Colorful leaves along the banks of Lake Apalachia
Anniversary Trip-- Exploring Apalachia Lake for Waterfalls & a Gourmet Picnic
Kenny & Dana Koogler
36th Wedding Anniversary Trip
Married Saturday November 10, 1984 at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church
in Steeles Tavern, Virginia by the Rev. Russell Fleming
Saturday Nov. 14, 2020
Pictures are here : Exploring Doc Rogers Country
(visitor center building is currently closed for repairs. restrooms are not available there right now)
(This boat ramp makes for an easy access paddle to North Shoal Creek Falls, Baine Branch Cascade, Hamby Branch Cascade)
Just in case... the map link fails the waypoint for it is
35.17950 -84.24742
and below is a map embedded that shows the boat ramp location and the falls
***Edited to Add an Important Warning--Nov. 21, 2020.. I got word from a reader, "Nighthawk" who warns of a bad experience from parking at this boat access. Had the fuel filler hose cut and the gas siphoned from the truck while out on the lake. It was reported to the Cherokee County Sheriff's office. Use caution and go warned when and if you park there. ***
I usually have a list as long as your arm of places I want to go and trips I want to take. Lately I have recognized a pattern in my life. I grow frustrated when I look back at my lists and find :
- How many of these places I never make it to
- How often I go to a place and find it not fun
Another pattern I recognized at last is how many times for special occasions
- I think we need to do something different than what we usually do
- We do something different only to find it stuffy and awkward
- We do something different only to be disappointed
Kenny relies on me to be the event planner, but he has a very bossy personality.
I decided that my deference to his bossiness and his expectations of me were clashing. It was time for me to take the reins and be the bossy one for a change.
Time to break the patterns we seemed mired in. I sat down and looked over my wish list of outings with an eye toward this. I thought which of these things on the list is the most interesting to me? Which one am I going to be most disappointed in if I don't get to do it? I settled on making it across Apalachia Lake this year to explore and hunt for some waterfalls was the best choice. We could fit in one last canoe trip this year. I could scratch that off the list. We had found a place to put in the canoe on our trip down there to North Shoal Creek Falls! I decided we'd best take advantage of that fact and act on it.
I spoke to Kenny and he was game for that plan. He'd been feeling pressured by work. His jobs were running late on Fridays and starting on Mondays. He'd feel less pressured if it was merely a day trip. With that settled I put my mind to making the adventure more festive. It was for our 36th Wedding anniversary so it should be special. We had thought of going to Murphy afterwards to eat at one of two restaurants we'd been wanting to try. I thought of my aversion to eating out and all the limitations and disappointments brought by the covid restrictions. I thought about how often we are too dirty to feel comfortable going in some place fancy after scraping around in the woods.
I hit upon a plan. I'd make us a gourmet picnic/cookout. It would be pull out all the stops. I had been wanting to write about great places to have a picnic post corona virus. An update of sorts to a blog piece I wrote years ago that was well received. We could make this event part of a larger plan. Possibly benefit others into the bargain. I made up my mind I was NOT going to forget to tell my friend Michael Shannon about the boater access we'd found. I had promised him years earlier I'd pass anything like that along. I was going to keep my word.
I figured after looking into the dining options in Murphy and knowing there were plenty of picnic grounds that I knew would be open... I could probably fix us something that would not be too involved, but would be delicious. Fields of the Wood was one of the places we wanted to try. The mountain top has a glorious view and numerous tables and seldom anyone around. That was the original plan.
I decided to put enough into the planning and execution that there would be no regrets or disappointments this time. It was high time for a new tradition.
Our actual anniversary was Nov. 10, 1984.. so this year it hit on a Tuesday.
Kenny was working out of town for three days so the celebration would have to wait. It gave me plenty of time for the planning so it would be a nice surprise.
Friday evening after supper we sat down to relax together and catch up on the doings of the week. I decided I'd let him in on the plan so as not to mess anything up by our wires getting crossed. Once I outlined my plan for us I loved the expression on his face. He was in total agreement and very pleasantly surprised.
