If we get any rain during the week, I start planning my weekend waterfall excursion. Last week we had indeed gotten several days of rain, so I had a plan to head up highway 7 and check out some of the hollows I'd seen maps for on the
TAKAHIK website. My mood was not dampened by unseasonably cold weather on Saturday morning, nor the dusting of snow falling as I drove up the highway. I was certainly glad I'd brought some extra layers.
As with a lot of my solo hiking trips, things didn't work out as planned. Mose Freeman Hollow and Winter Hollow are both areas right off highway 7 near Moccasin Gap, that looked to be hiding beautiful waterfalls with minimal bushwhacks. First I tried Mose Freeman, parking and walking half a mile down an ATV track in the snow to the top of a creek, at which point it became clear there was no intuitive way to follow the creek down to the waterfalls. The banks were too steep, and many areas were covered in fallen limbs. I turned back.
My next attempt was the lower prong of Winter Hollow, which was only marginally more successful. A faint trail was actually visible along the creek here, which I gleefully followed, until it ended at the top of Cabin Falls, a beautiful waterfall pouring over a sheer bluff. There was no obvious way to get to the base of the falls and continue on. When I hike alone, I try to be especially cautious and not take any undue risks. I could have probably negotiated the steep hillside down to the base of Cabin Falls, but how would I get back up without a boost? Nah, too risky. Disappointed, I trekked back up to my car. (It was only while writing this post did I find that Rick Henry visited this hollow and wrote about it in 2014
here... oh well, now I know!)
Determined not to head home until I got in some real waterfall action, I headed down to Long Pool Recreation Area, which is just north of Dover off highway 7. I've been to Long Pool several times, but had never explored the waterfalls reported to be hidden just behind the campground. When I pulled up to the campground, it was empty-- no surprise, as it was no longer snowing, but still bitterly cold outside. I bundled back up and set off from Loop B of the campground towards the waterfall area. For a detailed map of the area and waterfall locations, visit the TAKAHIK webpage
here.
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| View of the Big Piney from the trail. |
It's a pretty short and easy little hike up along a ridge over the Big Piney and then down to a creek. Turning right at the creek, Lower Long Pool Falls is immediately visible.
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| Lower Long Pool Falls |
There wasn't as much flow as I had expected, especially at the bottom of the creek where it runs into the Big Piney, but it was still fantastic. The moss and all the striated rock make this waterfall feel really special. It's a wonderful little area with lots to see.
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| Lower Long Pool Falls |
The trail continued on up the left side of the creek, ascending a super-steep hill covered in scree. It looked hard to get up and even harder to get down. (Later on I realized I probably could have boulder-scrambled up the creek instead, but oh well.) I'd already lost so much time driving around and visiting dead-end hollows that it was already afternoon and I needed to be back home by early evening, so I decided to call it quits there. Now that I know how spectacular this area is, I want to come back soon and camp at Long Pool, so I have plenty of time to explore.
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| Flowering dogwood along the trail |
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