Lower Falls on Slickrock Creek-- Canoe and Hike 2016

Greenheaded Cone Flowers blooming into September along the banks of the stream.

Lower Falls on Slickrock Creek-- Canoe and Hike

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Sunday September 11, 2016

1 mile RT paddle/float 

2.8 mile RT hike

Pictures are here starting with frame 68

Lower Falls 2016 Photos

Lower Falls on Tennessee Landforms 

   We had been kayakers for a number of years.  Kenny had several bad experiences with the kayaks.
He flipped his a couple times.  Three years ago we nearly drowned in Little River during one of those episodes.  After the last flip of the kayak on a Summer fishing trip he cursed and said we were selling them.   We did sell them easily and finally bought a  canoe from our friend Mike.   It was a very good deal and a sweet set up.   We bought it back in June or July, but only now did we get the chance to take it out.

       We planned to do a short canoe trip to see how we got along with it and couple it up with a hike.
We thought maybe some picnicking, eagle watching, swimming on Calderwood Lake would be fun.
We headed down to Calderwood Lake on a Sunday morning.   We did not see any eagles today. I wondered if we missed them nesting and they had flown on?

        We put in at the dock on Calderwood and our first part of the float was short and sweet.
Half mile back to the mouth of Slickrock Creek. The sky was blue and the sun was shining.  The temperature was 83°. Perfect.   We had some weeble wobble feelings at first on setting out.  I think Kenny was convinced he could not be in a water craft without it tipping over.  We settled into the trip and had no incidents.   The water on the lake was a beautiful blue green and very cold.  A slight mist crept across the waters as always.   Once we entered the mouth of Slickrock Creek the water changed and became shallower and clearer.  We could hear the cascade where the stream empties into the broader mouth.    We beached the canoe and changed into our hiking boots.  We saw a king fisher bird and a hummingbird.  Lots of green headed cone flowers, pink Joe Pye weed, orange jewelweed, white turtleheads, white asters, red hearts a bustin' and bright red cardinal flower dotted the stream banks.

          We started our hike which was short and sweet.   It is not a hard hike, but it is a wilderness trail.  Better than bushwhacking, but not up to the standards in State Parks and the Smoky Mountains National Park trail system.   We could not remember if we needed to go up to the trail or if we could simply stay along the stream?  I recalled going up last time we did this so that is what we did again.
Once we had gone a short distance it was apparent either way would work.  We took note of this so we could simply stay along the stream on the return trip.

        

Kenny mans the trolling motor.

The mouth of Slickrock Creek.

 Beautiful view on Calderwood LakeCardina

Cardinal Flower by the stream 

More lovely flowers on the shores.... a look back toward the canoe.

There are some campsites immediately on the bank here. 

     Although I had done this hike several times and so had Kenny... we still forget that  the trail is very narrow and in places hard to stay on it!   Rocky and narrow and sloped in the wrong directions sometimes.   We only had one creek crossing to deal with though and today I knew that the wet foot wade was going to be very easy.   Today I was thrilled to find that even being on narrow, rocky spots above the creek I was cool as a cucumber.  I had no fear of heights, balance problems, depth perception problems or anxiety!  All that is gone thankfully.  I suddenly developed fear of heights and all this anxiety back over the Summer. Kenny was asking "Who ARE you and where did YOU come from?"  Cause my wife is NOT like that!  I believed it was coming from a hormone problem. Turns out I was right.  I had to switch from estrogen tablets to patches.  I am taking half the medication and getting great results. No more nervousness!  All those bad symptoms are gone along with the hot flashes!  What a relief. 

        We came to one particularly bad spot with lots of erosion and a long drop off below it.  

I handled it like a champ.   Finally at the base of the long cliff we passed the rocky part I like. It is a mossy rock face with lots of galax and ferns growing on it. The mountain here is far above you and stretches on a good distance.  

 The trail by the base of the bluff.

Sunlight filters down through trees and ferns past the bluff. 

  We passed a real pretty spot in the stream where there is a wide pool of water and lots more pink and red flowers.   I like this hike in any season,but late Summer has some pretty flowers.  Spring is the best season for this hike.   Tons of great Spring wildflowers from start to finish.

A good hole of water along the trip with pretty red cardinal flowers.

