Very pretty shade of Sweet Betsy Trillium
Maple Hill Campground --First Camping Trip of 2020-
Part 2
Thursday April 23, 2020 thru Sat. April 25, 2020
Kenny & Dana Koogler
(During Corona virus pandemic 2020
with social distancing in place)
Click arrow to right to advance photos
Album is combo of various trips.
Skinner Mountain Pix
Below: Synandra blooming in the bottom of the cane
We passed what I call the hog pen. It was some sort of lean to on the side of the trail. It has finally collapsed. It never was in great shape, but it is done for!
I also saw a couple wild hyacinths blooming down here. That was a new one. I have found these before on Brady Mountain.
Below: a pair of wild hyacinth blooms.
Prairie trillium
Trillium luteum
Dwarf larkspur
I told Kenny this liable to be my last hoorah with the Spring wildflowers so I was going to take my time and waller. I got out and waded through them.
Above: white violets
Below: a cluster of fading trilliums, dwarf larkspur and yellow trilliums
I stood soaking in the beauty of these delicate "Come by Once a year flowers".
I stopped and stood stock still and closed my eyes. I heard something.
I asked Kenny "What is that I hear? Is that wind through the trees or is it water?"
We were past the point where the water from Frank's Flume enters a swallet. No water close by that we knew of. He listened with me. It was water! We both headed in the direction of the sound. About 100 yards from where we'd been we ran upon a neat sight. In the forest in a spot we'd never checked out... was yet another falls and a cave! And what a cave!
Pit cave we found
Above: It is slick near the edge and you cannot see the bottom. Kenny held onto me so I could lean out and glance down. Neither of us can see bottom.
Delicate strands of water
another vantage point that shows better the shape of the cave
Above: this lump of rock and moss sits above this waterfall off to one side
Just when we think we've got it all figured out... there is more.
Below is a video of this pit cave. Counting Frank's Flume we've found a total of 10 waterfalls in here. Some of them do not flow year round.
We got up on Friday morning and were eager to get going. We'd decided on a visit to Buffalo Cave and Deer Gap Falls. I was hoping for good wildflowers down in there. The weather was spotty rain. We figured we'd do something close to the campground in case the forecast was right. We could take a break and come back to base and get warm and dry. We parked at the old log yard and drove the RZR round to the area of the cave. The scenery down in there was pretty, but I was disappointed almost immediately. I could tell that the wildflowers were way past peak at this elevation. The rain had demolished what was left of them. It made me feel so disgusted. We looked around a little bit, and finally I told Kenny the truth of how I felt. I told him I felt like we needed to go elsewhere because this was just bringing me down. He agreed and within less than half hour we headed back to the truck. Things were a little tense.
I made sure to tell him I was not angry, but I would be lying if I said I was happy with our choice. I just wanted a do over. He relaxed then and we tried to figure what was next.
Lots of wet weather cascades coming down the hollers
Purple phacelia still blooming atop a boulder
Scenery still pretty, but not many flowers
Wet, muddy, rocky and green. Tons of ferns!
Prettiest flower was found by the road.. hoary puccoon
Kenny wanted to ride down into the old quarry area across the road before we left. I was glad we did. It satisfied his curiosity about a spot he'd long wanted to check out. It does have a little bit of water at the far edge, but as quarries go it is not much on scenery. I did see one neat wet weather waterfall and stopped to check it out. Another pretty spot on the way out was a spring fed pond I'd never noticed before.
Below: Spring pond
Above: Wet weather falls at the old quarry
I made sure to tell him I was not angry, but I would be lying if I said I was happy with our choice. I just wanted a do over. He relaxed then and we tried to figure what was next.
Kenny wanted to ride down into the old quarry area across the road before we left. I was glad we did. It satisfied his curiosity about a spot he'd long wanted to check out. It does have a little bit of water at the far edge, but as quarries go it is not much on scenery. I did see one neat wet weather waterfall and stopped to check it out. Another pretty spot on the way out was a spring fed pond I'd never noticed before.
Below: Spring pond
Re-Grouping and Trying Plan B
I felt like a black cloud had settled over my soul. I was not my usual cheerful self. I decided the best thing to do was at least go someplace that the scenery would be interesting, quiet and pretty. Do something we'd been wanting to do or finish. If the wildflowers were there..... that would be bonus. I didn't hold out a lot of hope at this point. I did not want to set myself up for disappointment.
I had a flash of inspiration. "Why not go round to Lost Cane and come in from the top? Above Frank's Flume!" Kenny's eyes lit up. "Good idea. While you look around at wildflowers and follow the creek upstream.. I can be seeing about making a connection between there and the opposite trail!" The way things stood at present.. the connector trail was badly overgrown and so washed out and eroded it was unusable.
