Last
week it rained four days, not all day, but I think we got just over four inches
total. We’re still way below where we
should be for average rainfall, but I have my hopes up that it’s enough to get
some waterfalls flowing. I head up Cave
Mountain Road, arriving at Whitaker Point Trailhead parking lot around 10:30,
there are 10-12 vehicles here. I’m about
99% certain that all these hikers are somewhere between here and Hawksbill Crag.
 |
Grace Falls
|
Ten
or twelve cars is nothing for this big expanded parking area, it can
probably hold close to fifty. Two years
ago when I was last here (see:
161 Whitaker Point), I had recently read about
‘Theresa’ who had come up here in August 2021, to do some hiking possibly to
the famous crag, but in the thick early morning fog, she became disoriented,
and wound up lost down near Edgemon Creek over two miles west of Hawksbill Crag. |
terrain gets steep and rocky farther down
|
This is the area I want to
explore today, and hopefully see some nice waterfalls. Theresa eventually found her way out after
spending two nights holed-up in a shallow grotto, Danny Hale has a lot
more of Theresa’s misadventure in his ‘TAKAHIK’ book series. So instead of crossing the road and heading east
downhill to Hawksbill and Haley Falls, I head north in the woods behind the
parking lot. |
first significant waterfall
|
I’m basically following a
small creek, that will take me down to Edgemon Creek losing about 500 feet
along the way. Up here near the top of
the drainage you wouldn’t expect much water, but going through the thick leaves
on the floor of the woods it pretty muddy, and soon flowing water in the
creek. A good sign for the waterfalls I
eventually plan visiting down below. I
quickly find a good trail, but don’t stick with it, opting for the creek route
instead. |
more small falls and cascades
|
The descent is pretty
gentle at first, just some old dead trees to navigate around, but soon the
creek gets steeper. Then for maybe 100
yards it dries up completely, going underground I guess. After another little creek merges with
this one, water reappears and the rocky stream begins to put on a show, with
lots of little falls and cascades tumbling down through the rocks, and numerous
turquoise pools in between. |
creekbank gets steep
|
Now with all the wet slick
rocks down at water level, I keep mostly above the creek on the north bank,
continuing west down the steep hillside.
Occasionally I find a little piece of ‘trail’ but it never lasts
long, this is basically a ‘bushwhack’, and it gets more rugged the further I
go. At one point the descent is like a
hundred yard long bluffline break, then I’m back down along the creek. Here the ‘flood plain’ is a little wider than
the ‘canyon’ up above, so I’m able to stay down at creek level. |
more creekside shots
|
I cross the creek back and
forth as necessary, soon arriving at a rock overhang with a shallow grotto
beneath, all about twenty feet above the creek.
This rock overhang has been dubbed ‘Theresa’s Grotto’, and is where she
spent two nights with only a bed of leaves for comfort. It isn’t much of a shelter, you wouldn’t stay
dry here in a storm, I don’t know if she got rained on, but in the heat of
summer Theresa was more likely battling the mosquitos her two nights here. |
Theresa's Grotto
|
Continuing downstream, it’s
about 250 feet to lovely little Jar Falls about 4 feet tall and 6 wide. Below Jar Falls the tall walls of the canyon
tighten inward again, I cross the creek a couple times as I slowly make my way just
over 100 yards to the top of Grace Falls.
From here on top, Grace looks to be a pretty tall waterfall, but I’ll
need to get down to the base to get a decent picture, and that could be a
problem. |
| downstream of Theresa's Grotto |
 |
Jar Falls
|
Looking south from on top the
falls, the steep broken bluff is very rugged and overgrown, so I head north
along the top edge of the shear vertical bluff.
High above Edgemon Creek, I go over 400 feet north looking for a
bluffline break with no luck. I head
back to the top of the falls hoping to at least find a clear vantage point
where I might get a clear shot of Grace Falls.
Instead, wedged between the edge of the cliff and a big stacked rock
boulder, is an obvious trail. |
| on top of Grace Falls looking down |
 |
heading back upstream to Grace Falls
|
The trail down is steep,
and most of the way is on a narrow rocky ledge, be careful. Before reaching bottom, the trail curves a
little to the north then is blocked by a big tree fall right across the
trail. With no way through the tree, I
scramble back to the south down the steep slippery hillside. Now I’m at the edge of the creek with Grace
Falls maybe 200 feet upstream, but that 200 feet looks pretty treacherous. |
getting closer
|
The perceived treachery
part of my trek ahead involves fast current, fallen trees and lots of huge
sharp rock everywhere. The tightness
of the canyon requires I cross the creek a few times on my way up to the falls,
luckily for me the rocks aren’t very slippery.
I’m able to reach the base of Grace Falls with ‘almost’ dry feet, the ‘trek’
wasn’t that ‘treacherous’ after all, it was actually quite fun, just go slow
and be careful. |
Grace Falls
|
I’ll estimate Grace Falls
is about 30 feet tall, and absolutely beautiful. The top part is a straight drop with a bunch
of finger falls off to the right.
Then is a long whitewater cascade that gets wider before it plunges to
the blue pool at the bottom. There’s
also a dark shallow grotto that wraps around the canyon behind the falls. Grace Falls is a great place to relax on one
of the many big rocks, I’m sure glad I found the way down. |
Edgemon Creek
|
Leaving Gracie, I
make my way back down the way I came then continue downstream another 100 feet
to the edge of Edgemon Creek.
Edgemon is running fast and high, but not even close to
flood-stage. I had hoped to follow the
creek upstream about a quarter mile using my ‘creek waders’ to get across the
creek as necessary, and then visit more waterfalls in the next two small drainages. |
above Edgemon Creek
|
But there is no way my
waders are going to be much good at keeping my feet dry in ‘high’ Edgemon
Creek, I end up climbing up the steep hillside just east of Edgemon. After about 50 feet up the hill is a low
bluffline with a couple spots where you could possibly ‘bail out’, but don’t
since the bluffline soon ends. I angle
up the steep hill heading east for a while then back south, eventually about
300 yards later and 150 feet elevation gain I land on a faint old road.
 |
under Theresa's Grotto
|
It's still all uphill, but
on the old road everything’s easier, soon after landing on the road I notice
red ribbon tied in trees. One road leads
to another, the hill and the red ribbon continue for the better part of a mile. Along the way, first is remnants of an
old rock wall on the right before entering a shady cedar thicket. Followed by a road intersection where I turn
south on the now ‘better’ old road, then soon back east. |
Jar Falls
|
Up ahead is a downed tree
across the road, then comes the last big push uphill, during which the road
turns more south. Where the road makes
the final turn east and levels out, is a bearing tree with survey peg next to a
fence line. It’s straight sailing from
here to the big parking lot about 350 yards further...the end of today’s Outdoor
Adventure in the Ozarks, I guess I’ll come back for the rest of those
waterfalls. |
Grace Falls
|
Today was a beautiful day
to be outdoors, I hiked 3 miles and 580 feet of altitude gain. With some steep climbs and a few rugged areas
in the canyon, then pretty easy sections on the old roads, overall this would
be considered a ‘moderate’ hike. I had a
great time, I’m glad I decided to look for waterfalls, taking advantage of the
recent rains.
Theresa and Grace Loop: Statistics Chart 222 The big parking lot at Whitaker Point Trailhead 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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