He said that sounds great to me! I let him sleep in on Saturday morning seeing as how he doesn't get to through the week. We got going around 9:45 a.m. which was not bad.
The day was not too cold, but I wore a jacket just in case. I wore shorts and a t shirt, since I am hot natured. I knew it was supposed to warm to around 66 °.
The drive down was uneventful. Shulers Creek Road is a pretty drive as is Hwy 68. We approached from the Farner, Tennessee side. We had no problem finding the put in we'd discovered two weeks earlier. It was a steep son of a gun, but pretty much the entire lake is steep sided so that was expected.
We got the canoe put in without anyone falling into the lake. The sun was shining and the skies were blue except for a few contrails of airplanes. A little lingering Autumn color lined the lake. I plugged in the coordinates on the GPS to guide us across the lake to Baine Branch to find a cascade. I knew which way we were going, and said "We need to head southwest. but I had to take a minute to orient Kenny. He exclaimed "We don't know what way is north!" I whipped out my compass and within 10 seconds showed him and I swear he looked a little disappointed that I had "ruined his ponder". He didn't have to spend any time ciphering it out.
I am always nervous about the canoe or any water craft with him in it.
I am just waiting for the thing to turn over dumping us in the water. He is too big for a canoe. He cannot sit still either. Too squirmy. We're going to have to sell the canoe and get either a john boat with a flat bottom or an inexpensive pontoon.
The lake waters swished by and we kept an eye out for which cove we needed to turn into to find Baine Branch. You can see a few houses along the shore of Apalachia Lake, but I cannot tell how many of them are occupied as primary residences and how many are merely rental cabins or get away homes.
We saw a few other folks out on the water fishing. We hoped we weren't going to be thwarted by finding a house or no trespassing signs or the like to bar our visit to the falls. We needn't have worried. By the time we got round to the holler Baine Branch sits in... no more houses. 
Above are three shots taken of the approach to Baine Branch. Beautiful Fall colors!
We pulled into the cove and there it was! Visible easily from the lake. You can hear it before you see it. It wasn't as high flow as the one and only photo I'd ever seen of it, but it was running so so. I had long waited for this and I was going to see it through. 
We were able to beach the canoe without anyone falling in. Though Baine Branch Cascade is only 200 feet from the lake shore as the crow flies.. there is no trail of any kind. You get out and immediately begin the waller through the rhodo and briers. You can see right off that the area has taken a hard hit or two or three from storms bringing down trees. Yet, many dead pine tree still stand.
Reaching the falls required us to flail around in the brush working our way out from the creek and then back toward it. Over and under logs. Snagging on briers and brambles. I was very glad the vegetation is dying back and it is cold enough the snakes are either sleeping or have slowed down.
Below: You can just barely make out Kenny's orange trucker hat and his navy blue shirt in the center of the photo. This area looks pretty clear compared to what we had to crawl through. 
I stopped to admire one of my favorite types of Fall trees. A big glittering copper beech tree. It was the prettiest one I've seen this year. Maybe ever. It was bright and beautiful.
Above: vertically oriented photo of my pretty copper beech tree.
It proved a good beacon for making our way back to the spot where we started off! Hard to miss this bright flag in the woods!
Below is a horizontally oriented photo of the same tree. I am using this photo as a screen saver on my computer these days.
I was finally able to get back to within hearing distance of the creek. Once there I could see the only way I was going to take a photo of that falls was to get right in the creek and stand. I was glad I had my water shoes on despite my feet and legs getting muddy and scratched up. Getting into the creek through the wall of rhododendron and downed trees and the mat of debris and sticks proved interesting. I had to take my time and test each step. Finally I was in the stream. Baine Branch is not a real spectacular falls. It would be more worthwhile during higher volume flow, but I really put myself through it to get this pitiful shot of a lack luster falls. It was satisfying to me though to finally see it for myself.
I can't say I was disappointed. The falls exists and I had visited it. If I never come back... it is ok, but in the future if you go hunt it up... you should be able to make a decision based upon what you can see from the lake whether you want to jump through hoops to get closer. During high flow.. yes! I'd do it. Any future trips that were low flow you can see it better from the lake than you can from up close.
