The Beauty Of Winter Waterfalls

This blog is a couple of days late, but with the near zero weather, I think it is still very relevant. Just before I left to come back to Georgia on Sunday, I went on a short hike to the Clark's Creek Managment Area just inside Unicoi County off TN 107 (Erwin Highway). It was actually two short hikes that added up to about 3 miles. The first via the Longarm Branch Trail was to Pine Ridge Falls.

An icy Pine Ridge Falls.

The hike was the idea of my old friend Glen Yelton. He had been sick over the Holidays, so we had not been able to hit the trail for the fortnight I was in Tennessee. On Saturday, I thought about going to Pinnacle Mountain and hike to the fire tower. However, Glen sent me a text and said he was feeling better and wanted to do a short hike, so how could I say no. Anyway, I must give a big thanks to him. The hike might have been shorter than normal, but the beauty of these icy falls (the pictures don't do them justice) was just awesome!

What was interesting that on the way up the Erwin Highway there was hardly any snow anywhere.

Just outside the management area.

Even the snow that had blanked the Bald Mountains just the day before was now almost unnoticeable.

Snow capped Camp Creek Bald on Friday.

So, when we got to the first trailhead I don't think the temperature had yet reached 20 degrees. With this backdrop the trail was like the Christmas song "Walking in a winter wonderland." The cold temperatures had also turned any rocks with water into frozen flows of icicles.

Wall of ice.

Beautiful icicles.

A course, with snow and ice there was also another favorite winter favorite of mine a creek crossing.

Showing how not to try & fall into an ice cold stream.

One of the things about these crossing is that in the summer if you fall into a stream or creek you get wet in the winter you get hypothermia. However, this was by no means even in the same ballpark as the number of crossings on the Squibb Creek Trail that we did back at Thanksgiving.

One of the 16 creek crossing (32 both ways) on the trail to Squibb Creek Falls.

Icy Squibb Creek Falls, but not even close to the ice on my latest outing.

While Pine Ridge Falls were nice it was just the warm-up (pardon the pun). We next went to the trailhead for both the north and south portions of the Sill Branch Trail.

Sill Branch Trailhead.

The trail splits at about .25 miles and the trail we took was the north trail to the Sill Branch Falls.

Sign for the north trail.

The one creek crossing was at the start of the trail, Another hazzard that comes with crossing this time of year happens when you put a foot on a rock and it is fine. Then the next guy comes along and finds a rock coated in black ice. So kids be careful those rocks can be slick.

Glen hopes that rock doesn't have black ice.

When we finally got to the Sill Branch Falls it was a winter post card.

The partially frozen Sill Branch Falls.

While not the biggest or tallest falls, it was beautiful and one of the reasons I like going out in the winter time. One thing I found interesting was it looks like at the base of the falls a glacier was forming. The snow was at least 6 inches thick and one could stand on it.

Standing on the mini-glacier at the base of the falls (I am off the bank).

A frozen pool on Sill Branch.

So, overall it was a nice end wind down my Holiday in Tennessee. To get to Sill Branch Falls from Greeneville, take TN 107 (Erwin Highway) east for approximately 15 miles. Turn right onto Clark Creek (FS 25). Drive approximately 3 miles and the trailhead will be on left. The trailhead for Pine Ridge Falls is another quarter of a mile down FS 25. For more pictures check out my Facebook photos.