We parked at the same spot as yesterday along Manson Road and headed out. We'd made a loop yesterday. We had no idea when we set out what a fun and exciting turn the day was going to take.
We went into Lost Cane from the trail near the top. It is very pretty, but very rough. We had to clear it to open it up the first time. Once at the stream we tried going down to Frank's Flume, but there was no way to do it from there. The stream itself presents an obstacle with deep holes of water, tight turns, and a ten foot waterfall plus more cascades below that. The former trail is visible on the opposite side of the stream, but it was so washed out it was unusable. Kenny looked discouraged now. "Drive in the creek for a short way then go up over that bank." He grinned. Yes! That would work. I went to follow the creek upstream as I had wanted to do. He set about trying to clear a connector path between the regular trail on the far side and the stream.
Above and below: Kenny clearing trail with the chainsaw
Above: Part of the trail looks good and wide open. There are a couple bad places on it where it is so eroded it is almost impassable.
Above: I wandered upstream about 0.20 miles. It was beautiful and flat. I'd like to follow the stream to its source, but that was not for today.
We went into Lost Cane from the trail near the top. It is very pretty, but very rough. We had to clear it to open it up the first time. Once at the stream we tried going down to Frank's Flume, but there was no way to do it from there. The stream itself presents an obstacle with deep holes of water, tight turns, and a ten foot waterfall plus more cascades below that. The former trail is visible on the opposite side of the stream, but it was so washed out it was unusable. Kenny looked discouraged now. "Drive in the creek for a short way then go up over that bank." He grinned. Yes! That would work. I went to follow the creek upstream as I had wanted to do. He set about trying to clear a connector path between the regular trail on the far side and the stream.
Above: a beautiful trillium trio. Sweet Betsy, Yellow trillium and pink trillium
Above: Tree trunk covered in stone crop and moss
Cluster of bright pink trilliums
Above: Shimmering creek in the green woods
Above: Dwarf crested iris cluster
I finally turned around and worked my way back toward Kenny and the connector trail. I forded the creek where it was flat and shallow. It was slick as snot. Once across he had to show me his handiwork. He'd done a nice job clearing a trail for us to make some progress out of here. It was very cool. In a few hundred feet we hit the main trail. One end went out and connected with a huge mess of mudholes at the back of Skinner Mountain. It was a huge black, slimy mess. We saw what appeared to be a former driveway cutting in off this section. Down in the bottom we could tell the stream made a turn and seemed to come down from a holler. Winter time or very early Spring would be the appropriate time to make that hunt. It would satisfy my curiosity to know if this stream is just the product of a myriad little headwater springs or if it comes out of a cave somewhere in the mountainside?
Back on the main trail that leads paralellel and back down to Frank's Flume.. I made him stop for me to hunt the old house site I'd seen on the map. I could have sworn in the past I saw below us what was left of an old structure.
Before long a clump of paper white narcissus appeared by the trail. Those were planted by someone long ago. We stopped. I walked out into the woods and sure enough there it was! We'd found it. It was the tater hole, the retaining wall, a crumbling chimney pile of rocks, and a few pieces of "pioneer junk". What was left of a wash tub and a bucket. I'd love to known who lived there in the past.
Our late friend Ed Choate's people were from this area so I'm betting it was some Hoods or Choates.
Below: Kenny standing above the retaining wall of the old house
Above: The trail is very muddy, but it is open
above: clump of paper white narcissus that gave away the location of the house site. Seeing these things in the woods usually means former human occupation.
Above: Tater hole that sat beneath the house.
Above: crumbling pile of rock is all that's left of the house foundation and chimney
I finally turned around and worked my way back toward Kenny and the connector trail. I forded the creek where it was flat and shallow. It was slick as snot. Once across he had to show me his handiwork. He'd done a nice job clearing a trail for us to make some progress out of here. It was very cool. In a few hundred feet we hit the main trail. One end went out and connected with a huge mess of mudholes at the back of Skinner Mountain. It was a huge black, slimy mess. We saw what appeared to be a former driveway cutting in off this section. Down in the bottom we could tell the stream made a turn and seemed to come down from a holler. Winter time or very early Spring would be the appropriate time to make that hunt. It would satisfy my curiosity to know if this stream is just the product of a myriad little headwater springs or if it comes out of a cave somewhere in the mountainside?
Back on the main trail that leads paralellel and back down to Frank's Flume.. I made him stop for me to hunt the old house site I'd seen on the map. I could have sworn in the past I saw below us what was left of an old structure.
