, sometimes). It's larger than it looks here (50'), Click here for another photo, which gives a wider perspective, and for directions.

looking for gold

Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
--Henry Miller (1891-1980) American author

My search for autumn gold took me out to Lower Higgins Creek in Unicoi Co., TN again yesterday morning.  To see how different this scene looks with the deep greens of summer, click here.  Such a beautiful area -- I was surprised to find a decent amount of water flowing -- so many other creeks in our region are looking rather puny right now.  I was also thrilled that the air was absolutely still when I was there, which meant I could have the shutter opened for 15 seconds and still have the leaves sharp.

Details: Nikon D90 with 18-200mm VR at 18mm, 15 sec at f/22 ISO 200

young at heart

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things.... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. 
--Leo Buscaglia (1924-1998) author

Lower Higgins Creek, Unicoi County, TN

illuminate the darkness

In photography, if I am able to evoke not only a feeling of the reality of the surface physical world but also a feeling of the reality of existence that lies mysteriously and invisibly beneath its surface, I feel I have succeeded. At its best, photography is a symbol that not only serves to help illuminate some of the darkness of the unknown, but it also serves to lessen the fears that too often accompany the journeys from the known to the unknown.
--Wynn Bullock (1902-1975) American photographer


Lower Higgins Creek Falls in Unicoi County, TN. Directions and information here.

a beautiful truth

It is a beautiful truth that all men contain something of the artist in them. And perhaps it is the case that the greatest artists live and die, the world and themselves alike ignorant what they possess. Who would not mourn that an ample palace, of surpassingly graceful architecture, fill’d with luxuries, and embellish’d with fine pictures and sculpture, should stand cold and still and vacant, and never be known or enjoy’d by its owner? Would such a fact as this cause your sadness? Then be sad. For there is a palace, to which the courts of the most sumptuous kings are but a frivolous patch, and, though it is always waiting for them, not one of its owners ever enters there with any genuine sense of its grandeur and glory.
--Walt Whitman (1819-1892) American poet

be alert, find, know and attend.

My profession is always to be alert, to find God in nature, to know God's lurking places, to attend to all the oratorios and the operas in nature.
--Henry David Thoreau

Lower Higgins Creek Falls in Unicoi County, TN gushing from our recent rains. Click here for more information and directions.

Capturing Time

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.
--Henry David Thoreau

A long exposure shot (10 seconds) of Lower Higgins Creek in Unicoi County, TN.

Lower Higgins Creek Falls

Along the northern edge of 10,000 acre Rocky Fork in Unicoi County, TN is a small, tumbling stream with numerous waterfalls. I've previously visited the beautiful 100' main falls (click here), but there are five more falls to see there -- if you're adventuresome. The main trail is in good shape --but there really aren't well established side-trails down to the individual falls. Hopefully with the recent purchase of Rocky Fork by The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Forest Service, improvements can be made to make this magnificent area more accessible to hikers. As a side note, I'd like to cast my vote to keep four wheelers out of this particular section of Rocky Fork in order to help preserve this remote and fragile and unspoiled place. It's a mile hike to the main falls, and then about a half mile or so further to the fourth waterfall pictured above. With the water now up, the two creek crossings may be a little tricky. The fourth falls is the second largest of the bunch -- it was hard to capture its size so I was glad when Jeremiah volunteered to climb part way up the 50' falls for some photos [Click photos to enlarge]. The other one, on the right, is the third waterfall - smaller, but still beautiful. For more pictures and helpful descriptions, click here and here.

Directions: Take I-26 to the Temple Hill exit #43 just south of Erwin and then turn right onto the old Asheville Highway (19/23), after 3/4 mile, turn right onto Lower Higgins Creek Road and drive 1.5 miles till you reach a dead end. There's a clearing where you can park. The trail is actually an old logging road which begins to the left over a rickety, old wooden bridge. While there are No Trespassing signs all around, there is not one at the trail head. The waterfall is about a mile in on your right. The trail has a moderate grade, with the exception of the last quarter mile, when it becomes steep. You'll be able to see the waterfall down a treacherous 100 foot slope to your right. It's best to visit in the spring or fall, as the steep descent to the falls is made even more difficult when the slope is completely overgrown. Continue on the main trail for another half mile or so to discover more waterfalls.

The Great Society

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
--Greek Proverb

It seems every couple of months I rediscover my wide angle lens (a Sigma 10-20mm). I guess it falls out of the starting rotation because it weighs like a brick in my backpack and doesn't work for every application -- it distorts the edges of the frame and flattens horizons (and fattens people!). But for drawing attention to subjects close to the camera, it works wonders. I love the unique and exaggerated perspective it produces. To get this 'canopy' shot, and the one I posted Wednesday, I basically got right up next to a clump of trees and pointed up. Simple enough! All you need is the right lens and soft lighting. The real key to using wide angles is to put the camera right up next to the subject (Click here for a tutorial on ultra-wide lenses). For me, it gives a sense of being 'pulled into' the image (click the photo above to enlarge). Of course, I'm still playing around with Lightroom 2 -- here, I bumped up the contrast and clarity, desaturated the greens, and added a dark vignette.

Wonderment

The world will never starve for wonder, but only for want of wonder.
--G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) English writer

A Walk in the Woods

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.
--George Washington Carver (1864-1943) Chemist and Educator.

Lower Higgins Creek Falls

This is a lesser known waterfall in Unicoi County, TN - located on the northern edge of Rocky Fork State Park. Prior to the purchase of the land and the transition to state park status, this waterfall was largely unknown and seldom visited. Which, in a way, was a very good thing. Even today, now that signs point the way to the trail and the area has been "discovered", it's still relatively free of trash and graffiti. I hope it will stay that way! Because when you're sitting at the base of this 100 foot waterfall you get the feeling that you've stumbled onto something wild and pristine.

My reason for starting this blog was to highlight the beauty of our region and encourage people to get out and enjoy its scenic wonders -- but I have to admit that in some ways I kind of wish this place would remain unknown. It is so unspoiled. And yet I know that if people visit here, the vast majority will love this place and value it as much as I do. It really is a special place that deserves a visit -- and our protection.  Lower Higgins Creek actually contains six waterfalls - the one pictured above is the tallest - click here and here for photos of the others. Hiking Bill, who extensively travels this region and shares his journeys, recently visited Lower Higgins and wrote a detailed description of his journey here.

Another photo of this waterfall here. Photos of two of the waterfalls upstream here.

I recommend you visit in the spring or after a period of heavy rains. Lower Higgins Creek is a fairly small mountain stream, and in the late summer months, the waterfall you see above is often reduced to a trickle.

Directions to Lower Higgins Creek: Take I-26 to the Temple Hill exit #43 just south of Erwin and then turn right onto the old Asheville Highway (19/23), after 3/4 mile, turn right onto Lower Higgins Creek Road and drive 1.5 miles till you reach a dead end. There's a clearing where you can park. The trail is well marked and actually an old logging road. While there are No Trespassing and No Fishing signs all around (because the adjoining properties at the trailhead remain private), the trailhead itself and the expansive, mountainous terrain it leads to, is indeed part of the new state park. . The waterfall is about a mile in on your right. The trail has a moderate, but steady grade, with the exception of the last quarter mile, where it becomes steep. You'll be able to see the waterfall down a treacherous 100 foot slope to your right. The steep descent to the falls often slippery -- so take your time and be careful.