Slave Falls, Needle Arch and Mill Creek Arch Hike

Tiny mushroom growing on a hemlock tree in Big South Fork

Maple Hill RV Park Camping Trip Day  2

Sunday June 23, 2019

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Sharon McGee

John Ungerer

Total Round Trip Hike Distance 4.4 miles Easy

Slave Falls Hike Photos start with frame 81

    We woke Sunday morning to a weather report filled with the same type weather we'd had Friday and Saturday.  It wasn't going to be a total bust, but it is too expensive to rent a pontoon boat only to have a day of thunderstorms mess it up.   We talked to our friends and decided we'd wait til another time for that.    We chose instead to hike to Slave Falls.  It is another one of those well known hikes I'd see reports on from others, but for whatever reason had kept putting  on the back burner.    I think sometimes I value the obscure to the point of excluding

some awesome trips to known places.   I don't want to miss the treat of hiking to these places just because they seem trite.    I talked to John on the phone to work out details.  They would just meet us at the campground since the hike was over this direction.   I asked them to bring their Big South Fork hiking guide book and map.  I had not planned on this to start so I was not prepared.  

     I sat down as I try to always do and did some digging on Tennessee Landforms.  

I knew there were some neat arches in the vicinity of Slave Falls.   I did a quick internet search for directions I could review.  I found a gem I'd read once before. Ben Garrett is a journalist for the Oneida Independent Herald.   I read his article about Hike of the Week--Slave Falls.  

It was a promotional piece for the Big South Fork's Go Big Challenge.   I love his writing and the places he goes.  He is a man after my own heart.   

      We met up at Maple Hill and piled into one vehicle to go to the trailhead.   John had mentioned to us that The Hitching Post, a local convenience store and eatery had changed hands.  It was now an eats only establishment.  Gone were the wooden Indian and the wooden cowboy.    Gone was the pool table.   He said it was nice and we should stop to see it.  So we did just that on our way. We turned aside for a short trip down SR 297 to see it.   We arrived at 11:15 a.m. to find the hours on the door posted 7 a.m. to 11 a.m on Sundays.   Sharon ran in to see if they were still open. They were and they allowed us to come in to buy baked goods and have a look at the make over.  I like it! It is neat, clean and casual yet professional. It is now a real business instead of looking like someone's TV room at home.   The juke box still stands in the corner!  We were treated to assorted baked goods by John. I had some banana bread. All desserts and goodies homemade!    That lady sure can cook and bake.  Already looking forward to going back when we can have a proper meal and fire up the jukebox!  

            We continued out Divide Road toward the Sawmill trailhead for Slave Falls loop hike.

I had found that we should be able to see two nice arches along with the falls.    Needle Arch is a known feature and marked on a spur trail sign.  Mill Creek Arch is another 200 yards past it and not mentioned in any guidebook or article I've ever seen.     We parked and set off on our hike.    We saw only a few other groups of people all morning though this is a popular hike. 

John recalled on the way to the trailhead that they had done this hiked before.  Sharon did not remember it.  I asked if they minded the repeat trip and they did not.    

    Above: The forest floor at the start of the Slave Falls hike

Below:  Interesting shaped old tree stump. 

The forest was fresh and green and cool this morning.   The trail ran with water.  The start of the hike was a water course over what looked like broken terra cotta pot pieces!   The trail is rated easy. It only has fifty feet elevation change over the course of it.   The sun shone down through the trees in the deep hemlock forest gloom.   It illuminated the streams and the huge leaves of the big leaf magnolia trees.  We were awed by the quiet beauty of the forest today.

Stumps twisted into crazy shapes were coated with moss.   We hadn't gone far until we began to see mountain camellia blooms.   We saw loads of ripe blueberries on the hike out. We sampled them finding them good and tart.    Rosebay rhododendron's pink and white blossoms decorated the sides of the trail.   We saw one little garter snake today. 

Above: John's walking stick near the garter snake. 

Below: A small stream flows through the forest along the hike

Below: John gazing at the surrounding forest.

Below: Sharon checking things out along the trail

Below: Rosebay Rhododendron blooms

Below: mountain camellia blossom

Below: A pretty vista along the hike to Slave Falls.  

   It seemed like the hike passed quickly, and we came upon a spot near the bluff edge. We could hear water roaring.  We were already at the brink of Slave Falls.  We walked out a side path to the top of the falls, but could see nothing.   We continued a bit further and found the spur trail down to the view of Slave Falls.     It was a little slippery, but gradual descent.  We walked along some very interesting 

rock shelters on the spur trail to the falls.    Leisegang rings were seen here in lots of places on the cliffs.   I read a sign there that finally put into language I could understand a bit of how these form.

The cliffs are sandstone with a resistant cap rock of harder sandstone.   The streams weather them and cut into them.  Inside the cliffs are veins of iron oxide that form these rings within the rock.

As the rock is worn away the harder veins of iron oxide and the rings are exposed.  That is why some of them are not just rings on the surface of the rock, but tubes!  The rock has worn away enough to reveal the three dimensional shape of the vein of minerals in it.    

Below: an example of Leisegang weathering. The rusty color is because of the iron oxide.  

     Below: What is wrong with this picture??  I took this picture for two reasons.  1.  it is a pretty scene with the mist of water dripping and the advection fog. 2.  The massive log dangling from the cliff!!  Horrors if that thing ever turns loose! 