Before long a clump of paper white narcissus appeared by the trail. Those were planted by someone long ago. We stopped. I walked out into the woods and sure enough there it was! We'd found it. It was the tater hole, the retaining wall, a crumbling chimney pile of rocks, and a few pieces of "pioneer junk". What was left of a wash tub and a bucket. I'd love to known who lived there in the past.
Our late friend Ed Choate's people were from this area so I'm betting it was some Hoods or Choates.
Below: Kenny standing above the retaining wall of the old house
Above: rusted out bucket in the woods near the old home.
We continued along the trail which would lead us back down to Frank's Flume. It had been a long time since I had done this. I recalled one afternoon we tried to find this and ended up taking a wrong turn that resulted in a cussing match that won't soon be forgot! Today we found our way no problem. Until we arrived at the top of the path on the slope that goes down to the flume.
It has gotten really eroded from use. It was slippery from rain. The margin for error here was slim. A wrong move that would roll you to the left would result in a fall thirty feet to the bottom of the bank. A brake failure here would have you sailing down off the bluff and into the flume. Kenny had me get out and buckled his seat belt. I was able to reach the winch and thank goodness for it. He started feeding it out to me with the switch. Had it not been for that I'd have slid down the bank. Hard to get a purchase on the slick mud. I was finally able to make my way over to a tree and loop the winch cable around it and hook it.
I got out of the way and Kenny was able to use the leverage to tug the RZR to keep it from going over the bank. Once he was positioned better he had me unhook the cable and throw it down the bank. He then reeled it in and continued to the bottom. I picked my way down the steep bank in the woods. At least in the forest leaf litter it was not slick!
Above: I am looking back up the slick, steep trail. It doesn't look bad from here. The photos never do it justice.
Below: Frank's Flume. A cave with water shooting out. above this the stream had gone completely subterranean.
Below is a short video of Frank's Flume
Above: wild geranium
Above: rocks covered in moss and stonecrop and surrounded by foam flowers and geraniums.
Once we'd collected our wits we continued down the trail toward Lost Cane's center. The ride through this area was very pretty. I remembered that last time through here I saw some side hollows that had waterfalls. Today they were still there, but they were barely flowing. I began to see more and more wildflowers. The sun was coming out brightly. The woods were warming up and drying off. Wildflowers sodden with rain were trying to rally. Before long I was completely, stupidly enthralled in the whole experience.
Above: Whole mess of southern red trilliums peeping round the woods
I did not see any of the white form of these where I'd previously seen them. I did find one in a new spot.
We continued along the trail which would lead us back down to Frank's Flume. It had been a long time since I had done this. I recalled one afternoon we tried to find this and ended up taking a wrong turn that resulted in a cussing match that won't soon be forgot! Today we found our way no problem. Until we arrived at the top of the path on the slope that goes down to the flume.
It has gotten really eroded from use. It was slippery from rain. The margin for error here was slim. A wrong move that would roll you to the left would result in a fall thirty feet to the bottom of the bank. A brake failure here would have you sailing down off the bluff and into the flume. Kenny had me get out and buckled his seat belt. I was able to reach the winch and thank goodness for it. He started feeding it out to me with the switch. Had it not been for that I'd have slid down the bank. Hard to get a purchase on the slick mud. I was finally able to make my way over to a tree and loop the winch cable around it and hook it.
I got out of the way and Kenny was able to use the leverage to tug the RZR to keep it from going over the bank. Once he was positioned better he had me unhook the cable and throw it down the bank. He then reeled it in and continued to the bottom. I picked my way down the steep bank in the woods. At least in the forest leaf litter it was not slick!
Once we'd collected our wits we continued down the trail toward Lost Cane's center. The ride through this area was very pretty. I remembered that last time through here I saw some side hollows that had waterfalls. Today they were still there, but they were barely flowing. I began to see more and more wildflowers. The sun was coming out brightly. The woods were warming up and drying off. Wildflowers sodden with rain were trying to rally. Before long I was completely, stupidly enthralled in the whole experience.
I did not see any of the white form of these where I'd previously seen them. I did find one in a new spot.
Below: one lonely little white southern trillium (Trillium sulcatum) it is all chewed up by something
We passed what I call the hog pen. It was some sort of lean to on the side of the trail. It has finally collapsed. It never was in great shape, but it is done for!
I also saw a couple wild hyacinths blooming down here. That was a new one. I have found these before on Brady Mountain.
I told Kenny this liable to be my last hoorah with the Spring wildflowers so I was going to take my time and waller. I got out and waded through them.
Below: a cluster of fading trilliums, dwarf larkspur and yellow trilliums
I stood soaking in the beauty of these delicate "Come by Once a year flowers".
I stopped and stood stock still and closed my eyes. I heard something.
I asked Kenny "What is that I hear? Is that wind through the trees or is it water?"
