Pine Ridge Falls

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. 
-- Albert Einstein

Above: Pine Ridge Falls. To the left is a photo of the forest service road through Clark's Creek. And below, a photo of Blue on the trail to the falls. Click here for directions and a full description of the hike. Occasionally I've seen this waterfall referred to as Longarm Branch Falls.

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)

imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
--Albert Einstein  

Here are some recent photos from Rocky Fork State Park. The transition to a state park is making good progress on this huge tract of land in southern Unicoi County. It looks like the parking area is nearing completion (but not open yet) and trails are now named and marked with signs. Hiking the Flint Trail, I came across a lovely meadow (left) after crossing the interesting footbridge you see at the top. The bridge was made from a tree that had fallen across the creek.

autumn road

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.
--Frederick Buechner (1926-2022)

Above: Autumn Road near the Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN.

road to greatness

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
--Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65) Roman philosopher and statesman.  

The road to the top is narrow and difficult. But worth it. Not having time (or more accurately, energy) to complete the entire 9 to 10 mile Pinnacle Trail (round-trip), I drove to the parking area near the top. The Forest Service road starts out wide and gradual and in pretty good shape, but it gets narrower, steeper and increasingly pot-hole ladened. The good news was that from the parking area, it's a much shorter hike -- 3/4 of a mile walking up the rest of the road from the gate (steep!), or 1.5 miles via the upper section of the Pinnacle Mountain Trail (gradual). We took the trail up and the road coming back down. For a full discussion (with directions) of the Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower and Trail, click here.

vanishing light

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.
--Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) French photographer.

Above: Sunset at Beauty Spot looking southeast into North Carolina. You know spring has arrived when the Unaka Mountain Road gate is open once again.

filled with glory

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory. 
--Betty Smith (1896-1972) American author.

Above: My friend Tim takes in this view of the Nolichucky River from the Appalachian Trail for the first time. For a description of the hike and directions, click here.

The Nolichucky is a tributary of the French Broad River and flows 115 miles from western North Carolina through east Tennessee. The name, Nolichucky, is a bit unclear. Some say the name derived from a Cherokee village that once stood near today's Jonesborough, TN the name of which meant "spruce pine place." Local lore says it derives from an Indian word meaning "Rushing Water(s)", "Dangerous Water(s)", or "Black Swirling Water." As you can probably guess, today it is a popular whitewater rafting destination. The railroad bridge you see in the photo was built way back in 1907.

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.

the lingering season

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.
--John Boswell

Above: A snowy pastoral scene found near Unicoi, TN.

pushy

My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.
--Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American entrepreneur and inventor.

Above: Clearing snow in Unicoi, TN. In the background is Pinnacle Mountain.

keep moving

Better to start up a thousand wrong roads than to spend your life going nowhere because you know the way. 

--Robert Brault

Above: Late autumn road on a dreary day.

when all else has fallen

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. 
--1 Cor. 13:7-10 (JB Phillips Translation). 

Above: Fallen leaves blanket the waterfall at Rocky Fork State Park. 

Directions: Take the Flag Pond exit off of I-26 (exit #50), at the stop sign turn left onto Upper Higgins Creek Road. Drive ½ mile, till you reach Rt. 23, turn right and travel 2 ¼ mi. through Flag Pond, then turn left on Rocky Fork Road. Enjoy the views of the tumbling creek. After ¾ mile, you will see a gravel pull-off to the left. Park here (out of the way of the gate) to continue exploring the 10,000 acre Rocky Fork on foot. Trail map here.

winding road

Life is a winding road with unknown perils and troubles, but we can be certain of God's providence, security, and care. 
--Marvin Williams

Above: Autumn colors beginning to show on Unaka Mountain.

refresh

You can't change who you are, but you can change what you have in your head, you can refresh what you're thinking about, you can put some fresh air in your brain. 
--Ernesto Bertarelli (b.1965) Swiss businessman and philanthropist.

Signs warning of aggressive bear activity in the Clark's Creek area of Unicoi County didn't deter us from seeing Sill Branch Falls today. We did see plenty of other hikers -- but fortunately no bears. The signs specifically warned against overnight camping, grilling out and picnicking. However, the area is  still open for day hikers. Camping in the area has been banned since late May and isn't expected to be allowed again until fall.  Click here for more information.

For directions to Sill Branch Falls, click here.

take a chance

Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide 
--Victoria Lynn Shaw (b. 1962) Country music artist. 

Above: Rocky Fork State Park, Unicoi Co., TN

the hard work of happiness

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. 
--Theodore Isaac Rubin (b. 1923) American psychiatrist and author.

Above: Red Fork Falls near Unicoi, TN.

For a discussion of all the things to see and do on Unaka Mountain Road, click here.

dream world

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other. 
--Douglas H. Everett

At the last minute I thought I'd jump in the car and try to catch the sunset on Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN. Driving up the mountain, the fog was thick and I figured I was wasting my time. But I had come this far, so might was well see it through. I'm glad I did. Soon after I arrived, the fog lifted and the sunset was really spectacular, with rain clouds in the distance.

I met two thru-hikers setting up camp for the night, one from Florida, the other from Maine. Their trail names were NoMo (as in No More) and MoMo.  Although NoMo said that in reality they should both be called NoMo. They were very sweet and said that when people ask why they are walking 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, it was for nights like this.

Heading back to my car I ran into another couple, they proudly announced they were just engaged on the mountain. So I took Sasha and Heath's photo and enjoyed the opportunity to talk with them and share in their excitement. What a fun, beautiful and dreamy night on the mountain!

love your life

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author and philosopher. 

Above: Sunset with Fog at Beauty Spot. 

never enough nature

We need the tonic of wildness -- to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground. At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature. 

--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author and philosopher.

Here are two hazy views from Unaka Mountain both looking southeast toward Mt. Mitchell in NC.  The one above was taken from Beauty Spot, the one to the left from Unaka Mountain Overlook.  Spring is coming to the mountains. :)

They've done a great deal of work on the 12 mile road that goes up and over Unaka, digging trenches and installing culverts. I still recommend a higher clearance vehicle. They've also opened up some views at Beauty Spot looking out to the east.  Click here for directions and descriptions of all there is to see and do on Unaka.