Located in the Cherokee National Forest of the Smoky Mountains, near Greeneville, Tennessee, Upper Bailey Falls is a 30-foot tall waterfall in a slot canyon, with high rock walls set ten feet apart.
Following my visit to Lower Bailey Falls, I continued up a steep hillside and then back down a long, sloping rock pathway, to the top edge of the falls…
Video
Though similar, the waterway leading to the plunge pool of Upper Bailey Falls is shorter in distance, the water is deeper and the sound of falling water more substantial. With cool temperatures of both the water and air, I opted against wading forward into over waist deep water. While both falls were beautiful, the imposing geology of higher, tilting rock walls added greater interest to Upper Bailey Falls – making it my favorite of the two.
Prints
To decorate an empty wall in your home, office, business lobby or cafeteria setting, please visit my gallery to review a variety of available print types – including framed, canvas, art, poster, metal, acrylic, wood and tapestry. There are other items to see, as well. Framed prints may be customized (print size, frame, mat, mat width, paper).
Located in the Cherokee National Forest of the Smoky Mountains, near Greeneville, Tennessee, Lower Bailey Falls is a 20-foot tall waterfall in a slot canyon, with high rock walls set ten feet apart.
In order to access Lower Bailey Falls, visitors first follow the trail to Margarette Falls. If you’ve never been to the area, I recommend that you make time and do this shorter hike first – the picturesque Margarette Falls stands 60-feet tall, and the uphill hike along Dry Creek provides many beautiful cascades and smaller waterfalls.
The hike to Lower Bailey Falls is a total of 4 miles out and back, very strenuous, with an elevation gain of 971 feet. From the base of Margarette Falls, hikers must first ascend a steep, rugged 100-foot hillside, staying to the left at top to parallel Dry Creek upstream. A short path, of sorts, includes two creek crossings, but soon the creek itself becomes the trail for the remainder of the trek.
Everything is covered in moss and very slippery, which includes all larger stones underwater – it’s always best, when you’re able to see clearly through running water, to step on to sand or a cluster of smaller stones for better footing.
This may seem obvious, but worthy of emphasis: bearing all of ones weight on a single point, if that foot slips into an awkward position between two fixed rocks, serious injury may result…
Further ahead, space aside the creek is soon consumed by rock walls, with no place to walk except in the water, and the creek depth varies. In a few spots, to avoid waist deep (and cold) water, I had to carefully climb along the rock walls before descending back into the creek, again. And, hikers will also encounter a few larger boulders – sloping, some 12-feet long – which are deceptively slick.
Eventually, exercising patience and with safety in mind, you’ll hear the roar of falling water, and Lower Bailey Falls appears in the distance…
Pictured at left (above) is the beginning of a steep, 40-foot uphill scramble – some cliff & some forest – with a subsequent 20-foot descent leading hikers to the top edge of Lower Bailey Falls. After a long, sloping rock pathway, visitors will then see Upper Bailey Falls approx. 100-feet in the distance…more on that another time.
Prints
To decorate an empty wall in your home, office, business lobby or cafeteria setting, please visit my gallery to review a variety of available print types – including framed, canvas, art, poster, metal, acrylic, wood and tapestry. There are other items to see, as well. Framed prints may be customized (print size, frame, mat, mat width, paper).
After hiking all day, it’s finally time to go home. However, the parking area is miles away, and, being impatience, you decide to walk faster in order to arrive at your car sooner.
I’ve found myself in similar circumstances several times and have come to understand, that, when I observe myself starting to drag my feet, tripping here and there on rocks and tree roots, it’s a good idea to slow down. Though falling on the trail isn’t fatal, ones diminished reaction time due to fatigue makes it more difficult to catch or control any given stumble; thus, more likely to sustain an injury – heads up.
The tallest mountain located entirely within the state of Tennessee, Mount LeConte has an elevation of 6593-feet, with a trail that’s approx. 12 miles out-and-back. Start your hike early on a day with good weather, and rest on top of the mountain to enjoy some really spectacular views! Prints available. Enjoy the great outdoors!
The Cloudland Canyon State Park is located near Trenton, Georgia, and features many hiking trails, including one to the picturesque 90-foot tall Hemlock Falls. It’s located on the western edge of Lookout Mountain, on the Cumberland Plateau.
Prints available. This black and white photograph features Gabes Mountain Trail, which leads to Hen Wallow Falls, located in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
With weather forecast to reach 60 degrees in Knoxville, Tennessee, I decided to wear shorts on a hike to Hen Wallow Falls, a 1.5 hour drive by car – forgetting that temperatures in mountain elevations are often much colder…whoops!
It was 34 degrees when I began my pre-sunrise hike of less than 5 miles out and back, along the Gabes Mountain Trail, through a hemlock and rhododendron (seasonal) forest. At 90-feet tall, I’d visited this waterfall once before, and soon recalled both the inclination and rough surface trail conditions.
Prints
If you’d like to accent a wall in your home or office with a print featuring my photography, you can visit my gallery to select a print type to suits your interests.
If you hike around various mountains and gorges in the area, you’re bound to encounter evidence of rock climbers – such as here, at Black Mountain in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Prints available at Pixels and ArtFlakes.
After enjoying Hemlock Falls, I hiked up the canyon and headed upstream along the trail – and then back downhill, again – to see the 60-foot tall Cherokee Falls. Part of the Cloudland Canyon State Park, in Georgia, it’s a short hike & well worth the visit!
Prints
If you’d be interested in a print of any kind, visit my shop at Pixels.
Leaving Knoxville, Tennessee at 5:00 a.m., it was a 2 hour drive and I was the first person to arrive at the trail. By the time I returned to my vehicle, however, the parking lot was full.
Suggestion
If you arrive early, come prepared with the correct fee: an envelope with 16-quarters + a $1 bill isn’t easy to pass through the slot in the fee-deposit box. D’oh!
During my hike, I met several interesting people – a Pastor and his wife from Knoxville, a couple traveling on vacation from Ohio, and an individual from Marietta, Georgia, who was filming the canyon using a drone.
Despite being only 1.1 miles out and back, visitors must traverse 600 steps into the canyon. I was pleased that the trails were in good condition, and the hike wasn’t too difficult. For those in need of a rest, however, several benches have been conveniently situated along the trail.
Prints
If you’d be interested in a print of any kind, visit my shop at Pixels.
This decorative yoga mat is lightweight (approx. 3 lbs.), printed in vibrant colors on the front (back print optional), measures 72″ length by 24″ width by 1/4″ thickness, and is ECO friendly (composed of cellular vinyl, free from harmful BPAs, phthalates, and latex). A second, patterned version yoga mat is also available –