We were past the point where the water from Frank's Flume enters a swallet. No water close by that we knew of. He listened with me. It was water! We both headed in the direction of the sound. About 100 yards from where we'd been we ran upon a neat sight. In the forest in a spot we'd never checked out... was yet another falls and a cave! And what a cave!
Below is a video of this pit cave. Counting Frank's Flume we've found a total of 10 waterfalls in here. Some of them do not flow year round.
We delighted in our new find, but with more to go and daylight burning we made ourselves push onward. We planned on going down Lost Cane to see the waterfall we found last Spring. We'd then go on to the trail below it that turns and goes up the mountain to meet the main trail on top. I had never ridden that one except for a tiny little bit at the bottom. We'd go across the top of the mountain heading west and pick a trail to take us down to Manson Road again.
We kept our eyes peeled for the little hollow on the left that last Spring's waterfall emerges from. We finally came upon it. We parked and got out to walk up and see it. It was even prettier than last Spring with a little more water coming over it. The water comes out of a cave up top and flows then percolates into the ground. No dramatic swallet here. Just osmosis.
Below is a video of the falls
Once we'd had our fill of checking out this falls we carefully picked our way down the slope and the rocky, muddy creek bed toward the RZR. I was thinking to myself on the way down "You know we've been lucky. We've not seen the first snake today." I was watching for them because I knew they were out as warm as it has gotten. I no more got to the bottom where I could see Kenny when he went to hooting and hollering. Whoa! He was clutching at himself and waving at me. I knew he'd run upon something bad. Sure enough.. he came within inches of stepping on a nice fat rattlesnake. He backed off quickly and with that we were past ready to get in the RZR and head out!
Bottom one to show a closer view of him. He has a lump in him where he ate something recently! Between digesting and this morning's cold he was very docile. Never even buzzed.
Down the trail we continued through massive clumps of briars that overhang the trail. I was just sure a big snake was going to drop out of them into the RZR.
dang! We had one spot that was tricky to get around, but we made it. Another very eroded section of trail. Finally we arrived at the left turn that takes you up a steep trail back to the top of the mountain. At last I'd get to see the whole thing for myself. It was very cool. It was rough, but exciting. Going up something that steep and that long it feels like the earth is falling away behind you. To our right I could see down into a deep rocky hollow.
Finally we came to a smooth part and just leisurely puttered along through the woods. We came to a spot I just wanted to see a tiny cascade was all it was, but the ditch in front of it was impressive! More than a foot deep and someone had placed half a log in it for a trough for the water. It is possible to get through or around, but the trail will need work in the future. While we were stopped I saw something for the first time... a baby walkingstick!
I lifted baby walkingstick safely down to a plant in the woods where he'd not get hurt. We pressed onward. The drive across the summit on the main trail was muddy but pretty. The sun was warm and the light dappled coming in through the trees. We arrived at last at the big intersection. Kenny slowed down to ponder for a moment. I said "Let's take the far right one. It goes down to Manson Road and we've not been on it in a LONG time!" So that is what we did.
This turned out to be an excellent little twist to our day. The trail passes interesting rock formations coated in lichen. It then got down to a point where we were not exactly sure where we were heading? Kenny had a little cell phone signal so he was able to look at a satellite view and figure out we were heading toward Hwy 52 and civilization. We were ok. We just hoped after all this rugged trail we did not encounter a gate and have to turn round and find another way out. Luck was with us though. We could see a field in the distance. We approached it not sure what was going to come of it. No gates barring the way. Instead we popped out of the briars and weeds about a quarter mile down the road from where we parked! We had noticed this spot on the way in as a potential place to pull over and park.
Right across from us some folks were just getting home from the store.
Kenny said ""Let's go over here and ask them about this waterfall on Big Indian Creek?" We pulled over to speak to them. I asked the lady of the house did they own the property where the waterfall sat. She indicated no that the next house up did. She said the owner was not so concerned about people visiting and probably did not mind. He was more worried about the fact the road has a formerly county built bridge on it that he now owns and is responsible for. He fears someone getting hurt and suing him. She suggested we park at the end of their lawn and walk down there to see the falls so we thanked her and took her up on it. The property owner has not cleaned up 100% of the trash formerly dumped near the falls, but about 90% of it is gone! It looks much better. The gate is keeping folks from partying there and trashing the place.
We passed another spring on our right. We looked across the high grass of the meadow and could see yet another one gushing out of the bank! We walked down to see the waterfall which was the icing on the cake today. Our day was a memorable one for sure. It started off rough, but ended on a great note.
Below: Kenny strolling down the lane to the falls
Above: yet another spring rigged up near the falls
Below is a video of the falls on Big Indian Creek
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