I have been trying more lately to actually get out and see the places I list or daydream about. Instead of just making lists and then going off on some new tangent... sticking with the list! I had long admired the old railroad grade passing by Middle Fork Falls in the Oliver Springs area. I had visited the main falls by the road before, but had not taken the time to explore further.
I decided to do something about that. I had a long list of spots to check out in Morgan County. I spent a fair amount of time doing my homework. I study the waterfalls, abandoned railroad lines, or whatever I'm hunting. I also try to find logical, safe, out of the way spots to park. Failure to do this can lead to finding a feature, but then not being able to access it.
I got up on a sunny Winter day and drove out to Morgan County with my gear and food packed. I parked at the Middle Creek Church and walked from the parking lot across Hwy 62 down Back Valley Road. I had seen a pull off across from the falls, but since the church parking lot was so close I opted for that instead. I figured it was safer. It only took me a couple minutes to find myself at the brink of the falls. I could see the top of it from the road.
It is situated down in a holler by the road. I had to approach it from a bit downstream in order to go safely down the embankment. It was clear to me based on the manmade improvements and signage it is a baptizing hole for the local church. It is a small, but very pretty falls and worth the short trek to see. It would not be worth making a special trip for on its own. It is 10 feet high.
Above: Geise Creek Falls has a pretty blue hole of water. The morning sun creates golden and russet woods surrounding it.
Below is a video of it:
I wanted to see Back Valley Falls which is very near the first falls.
The link above is the Tennessee Landforms page for it. Looking at the photograph on that page it is not too impressive, but I had seen a different photo by Chris Oliver on Flickr. It was a very nice 14 footer during higher flows. I knew today it would be running well.
I could not identify a spot along the road where I felt safe pulling off. The road is pretty well traveled and very curvy. I just had a bad feeling about it.
I picked out a spot to park, but I could not tell if it was okay or not? I later found out from a friend that would have been okay. I will have to try again to visit it. I won't make a special trip, but will batch this visit together with other sights and make a day of it in the future.
Once back at my jeep I continued further up the road toward Middle Fork Falls. It is across from the Beech Grove church. It is a nice roadside attraction and visited by a fair number of persons. There is a good sized pull off by it. There is a lower falls and there are un-named falls dropping in from wet weather drainages downstream. I had only taken time to visit the main falls. Today I would remedy that.
Below is a photo taken from the brink of the falls. I loved the blue hole of water at the base.
I walked on down to the base of Middle Fork Falls and set about seeing it from different vantages. I was blessed to catch a rainbow in the falls in the photo above!
Below is a shot that is just the obligatory front of the falls photo. It is a nice one.
I have been to this falls too many times to count so I did not tarry at the base of it. I walked back up to road level and entered the woods above the falls. I was heading for the path of the abandoned railroad grade that is on the opposite side of this stream. I soon got a treat I had not counted on.
From over here you get an unobstructed view of the entire Middle Fork Falls and what's better is that it is far enough away from it to get a really good look at the complete falls!
Below: a photo of the chunks of ice and snow still lingering in the shady spots
Below: A great view of Middle Fork Falls including the upper cascade from the old railroad line.
Below is a video of Middle Fork Falls from many view points
One of the things that happened by waiting 18 months to write a blog entry is the forgetting of way too many details, history, and the source material for the historical facts. I found the video I made of "Stevens Switch Spur" on YouTube and thought "Oh! this is cool. I want to know about that. I want to go there!" only to realize that: 1. It was my video and 2. I HAD been there. It was at that point I got down to brass tacks about fixing and catching up my blog.
I will attempt to briefly explain how that rail line came to be.
I cannot guarantee the historical accuracy of the info. If anyone reads this and knows it is incorrect it will not offend me to be brought up to speed.
I welcome it! I did finally learn that Tom Dunigan has the "Stevens Switch Spur" on the Tennessee Landforms page for Middle Fork Falls and mentions it there. It is the ONLY place I can find reference to it.
