Spring Wildflower Trip 2025 Day 4 --Stinging Nettle Falls & Back of Lost Cane

above: Robin's plantain 

Spring Wildflower Trip 2025 Day 4 --Stinging Nettle Falls & Back of Lost Cane

Kenny & Dana Koogler 

Monday April 14, 2025

Photos are HERE

  Kenny took off Monday  so we had another day together before he had to head home to work for the week.   He, myself and Sharon got out on Monday and did some more adventuring.   We agreed before hand no rabbit chasing today.   We hit up the upper part of Bill's Creek and the BACK of Lost Cane.   I had seen some especially pretty flowers and some glorious scenery there in the past. I hoped today would be a repeat of that plus maybe see some new stuff.  

    The best route for what we had planned was to go up Bill's Creek and take a side trail down into the back of Lost Cane.    We stopped off at Stinging Nettle Falls on the way.  We were glad we did. The scenery around it is dramatic with a limestone bluff looming over the falls.  The falls themselves were flowing very well today.   Everything was turning green and new.  The wildflowers were not as prolific as I've seen, but still nice.  Lots of goldenseal, southern red trilliums, wood poppies in sunny yellow, violets in purple and white, rue anemone and ferns.  

        Below: three dwellings you pass heading to Bill's creek.  the last one is Jack and Bonnie's house. The others I don't know who owns them. I don't think the other two are occupied any longer. 

 

Below: Looking out at the Bill's Creek Trail 

Below:  limestone rocks with wild columbine growing directly on them. 

Below: close up of wild columbine

Below:  Stinging Nettle Falls   is a waterfall that lies on the ground and drops into it.  

Below: Sharon taking a photo of Stinging Nettle Falls 

Below: Looking up at the surroundings above Stinging Nettle Falls... bright Spring green tree leaves! 




Below:  an almost white dwarf iris. 

Below: white violets near the falls

Below: Walking Fern growing on the rocks around the falls. 

   Once we got done checking out Stinging Nettle Falls we went upward to catch the trail that leads down into the back side of Lost Cane.  I am going to take a moment to explain the term "cane" for those who are either not from the South or those who just don't understand it.  Down here in the Bright and Sunny South we have native bamboo or "cane".  Several different varieties. It is greatly diminished nowadays because of past clearing of it for farming.   It has been learned that it is a necessary part of our ecosystem.  It is an aid to help filter water, prevent erosion, reduce flooding, and to feed and house various species of butterflies and birds.    The sinkhole areas where it grows came to be called "Canes" because that was primarily what occupied those places.   Lost Cane is a deep sinkhole  down in the depths of Skinner Mountain.   It is no longer filled with river cane, but there is some present.  

            We found the trail into the back of Lost Cane and headed down it.   We started seeing lots of downed trees.  Kenny was cursing.  He felt sure we were not going to make it.  I pointed out how the trail went.  He proceeded and found that I was right and for awhile we could keep going.  Eventually we did have to stop and he had to cut a few more trees, but nothing major.   I noticed that while it was beautiful back in here the flowers were lagging behind.   My pretty white southern trilliums were not yet bloomed.  The red trillium sulcatum were only in bud.   Lack of sunlight and warmth here has slowed the bloom time.    I did spot numerous papaw trees in bloom! I was hoping to see them and I was rewarded.  The blooms of the papaw are tiny maroon to brown cups.   They produce sweet tropical tasting fruits like banana pudding.  

  Another reason I like this area is that the mountainside is a series of terraces descending gradually to the base of the cane.   The stream of Lost Cane lies in the very bottom.   It is impossible to travel on this side from above Frank's Flume to below it.  The terrain is pinched tight, steep sided and has a series of cascades and deep pools in the stream walling one side off from the other.  The terraces are flat and hold water. Deep loamy black soil makes for rich cove hardwood forest and good flowers and plants. It also forms vernal pools for frogs and salamanders to lay eggs in season. 

Below are a few flowers we saw around the falls and back of Lost Cane today.

Prairie trillium

Below: trillium grandiflorum

Below: blue cohosh

Below: a large number of white flowered trilliums

below: papaw bloom 

  Once we managed to make our way down to the stream level in the back of Lost Cane I noticed a couple things.  1. The trees were not leafed out as much as the last time I was there. 2. The stream wasn't flowing with as much water as the last visit.   Granted it was raining when we were there last time.   So there is that.   Kenny opened up a connector trail to get us back to Manson Road the last visit. 

  We'd take that to get out of here when time came to leave today.    It wasn't a very long trail thankfully. It already existed, but had to be cleared of downed trees and trees grown up in the midst of it. 

      Lost Cane Creek was pretty today if not as attractive as on a previous trip.   Parts of the stream bed are flat as a fritter.  It looks like concrete in places, but it is limestone for bedrock. 

Below: Lost Cane Creek 

Below: isolation shot of the stream bed how flat parts of it are

Below: This is Lost Cane Creek and in the distance you see Kenny checking the condition of our trail we will need to exit.  

Below:  a side stream spilling into Lost Cane Creek.  

Below:  one of the terraced areas above Lost Cane Creek

Above: Sweet Betsy trillium and below Trillium luteum

   We had a good day.  We enjoyed our outing and while it didn't go exactly to plan it was still fun as it did not involve much aimless wandering without seeing pretty stuff. 

Below is a short video of Lost Cane Creek flowing.