Kenny spent some time trying to decide if we needed to ford here despite my having told him 

the trail stuck to the LEFT side of the stream until near the very end.  It is easy to see why the confusion as the trail is hard to spot among the weeds. 

Kenny is standing in the trail, but you cannot see it from here. He couldn't see it until he was ON it.  

    We went along through a flat stretch of ground where the stream was narrower.  

The vegetation to my right began to rustle heavily and up jumped a black wild hog and took off running!   We hung back a little while to let it put some more distance between us and it.  I was very glad it was a hog and not a bear cub.    It wasn't too much further til we came to the first and only ford of this hike.   It was not going to be a completely dry rock hop today, but the next thing to it.  Most seasons this is an over the top of the boots wade. 

 Creek ford just before the falls. They are 0.3 miles further past this point.

Signage in the wilderness is not the clearest.  

 Lower Falls on Slickrock Creek.  We arrived there in another less than 1/2 mile from the ford.  I got in the water and took a short swim and cooled off.  The water was cold, but felt good.  Kenny as usual would not get in, but did throw rocks.  We ate a snack and I dried off a little and got the hiking book out  and tried to determine how the distances on this trip worked out.  I had made this hike a LOT shorter in my mind as usual.  I had thought it might be 1/2 mile from the lake shore to here.  Wrong!  Try 1.4 miles.   My brain edits things and makes them seem so much easier and shorter.

On the way back from the falls I stopped to enjoy the scenery here.  Looking back up the stream.

Joe Pye weed and cardinal flowers casting their reflections in the green waters of Slickrock Creek.

The clear, deep hole of water at the mouth of Slickrock Creek.  A small cascade empties into the broader, wider mouth of the creek.   So pretty!

    We made it back in half the time it took to hike in.   We were hungry and ready for some lunch waiting on us in the cooler back at the canoe.  We stuck to the lower trail which was much simpler wrapping up our hike.   We saw two couples had just climbed out of kayaks and were standing there talking as we came out.   We greeted them briefly and pushed on.  We changed into water shoes and sat down to eat a peanut butter sammidge with fresh strawberry jelly made by my brother in law, Brian.  It was wonderful!  So tart and packed with lots of flavor.  Brian is a Marine. He can kill you a terrorist or make you a batch of homemade jelly.  He is a man of many talents.  

   

         We climbed into the canoe and headed back.  I had thought we might have time for another adventure after this short hike, but it was not in the cards.   We were tired by the time we got back and loaded up the canoe it was already 4 pm.   We headed home on the Dragon.  Traffic was not too bad which was a relief.    It was about a perfect day.  I was glad it went to plan.  No negatives.  

It felt great to be back in the woods. All through my mind rolled the plans of things to come.  Thinking like this and dwelling on these ideas has been sadly lacking in me this Summer.  

The return of these patterns of thought and action are like the return of and old friend.  Feels like coming home. 

Below is a short video of the highlights of our adventure.  Very pleasant.

Citico Creek Camping Trip

Tiny copper lanterns on the awning of the camper.

Camping at Indian Boundary and Hiking

Dana & Kenny Koogler 

Friday Oct. 21 thru Sunday Oct. 23, 2014

Pictures are here starting with frame 401
(photos in this album are a collection from many  trips over the seasons)
Citico Camping Trip Pix 

 We had long planned a camping and hiking trip to Indian Boundary Camp Ground.

We wanted to relax and do some enjoying Fall colors. Sit by the camp fire. Enjoy

each others company in private.  Unplug for awhile.  We had no great ambition, but

did decide to use the trip to the area to see about accessing the one hundred foot

waterfall on Jake Best Branch.   We had tried before when I was getting over being

sick and found the top part.  It was a single thirty five foot falls set apart from the 

main falls by quite a bit.   We got camp set up and decided to try to find the falls.

 

 Our rig at Indian Boundary for our Fall excursion. 

  The day was perfect. It was sunny with blue skies and mild Fall temperatures.

Autumn colors were past peak at the top of the Skyway, but peak around the mid to lower elevations where we were staying.   Very pretty. Not the most brilliant Fall we've ever seen, but 

good.  We are always glad for the change of seasons and Autumn is a favorite.  

   We set off toward Citico.  It was surprising how few people were camped there.

