Yesterday we had light rain almost all day, this morning is sunny and
forecast to be a beautiful day. A great
day to go see some waterfalls, so I decided to see if I can get to Mule Trail
and Thousand Kisses Falls along with Haley Falls on the way. It was over ten years ago when we last
visited Hawksbill Crag, long before I started writing Outdoor Adventures in the Ozarks, so a return visit is way overdue.
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Whitaker Point aka Hawksbill Crag
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The drive up Cave Mountain goes smoothly, I arrive at the Whitaker Point
Trailhead to find vastly improved parking conditions. With only one car already here I park up
close to the trailhead, cross the road and start hiking down the extremely well
used trail. Whitaker Point is such a
popular place, volunteer trails have sprouted
up everywhere, some of these short-cut the switchbacks with evidence of erosion
(exposed tree roots), this will only get worse with time. |
creek crossing on the trail
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I suppose this is one of the pitfalls of popularity, on a positive note I don’t see any trash along the
trail. Speaking of the ‘trail’ this
first part is all downhill, a little steep in the beginning then a gradual
descent all the way to Haley Falls.
Along this stretch of trail are a few creek crossings, an overly
carved-up beech tree and a couple signs at the wilderness boundary warning of
the dangers of falling off the cliffs. |
long grotto behind Haley Falls
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From the trailhead to Haley Falls is about one mile, I head
over to the east from the top of the falls along the bluff maybe 200 feet to a short and steep
bluffline break. Today it’s also wet and a little slick, but I make it to the base of Haley Falls with no
problem. Tim Ernst in ‘Arkansas Waterfalls’ lists Haley Falls at 17 feet tall,
today it looks great with plenty of water flow and the long deep grotto behind. |
Haley Falls
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Leaving Haley Falls I curve around to the southwest a little to a place
where I can climb down the steep hillside to get a good view of Lower Haley
Falls a total distance of maybe a hundred yards. Lower Haley is absolutely beautiful with
cascades spread out about twenty feet wide and a total drop listed at 45
feet. From here just above the base of
Lower Haley Falls I try to maintain my elevation as I continue west toward Mule
Trail Falls. |
Lower Haley Falls
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wide and beautiful
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Now with no trail at all, I stumble into an old campsite before heading
up into the steep rocky drainage to Mule Trail Falls. I mistakenly think I can stay on this the east
side of the creek all the way up to the base of the falls, I end up crossing
Lower Branch (of Whitaker Creek) over some steep wet slick sharp rocks. One slip here could be disastrous, I make it
across okay, but I vow to find an easier place to cross coming back out. |
Mule Trail Falls
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well worth the considerable effort
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After the precarious creek crossing then up and around many big sharp
rocks it’s about 100 feet to a huge flat slanting rock that I’m able to get out
on top of for some pictures of Mule Trail Falls. Mule Trail at 31 feet also (like Haley Falls)
has a grotto style shelter behind the gorgeous waterfall. I take some pics and a much-needed rest here
after the treacherous rugged climb up the drainage. |
| Thousand Kisses Falls |
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tall and gorgeous
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About 500 feet curving to the southwest from Mule Trail Falls is
Thousand Kisses Falls, still off trail but not bad without much elevation
change just one large downed tree to straddle over. Thousand Kisses Falls is the tallest of the
bunch at 48 feet and just as impressive as the others, Thousand Kisses plunges
into a beautiful blue pool. More
information on the names of these four
fantastic falls can be found in Arkansas Waterfalls (by Tim Ernst). |
| between Thousand Kisses and Mule Trail |
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at the easier crossing below Mule Trail
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Heading back out I’m careful not to get up into the rugged rocky area
just below Mule Trail Falls. From up on
the low bluff above the confluence of Lower Branch and the no-name creek
containing Thousand Kisses I spot four or five small waterfalls down
below. This route works out better as I
soon come to a much easier place to cross the creek on a big slab of stone
bridging over turbulent Lower Branch. |
| on the sidewalk ledge |
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overhang above sidewalk
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Just a short climb up to what appears to be a ledge near the base of the
bluffline I decide to give it a try since it is flat and clean when compared to
the rock littered woods down below. This
works out great, kind of like walking on a sidewalk along a beautiful bluffline
with many long shallow shelters as I go.
The sidewalk ends at a nice
flat rock vista affording a nice view of Lower Haley Falls, then it’s on around
the base of Haley Falls and up the short bluffline break. |
almost back to Haley Falls
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Now back on actual trails, I continue east toward Whitaker Point along
the top of the bluffs with many vista points along the way. The first of these that I stop at for some
photos I’m going to call Whitaker Creek Vista as it is directly across the
canyon from Whitaker Creek which can be seen tumbling down from the south. Next, I stop at another great vista I’ll call
Hawksbill Crag Viewpoint; this is the place to get those great shots of people
atop the crag. |
| at Whitaker Creek Vista |
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at Whitaker Point
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Whether you use its official name ‘Whitaker Point’ or the moniker
‘Hawksbill Crag’ given by Dr. Neil Compton doesn’t really matter, it’s a
beautiful and amazing place whatever you call it. The panoramic view is breathtaking, the house
and barn seen to the east is on the other side of the Buffalo River and just outside of Mossville, a distance of
over a mile and a half. I linger here a
while watching a red hawk soaring far below yet high above the
treetops. |
Hawksbill Crag
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On my way back to the trailhead I meet many people on their way to see
Hawksbill Crag, sixteen I believe total, everyone is friendly and impressed by
the beautiful weather we’re having today.
No doubt about it, I had a great time hiking to four fantastic
waterfalls and the world class views at Hawksbill Crag. My hiking distance travelled today was 4.1
miles with 587 feet of elevation gain.
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Ardy on Hawksbill Crag (5/2013)
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Whitaker Point: Statistics Chart 161 Trailhead and parking is about 6 miles up Cave Mountain Road if you turn off Highway
21 just north of the Buffalo River bridge. If you’re coming from the south, you
can turn north off Highway 16 near the big 'Upper Buffalo Mountain Bike Trails' sign onto Cave Mountain Road, then about 7 miles to the parking area on both
sides of the road.
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base map before fair use alterations is property of ArcGIS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License
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