Below: the old prison mine on Brushy Mountain. Coal was hauled out of here and put on a train from here.
It appears the stretch of railroad ran from Brushy Mountain Prison and the Frozen Head Coal mines all the way through Petros, Stephens, Coalfield and then bears south/southwest toward Harriman where it ties into the Norfolk Southern active line near Hwy 61 today. It was the Southern Railway line or a spur of it. Next time I am over that way I want to make a point to check out that spot to see what goes on there? I also want to see if there are still minnow rearing pools along the edges of the Emory River the way the old map shows?! The freight trains brought coal out of the mountains and if you look at the old maps there are former mines all along the route of the abandoned line. Note to myself: Yes, I did search the term "Stephens Switch" to see if the spelling Tom used and I copied was incorrect. It yielded nothing.
Below: This photo was taken at the start of the old railbed
Below: the second photo is taken a bit further down from the main falls on the old rail grade
Below: a tiny cascade drops off the rocks near the old railroad grade
Below: down toward the Lower Falls on Middle Fork I found this well constructed stone drainage culvert. You can see drainage structures like this all along this stretch.
Above: I am about mid way down what you can hike of the railroad grade
Above: a mossy cross tie from the railroad tracks
Above: some hollowed out logs along the way
Below: one of the side streams that has an un-named falls on it.
Above: crumbling banks at the end of the line for me.
Above: Another un-named side stream with a falls before the end of the railroad line. It is cluttered with debris.
Above: these rocky bluffs were above the side cascades
Above: You can see the railroad bed keeps going, but for me this was the place to stop. The banks on either side were so loose and crumbling that had I climbed down here I'd not have been able to go back up the other side. The only way out of here was down the stream/waterfall that helped erode this spot. It was unsafe.
Above: A nice series of cascades on Middle Fork that lies between the upper and lower falls
Above: moss coated rock formations on the banks around the stream
Above: Looking down into the gully between the two parts of the railroad grade. The photo does not illustrate very well how deep this is.
Above: I get my first glimpse of the lower falls. No matter what I tried I could not get a satisfactory vantage point to view the falls from over here. I had to turn around and go back. I was not giving up though.
Back at my jeep I sat down and ate lunch and got something to drink.
I then walked down the road and was able to very carefully get a photo and video of Lower Falls on Middle Fork. Below is the photo. It was a fun day and I really enjoyed myself. It felt great to scratch something off my bucket list that had been on there for so long.
And finally below is the video of the lower falls.
It is note worthy that while hunting for historical information on this trip I did turn up a couple interesting abandoned railroad history bits.
In following the old map to see where the old railroad ended up I found that a large chunk of abandoned railroad crosses Ish Creek and still has bridge supports in two spots! I want to go check all that out. I think it is possible there is an abandoned tunnel in Greenback area. We shall see.
Below is a map of the spot along Ish Creek across from the boat ramp
**Notes to self** Three contributing factors in me thinking this blog entry had already been written were 1. I used the Geise Creek Falls photo on the front page as a cover. 2. I posted the trip photos complete with captions on Facebook. 3. I posted the videos to Youtube.
It is a good thing I did post the photos on FB because by the time I wrote this I cannot find my original photos on my computer. They may have been deleted. I also have not come up with any on my Smugmug photos account.
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoy hearing from those who read & make use of my blog. I have made some wonderful friendships through emails from readers. I respond to all comments and emails. I appreciate folks reaching out to let me know when my blog entries are not functioning correctly or if the situation somewhere has changed. Many Blessings to you! Dana 🐝
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoy hearing from those who read & make use of my blog. I have made some wonderful friendships through emails from readers. I respond to all comments and emails. I appreciate folks reaching out to let me know when my blog entries are not functioning correctly or if the situation somewhere has changed. Many Blessings to you!
Dana 🐝