We saw perhaps two camps in total.  I think that is a record low!   We went up toward Cold Springs Gap and decided to try again from the top to reach the big falls.   The colors on this road and the scenery were splendid.  After much struggling we bombed out again.  We got within 200 feet of the Falls, but the terrain is dangerous, steep, unforgiving.  We had some laughs at the idiotic, self flagellation we put ourselves through sometimes all in the name of waterfalls!  

    We drove back down the road checking GPS coordinates and distances from the destination point.  We finally went back down to The Narrows of Citico Creek. Here the river bends in a sharp oxbow.  One day in the future the water will erode through and there will be a section of Citico Creek cut off from itself, but for now it is a sharp bend and only a few feet between one side of the ridge and the other.  The cliffs here are steep and crossing Citico here would always be a wet foot crossing.   We thought perhaps we could locate Jakes Best Branch by coming down to the Narrows and accessing it and then just following it up. Kenny kept trying to explain to me that "we won't have to cross Citico Creek here".  I was unable to get him to understand and accept the lay of the terrain until long after we'd returned home to Kügler Haus and I showed him on Google Earth maps from the satellite view.   He then capitulated that I'd been correct.  He still pointed out an area coming in from one side but down lower than what we'd tried two previous times. He thinks that should be the next attempt. I agree that is what we'll try.  Frustrating? You bet.
New to us? Not a chance.   We have visited so many of the "easy" waterfalls in the guidebook and
on Tennessee Landforms that what is left is the hard stuff.  It is going to be this way sometimes.

       Citico Creek was lovely and gloomy in the evening sun.   We just soaked up the 
pretty weather, beautiful scenery and scent of Autumn.   

Citico Colors up high






Double Camp area in the evening glow.


Double Camp again in the sunshine. Winter will come with those gray days that make us long
for the sunshine and warm days.

Sitting by the fire in the evening.  It got cold!

   We had a nice dinner and enjoy sitting around the fire talking.  It was quiet and peaceful.
We discussed what we wanted to do the next day.  I had been wanting to hike to Wildcat Falls
for a couple months.  I had only been there once and that was with Kenny in Summer time.
I did not feel confident in going alone on this hike or I'd had already done it.  It is Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock
Wilderness and the trail in to the falls is a little confusing.  Kenny liked the idea so that is what we planned
 to tackle the next day.  We'd need our blaze orange because it is bear hunting season.

     We had a nice breakfast the following morning and packed us a lunch and prepared to make a
day of it.  Robbinsville here we come!  We drove all the way across the Cherohala Skyway and it was beautiful. I knew from having seen Fred Deegen's photos on Facebook that the upper parts were done.
I figured as much even without seeing them.  The upper portion of the Skyway is 5,000 feet elevation or more.  It is going to get done leaf color wise before either end of the road.    

     We arrived at Big Fat Gap parking area to a whole passel of bear hunters and dogs.
We had hiked it before as a nine mile shuttle.  We had a vehicle here at Big Fat Gap and one at Cheoah Dam.   We went all the way through and got to see Wildcat Falls and Lower Falls on Slickrock Creek the first time.  Today we'd just do an out and back.  We encountered many hikers, backpackers and bear hunters with their dogs.     It was down hill on the way in and would be all up hill on the way out.

    We did not have any trouble until we got to the intersection just before Slickrock Creek and fortunately a fellow hiker saw us struggling with which way to go. He quickly righted us and once we got past that snag we never had any further trouble.   We repaid the favor on the way out by getting a hunter his dog back safely and helping some fellows who were backpacking.  They were searching for the way to Big Stack Gap
and we were able to set them right.   I had been very comfortable temperature wise though the day
began quite cold it warmed up to 70 degrees. I was glad I wore shorts and brought my water shoes.
I did wonder on the hike in "Why does my left instep feel different from my right?" but dismissed it.

     We saw some signs of the old railroad and some pioneer junk today in the woods.

 Here is an old wood cooking stove!
   
 

Slickrock Creek in the afternoon light on our way back.  This is one of my all time favorite areas to
hike. Kenny loved it so much he has agreed he will go backpacking with me here!

  Slickrock Wilderness is for me what the Smoky Mountains used to be. I still enjoy hiking there, but the
politics and regulations, the manipulations, the crowds, etc have spoiled it for me.  I cannot feel any of that
when I am here and it helps me recall how the Smoky Mountains and hiking there used to make me feel.
Today was one of those days that feels like it should have its own sound track.