              

   Below: Same photo with the gap between the ground and the tree highlighted!  

Below: This is the scene we saw when we first arrived at the rock shelter we walked along.  The mist is thick here!  The photo is unretouched.   This is how it was!

    We had to go down a good bit to get a full view of the entire sixty foot drop of Slave Falls. It was pretty than any photos I've seen.  We had caught it after those rains so the water flow was excellent.  The bowl it sits in was bright with green plants.  Kenny pointed up to a tree growing on the brink.

It looked like from one angle it just curves and grows upward.  Walking down further you can see it is a corkscrew shape!  Craziest thing I've seen.    

Below are two photos of the corkscrew hemlock!

View of the curly hemlock from another angle!

Above: Slave Falls top part

Below: Bottom part of Slave Falls. I had trouble getting it all in the photo at once

Below is a video of Slave Falls

   We enjoyed the falls beauty and the cool mist blowing off it.    We finally trudged back up the bank to the main trail.  We hiked the additional 0.2 miles out to see Needle Arch next.   It was really pretty.



   Above: Needle Arch and below another vantage point of Needle Arch 35'x 13'



Next we pressed another 200 yards to see Mill Creek Arch.  It was not signed though the trail from Needle Arch continued.    We simply followed it out. It went slightly around a bend and downward and there we were.   It was a more interesting arch in my opinion than Needle Arch.  It is apparently a younger arch that has not formed as fully into the typical arch seen.   It has two gigantic holes bored into it by weathering and another eye shaped hole through it like a sky light.

Below are a couple photos of Mill Creek Arch 20' x 13' 

Below: Holes in Mill Creek Arch that look like a pair of eye sockets

Below: Looking up through the sky light in the arch 2 views



A view of the eye through the Mill Creek Arch.   Many different potential photo compositions here.



   Below is a video combining Needle Arch and Mill Creek Arches.  It is easier to get an idea of what these places are like through a video.


     We took our time at each arch and enjoyed checking them out.   More than worth the little extra walking to see them.  It had grown hot so when we got back to the turn for the loop hike we chose to make this an out and back.  It would have been longer the other way. We were sweaty and wanting to get out of here.    It is worth mentioning that the trail continued on past Mill Creek Arch.  We could hear water below us on the way to that arch.   We all remarked about wondering what was there?
We finished up our hike and went home to get cleaned up. We later went over to Woo Hoo Holler and spent the evening conversing with John and Sharon.  We had lots of laughs and interesting talks.
I finally got a chance to spoil them a little with some home cooking.  I enjoy cooking for people especially the folks I love.   They are dear to me.   We had grilled New York strip that Kenny and John fixed on the grill outdoors.  Sharon made salad, tea and baked sweet potatoes.  I prepared broiled salmon with balsamic glaze, baked potatoes, steamed green beans and corn on the cob.
Watermelon or pound cake for dessert.  Yummy!

   I went home and did my usual post hike checking.  This will hopefully result in a return trip.
There may be additional falls and cascades below Slave Falls on Mill Creek and its tributary.
There are for sure three additional arches worth a visit. They are about half mile further.  I don't know if that will be full blown bushwhacking or only partly off trail.    Winter would be the time for that type exploration or a cooler day in Autumn after we've had some good rain to make it worth going.

Here is a link to the Tennessee Landforms Map that has all the arches in red dots below
Slave Falls.  Golden Arches, Cathedral Arch and Sky High arches would be worth the additional walk.


   Directions to Slave Falls and Needle and Mill Creek Arches

Driving Directions to Trailhead 

From the Intersection of Hwy 154 (Pickett Pkwy) and  SR 297 (Leatherwood Ford Rd.)
Travel north on Hwy 154 for 1.80 miles and turn RIGHT onto Divide Road
Drive 1 mile on Divide Road and turn RIGHT onto Fork Ridge Road
Drive 1 more mile to Sawmill Trailhead on the left

Hiking Directions

From Sawmill Trailhead 
Hike along the trail for 0.80 miles to the spur trail for Slave Falls which is signed.
You will have crossed a small footbridge to reach it 
Turn left on the spur trail and hike 100 yards to the falls. Return the way you came to the main trail.  To continue and see Needle Arch turn left once on the main trail and hike 0.20 miles out to see it.  It is also signed.   Once at Needle Arch to continue to see Mill Creek Arch 
the trail you were on continues and is obvious though unsigned.  For those who use GPS devices
the waypoint for Mill Creek Arch is   36.530760,-84.761910 (Click the waypoint for a link to the Tennessee Landforms Page of info)
It is a mere 200 yards further to Mill Creek Arch from Needle Arch. 

Return to the main trail by Slave Falls the way you came.

Once back on the main trail and past the turn for Slave Falls spur trail
You will finally come to a left turn that marks where you can either go left and have a loop hike coming out at the same parking area. You can see Indian Rock house on this 
The Loop hike  actually crosses over Fork Ridge Road.   If you want a shorter hike you can go back the way you came by staying straight. 

Porta potty Restrooms are available at the Sawmill Trailhead for Slave Falls.  Parking is ample.  Dogs are allowed on a leash. 

Below is a photo of the bridge you cross before Slave Falls
Kenny in front and Sharon coming along behind him.