The holler above it framed the falls with deep green rhodo and a few colorful fall leaves. The sun filtered down over the forest and despite the mundane looking falls....... I was happy.
Above and below... the setting for the Falls was prettier than the falls itself.
Below is a video of Baine Branch Cascade and the beauty of the forest around it.
We did not tarry too long here. My feet were growing cold and beginning to hurt a little from standing in the stream. Kenny found me a slightly better way to get out of the fix I was now in. He parted the rhodo for me like Moses parting the Red Sea. I climbed out over the bank instead of the precarious logs and sticks I'd gone across on my way in.
Above: Kenny sits down on the job on our way back to the canoe.
We went back to the canoe and continued further down the lake in a southwest direction. We'd try to find Hamby Branch and a small falls I expected should be there. I had seen actual photos of a series of cascades on Camp Creek in the next holler past that.
We turned into a cove and could see a few houses and makeshift docks. The lake is so steep sided and remote that folks here don't try to build docks like you'd see on other lakes. They use old pontoon boats and construct a gang plank from the shore to the pontoon to serve as a dock. Despite seeing three or four of those on the way we did not see any people. The further back the cove we went the less sign of humanity. Kenny caught a whisper of the waterfall first. We headed in that direction. Before us was a shimmering white creek cascading down through the woods to the lake. Hamby Branch is a nice little falls. It has one of those makeshift docks to get you out of the lake and onto the shore and the trail to the falls.
Above: Getting out of the lake we were able to pull up to this and tie the canoe off. I don't know if this is private property or national forest or gamelands.
Hamby Branch Cascade is about the same distance from the lake that Baine Branch Cascade was. The difference is... there is an actual trail. It is not too hard but it is not official and it is not maintained. It sure was nice to find it so easy to reach the waterfall.
Above: the setting for the falls was very pretty. It looks like the creek flattens out for awhile above this point. It then cascades gradually down to this point. I expected to find about a fifteen foot drop and that's about what we got!
Above: a big log from a downed tree in front of the falls..
Below is a video of Hamby Branch Cascade
Once we'd seen enough along Hamby Branch we continued in the canoe toward Camp Creek. It was a pretty float way back a cove. We didn't have any difficulty approaching the take out point. Not too much debris in the water which was good. This falls.... I had no waypoint for it. I knew from my research that if a falls existed here it was for sure further away from the lake shore. I had a good idea the falls were much closer to the top of the stream. They were nearer to the former rental cabin who posted photos of the cascades on their website as a selling point.
There was not even a semblance of a trail on either side of the stream here.
The rhodo was a snarled, tangled mess on either side of the stream. Between the rhodo were downed trees, large rocks, and mud pits. Heading up creek left ... we quickly cliffed out. The terrain forces you to either get IN the creek or ford to the opposite side where it is only slightly more open and forgiving. A road comes down to the lake but nowhere near the creek. I'm not sure what is up with that. It isn't shown on the map at all. We messed around there for awhile and tried to decide what to do. Kenny turned and asked me "Do you know for sure these falls exist? and do you have ANY idea where they are located?" I answered affirmative to the existence, negative to the knowing where they were. I shared with him that I believed them to be up closer to the human dwellings. Off in the distance a vehicle passed us high above and on a road that isn't even shown on the map.
Kenny and I decided that we were not going to pursue this one further. Back to the canoe we went. Things had gone way too smoothly to keep messing round and ruin our day.
Our breakfast was just starting to wear off and we were both growing hungry.
We were ready to wrap up the canoe trip and head off to our next part of our day.... a gourmet picnic! We started back across the lake. Kenny pointed out how once we got in the canoe and got accustomed to it we relaxed. We truly were less anxious about tipping over. It doesn't seem as unstable once you get used to the feeling of it. We enjoyed the quiet of the trip back across the lake. In a few spots fiery leaves hung down close to the water's edge making the deep shadow on the water glow with color. A king fisher bird noisily flapped past cawing and settled on a branch.