       Many creek crossings today. I think there were seven or eight.  Most were ok, but three of them
required water shoes to negotiate.   I noticed on the way in "I have water .. just a trickle.. coming in the toe of my left boot.  Why is it only coming in my left boot? Why is it coming in at all? These boots are only a year old!  They shouldn't be leaking at all on these shallow crossings!"  But again.. I dismissed it. My mind was on the beauty of the forest, the stream.. how incredibly clear and perfect it was... and on the crossings.
Making them safely.  Once across Slickrock Creek just above the first drop of Wildcat falls is a narrow ledge of stone you have to make your way along.  I was very focused on that and not fretting over minor
things like leaky boots.

   It was not long until we came to Wildcat Falls.  It was even prettier than it was in Summer on our first visit here!  The Autumn leaves framed it with orange, red, gold, and copper.   It had more water coming over it today than it had then.    We sat down here to have lunch.  Beech leaves of yellow, gold and copper came floating down in flurries.  It was a memory I will treasure. I'm here with my hubby eating lunch in this pretty spot.  It is perfect.  Sitting there soaking up the scene and another memory came creeping back to my mind.   I laughed.  I turned around to ask Kenny if he remember this spot and the rock we were sitting on?
He did.  You know if it involves these two outlaws it is not going to remain a Hallmark moment for long.
We laughed remembering getting busy behind the rock we were now sitting on to eat lunch.  It IS a beautiful spot and inspires romance ok? 

   
Wildcat Falls has four drops total. The lay of them prevents a getting a clear photo of all of it at once.





This is the trail such as it is.  not really as bad as it looks.


Another vantage point to photograph Wildcat Falls.

   We fed the dog here and enjoyed the area.  We made sure to feed him so he'd follow us back out.
We began our hike back out.  It was easy at first.   One of the stops on the way back I sat down to
put my boots back on and wondered why one shoe lace was brown and the other black?
The reason was simple. I had on two different boots! The left boot was one of my old Vasque boots.
The right boot was my new Lowa boots!  We had a good laugh over that. No wonder one was leaking
and did not feel the same!  I am like the court jester without meaning to be. I don't even have to try.
I have all my life dressed myself funny. Grandma Edna called me Glady's Earl because of it. Dad called me
Gravel Gert. 
I really lived it today.   I will leave the house with two different socks, different shoes, dress hung in the back of my panty hose, hair sticking up, frizzing out, shirt wrongside out,  pimple cream on my cheek, mismatched colors, etc.  I really have tried to not be that way, but after fifty years of it.. it ain't likely to stop.





This was taken just prior to me realizing I was wearing two different boots! ha! Kenny and his sexy legs.

We took a blessed wrong turn and this is what we saw!  We also saw Santeetlah dam for the first time!
Everything we encountered today made us not want to leave and plan for the next trip back to the area.

   We hauled our tired carcasses back up that hill to the parking area.  I think the uphill is about 1.4 miles
It is not that bad, but Kenny tortures himself and me by talking about how awful it is.  I have to get in a good
head space for hard things to dull the pain of the effort.  He doesn't seem to know how to do that and what
is worse.. he tries to keep ME from doing that.  I got on him about it and made him stop.

We had a neat experience on the way out of two owls calling one to the other!  One called out. The other answered. 




Slickrock Creek and a pretty cascade

     Back at the camp we fixed dinner and rested.  We talked. We sat by the fire again.
We were tired and went to bed with the chickens around 9 pm.  It was nice to be unplugged from the
internet and TV and phones.   Good to get away.

    Next morning we slept in.  Ate a big breakfast.  Did an easy hike to Fall Branch Falls.
Enjoyed the colors along the Skyway.   We packed up and went home at a decent time.
Trying not to make these camping trips such marathons that they wear Kenny out.

We did not winterize the camper, because we planned another camping trip to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure in two weeks for our 30th Anniversary.



Colors along the Cherohala Skyway at Turkey Pen




Fall Branch Falls. Today was an easy hike and working on learning different techniques with my camera.
I'm still trying to gain a little mastery over it.  Kenny helped me make some progress today.
I am a slow learner any how and brain damage from illness hasn't made me any smarter.