The Waterfalls of Devil Fork, TN

My conversational style can best be described as tangential. My interactions are sprinkled with “That reminds me…” and “By the way…”. In all things, I tend to wander, and hiking is no exception.

 

I often set out with an often far-too-ambitious destination in mind, and it doesn’t take much to stay me from my intended path. An overgrown spur trail leading nowhere. The roar of an out-of-sight creek with no waterfall. A big shadow impersonating a cave. My ADD (check your DSM-V for Adventure Distraction Disorder, it’s there) has led to more incomplete hikes than I can count.

But every so often, I stumble onto something special. I have to laugh at how clumsy though blessed my adventures can become, and the hike featured in today’s post was certainly a blessing.

For the first time in well over a year, I found myself with a Sunday afternoon by myself. Without the moderating influence of a sensible woman, I degrade into some sort of masculine wreck – I either eat an irresponsible amount of food, or find myself irresponsibly in the middle of a wilderness. That particular afternoon, I did both.

On a full stomach, I started a hike up Devil Fork in the Clark’s Creek area of Unicoi County. The rugged and beautiful area has several waterfalls, some easily accessible and others deeply remote. The four waterfalls along Devil Fork are impressive, as the creek tumbles down the complex western slope of Rich Mountain in spectacular fashion. I had visited the first waterfall before, Pine Ridge Falls, and it’s a level, 10-minute hike that’s quickly traversed.

 

 

Advancing beyond the 25-foot waterfall, however, is a delicate task – the only direct route is along a very narrow (and very slick) series of small ledges to the right of the falls. The water level was high that day and the residual moisture from recent rains left the whole area far more slippery than I like– 250lbs. falls hard.

I wasted 15 minutes deciding how badly I wanted to risk a slimy fall into the water below, and finally decided that finding another route around the waterfall was best. I crossed to the left side of the creek and climbed up the ridgeline, following below the line of cliffs over which Pine Ridge Falls flows. The higher I hiked, the clearer the views into the Clark’s Creek valley became – and by the time I reached a break in the cliff-line safe enough for me to climb, I was near the top of the ridge.

I made my way between the two rock buttresses forming the cliff and was finally on the other side of the waterfall. I had already gained significant elevation, and I could tell that the ridge still above me was much clearer above me. So I made the decision to eschew my planned hike to reach all the falls of Devil Fork and climb higher up the ridge simply to see what was there.

It was cool in the shade of most of the hike, but the dense canopy of the valley gave way to exposed rock and heath shrubbery higher up the ridge and the air was thick with humidity heated by the sun (which seemed awfully close). After a few breaks to rest my aching knees, I reached the top of the knob and was presented gorgeous views.

 

 

I spent quite a while enjoying the views at the top, welcoming the breeze, and replenishing the many electrolytes spent to get me there. I finally decided that, if I wanted to complete the next portion of my original plan, then I needed to get moving. The hike down the ridge was far more perilous than the hike up – in a calamitous mixture of haste and clumsiness, I stumbled my way back down to Devil Fork, directly above Pine Ridge falls.

 

The hike up the creek wasn’t as steep as I expected, but it was confusing. The area is crossed by several old logging roads, which the trail only intermittently follows, and I spent half my time course-correcting back toward the creek. The sun had started to set on the narrow valley carved by the creek – the air was cooler and my pace quickened in an effort to reach the next waterfall before dusk.

As I kept my failing eyes fixed on the creek well-ahead of me and my ears focused on the volume of its flow, I topped a short hill to see a long, white streak in the distance. As I got closer, the walls of the gorge amplified the sound and my eyes focused on the shaded waterfall. I had finally made it to the next destination, Josiah Falls.

 

The trail to the waterfall lies farther up the ridge than the access to the falls at creek-level. My descent to the bottom of the falls was as clumsy as my hike down from the top of the knob earlier, and it ended with a muddy, uncontrolled slide into a deep pool. I was waist-deep in water that was not-surprisingly icy for early spring, and I quickly hopped from the pool, rock-to-rock, perhaps thinking that if I moved quickly enough the water would fly from my boots and pants. That didn’t happen, but in my haste, I arrived at the small waterfalls found below Josiah Falls.

 

 

It’s only a few feet along a makeshift path between boulders and under some laurel to the bottom of the falls. This part of the gorge is crowded with rocks and brush, with laurel hells flanking the creek on either side, but the base of the waterfall is completely open and clear. Josiah Falls is a steep, 30-feet high cascade and was a sight for strained eyes.

 

By the time I started the hike back to the trailhead, the sun had set further. It was hard to see the trail, but fortunately the trail from Pine Ridge Falls to Clarks Creek Road lies in a wider valley and was well lit – it was like walking out of a movie theater into a bright parking lot.

I was disappointed that I didn’t reach the other waterfalls higher up Devil Fork, but I find relief insomuch that my wandering wasn’t wasted. It was a great hike and I plan to finish it soon.

Thanks for reading!