A trip on the water is a very relaxing thing. The forest here is heavy with pine trees and the fragrance coming off the waters of the lake was amazing. Fresh and cool with both the smells of Autumn leaves and pine needles mixed. A smell worth bottling up if ever there was one. 
Deep shade on the lake... above
Above: a small patch of fiery leaves really shines in that deep gloom!
Below: the gradation of color along the lake.. all the various tones.... remind me of a patchwork quilt my granny would make. rust, gold, hunter green, gray, orange, dark brown....... I loved how the colors of the trees on the shore were reflected in the surface of the water.
Below is a video of the canoe ride---
I had to add music because Kenny talked. I need to start warning him I'm filming.
He did not know, but he also did not say any curse words!
We found our way back easily to the spot where we took out. I had plugged in the coordinates for the boat ramp,but we wouldn't have had to have it. The survey tape flapping in the breeze helped a lot.
We beached the canoe with much more skill. I'm sure that it helps that we've taken three canoe trips this season alone. It made the fourth boat trip total.
Practice makes perfect. We started hauling gear up that steep slope to the truck.
We got the canoe loaded and while it was not easy, it wasn't as tough as I thought it might be. We did not take too much stuff with us today so in no time we were pulling out and heading for a picnic spot. It was around 14 miles from the lake to Fields of the Wood. We approached the Hiwassee Dam and I asked Kenny if he was set on going to Fields of the Wood or was here good to fix dinner?
He said he was just as happy to stop here at the dam.
The only drawback here is that the dam is undergoing repairs. The visitor center is closed and they have gated off the entire parking lot. Parking here is limited, but we still managed to find plenty place to get the truck out of the road.
We were the only ones here to start with. A little later a few other folks parked and walked down to the dam and the lake.
Below: Woodwick pumpkin scented candle .. they crackle like a camp fire
They keep beverages either hot or cold.
I keep the table cloth folded and in a compartment on this backpack.
The rust and gold leaves were tumbling down out of the trees in the light breeze blowing around us. It was quiet and pretty. We had a fabulous meal! Everything went perfectly. We cleaned up dinner without a bunch left over. The recipes were a hit. Kenny was tickled to death and so was I. A romantic dinner that suited our style and tastes in a non corona, non mask wearing environment. Outdoors everything tastes better anyhow! We had a magnificent anniversary and liked this choice of celebration much better. It was so fun that before we ever got up from the table we were already planning the next adventure and picnic.
It made me very happy to bring a smile to Kenny's face. It made us both happy that things went well. It made me double happy that careful consideration of the patterns helped break us out of a cycle of mess ups and and disappointments. The definition of insanity is to continue to do the same things over and over expecting different results. I know better than that.
We enjoyed our evening and did not rush to get going, but once we got our picnic mess cleaned up we headed on toward Hwy 294 and round to Hwy 68 and back homeward. The sunset this evening was glorious. The drive home peaceful and pretty. I thank God for 36 years of marriage and all that He has helped us overcome.
Below is a short video of the picnic and the setting. It was really nice.
I will get to work on the great picnic places blog article.
Fields of the Wood may indeed be our next spot, but we'll have to see. This time of year it gets challenging because of the nearness of the holidays. I don't get myself worked up over plans. You have to leave it loose. If it happens it happens if not.. it will still be there when we're ready!
Last summer while parked at that Apalachia Lake access ramp on Morrow Road for a day of kayaking, I later discovered someone had cut the gas fill hose and siphoned gasoline from the truck I was driving. Thankfully there was enough left in the tank to drive out of there. Just thought I would make that known so anyone thinking about parking there or in that area would be aware. I did report it to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office for whatever that was worth.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I'm so thankful you got out of there with nothing more serious than that. That was more than bad enough. I appreciate you taking time to let me know. I will edit the trip report to include that as a warning up near the top. That was a really ornery thing to do to you. Doubtful they'll be able to do anything about what happened to you, but if there gets to be a pattern they might have better luck catching the doer of the bad deeds. Someone had dumped a whole mess of household trash along Shuler Creek Road. I wish they'd catch whoever is using that as a dump site. Best regards to you! Happy Thanksgiving.
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