Upper Bailey Cole Creek waterfalls, Arkansas Ozarks near Witt Springs

12-31-2018 Bailey Cole Creek upper section

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking Location:  35.73974   -92.91068, 1642 ft.
  Falls #8:  35.73811   -92.91275, 1510 ft.
  Falls #9:  35.73843   -92.91278
  Falls #10:  35.74061   -92.91388
  Falls #11:  35.74108   -92.91405
  Falls #12:  35.74152   -92.91515, 1404 ft.
  Falls #13:  35.74139   -92.91355
  Falls #14:  35.74150   -92.90923
  Falls #15:  35.74144   -92.90947
  Falls #16:  35.74133   -92.90956
  Falls #17:  35.74071   -92.90840
  Falls #18:  35.73952   -92.90629
  Falls #19:  35.73867   -92.90406
  Falls #20:  35.73902   -92.90416
  Anniversary Falls:  35.73852   -92.90392

  Falls #22:  35.73820   -92.90363

  Falls #23:  35.73766   -92.90297

  Falls #24:  35.73773   -92.90263

  Falls #25:  35.73752   -92.90282

  Falls #26:  35.73724   -92.90247, 1600 ft.

Pet-Friendly: Dogs off leash should be OK.  This is a fairly rugged area, with a lot of large rocks you sometimes have to scramble over and around.  A smaller and/or older dog may have some difficulties in some areas.  There will be several creek crossings, and Bailey Cole Creek can be a little deep and very swift at times.

Hiking Statistics: Today's hike was 3.8 miles round trip, but seemed longer.  There was a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 313 feet, although there were several climbs up onto bluffs and back down again due to the terrain.  I would rate this a difficult bushwhack, obviously not because of the distance or elevation change, but because of the ruggedness of the terrain hiking along the creeks.  If the creek is as high as it was today you'll be hiking with wet feet, if that adds any difficulty factor for you.

GPS files (.gpx format) - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
  Bailey Cole Creek and Bailey Hollow waypoints
  Upper Bailey Cole Creek track
  

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:

  Bailey Cole Creek (lower section) from Falling Water Road
  Bailey Falls from Falling Water Road

Anniversary Falls

About three weeks ago, I went to Bailey Cole Creek to do a little exploring of that creek and the small hollow just south of it that contained Bailey Falls.  Both areas were fantastic, offering some of the most pristine Natural State goodness in an area that rarely sees any humans that are not on horseback.  It has very little of the horse-borne visitors, but trekkers like me are often deterred by the geology.  When the creeks in these hollows are high, making for the best in the water features they have, it also means Falling Water Creek will be high.  Sometimes, in dryer seasons, the level is low enough you can cross without getting wet.  Most of the year, crossing Falling Water Creek just means your lower legs will get wet, which in itself is enough to keep many from crossing it.  After a good rain, it can flow enough to knock you off your feet.  On my last hike here, it almost did just that.  I got off to a bad start that day, but still hiked the lower half of both hollows and ended up wet but quite happy with my day in the wilderness.

Falls #20

I was impressed enough with both drainages that I vowed to come back and explore the upper half of each valley.  Today, I headed up to hike the upper half of the valley containing Bailey Cole Creek.  Once again, I feel the need to elaborate on terminology and the names of these areas.  There is a Bailey Cole Creek reaching from its headwaters at Highway 16 to where it flows west into Falling Water Creek.  THAT one was my objective today.  It's confusing because there is also a major creek named Bailey Cole Creek with its headwaters directly opposite this one across Highway 16 that flows south down into the Middle Fork of the Illinois Bayou.  The hollow south of my hike today is unnamed, but I call it Bailey Hollow since it contains Bailey Falls.  Still confused?  Look at the topo map at the bottom of this post.  I still plan on exploring the upper half of Bailey Hollow and the Bailey Cole Creek that flows into the Middle Fork, but that will be another day.

Falls #16

So as not to waste a good part of my exploring time bushwhacking up a creek that I had already explored, as well as no doubt soaking myself again in Falling Water Creek, I looked for access from Highway 16.  I found an old Jeep road going right into the middle of the area I wanted to visit today.
(1) To get there from Dover, or points south/east of it, drive to Hector.  From "The Store", drive 3.1 miles north on Hwy 21 and turn left (west) onto OLD Hwy27.  Go 13.9 miles on Hwy 21 and turn right (east) on Hwy 16.  Go 7.4 miles on Hwy 16 and turn left (north) on an old Jeep road.  Go 0.6 miles on the Jeep road and park.

(2) To get there from Pelsor (Sand Gap), or points north/west of it, from the intersection of Hwy 7 and Hwy 16, go east on Hwy 16 for 21.6 miles and turn left (north) onto a Jeep road.  Go 0.6 miles on the Jeep road and park.
By "Jeep road", I mean an old road that is not maintained and is basically just a couple of ruts across the ground wide enough for a vehicle.  This one is in fairly good condition, but if you don't have a 4WD and/or high clearance vehicle, you might want to park just off Highway 16 and walk the extra half mile.  Use your own judgement.

Falls #9

I'll describe the route I took today first, but after I returned to where I parked my FJ Cruiser, I did a little more exploring and I would recommend a slightly different route in the future.  I first headed southwest and down into the major prong of Bailey Cole Creek there.  I immediately found a couple of small waterfalls, Falls #8 (Falls #1 through Falls #7 are in the lower section of Bailey Cole Creek) and Falls #9, in the range of six to ten feet high.  continuing downstream in this prong, I didn't find anything else but one small yet picturesque waterfall until I came to where this prong flowed into Bailey Cole Creek.  There I found Falls #11, a waterfall that flowed over the bluff directly into the main creek.  I had looked a little upstream of Falls #8 and #9 and didn't see any large water features, just more pretty streams and small cascades and waterfalls.  Depending on what you are looking for, you might want to skip this side drainage entirely.  

Falls #12

I found a spot where I could cross Bailey Cole Creek with only getting a little wet, which was a miracle, as much flow as there was today.  The forest service maps show this as a continuously running stream all the way up into the upper reaches of the valley.  With the recent rains, it was more like a river than a creek today.  Weirdly enough, it seemed like there was as much, or maybe even more flow all the way up to the first major fork at the creek's headwaters.  I went downstream to where I had left off on my hike coming up from Falling Water Creek a couple of weeks ago.  Along the way was Falls #12, which flows into a very large pool in the main creek.  Doubling back to hike upstream, I went up on the bluff since there was scant room to hike along the creek with the water being so high and the banks on each side of it being so steep.  Coming off the bluff to where I had found Falls #11, I found the old horse trail and was able to follow it upstream for at least a short distance.

Falls #11

A short distance upstream from Falls #11, I found Falls #13, a nice cascade on Bailey Cole Creek.  Continuing upstream, I came to one of the major side drainages, flowing in from the north.  I hiked up it a distance, but at this elevation, it had a relatively low slope and the high, steep bluffs and narrow channel meant I would need to climb up on the bluff to explore it upstream.  It had a good deal of flow, so it may very well have something worth seeing further upstream.  It extends all the way up to Richland Creek Road (CR-265).  Today, I wanted to make sure I had time to loop all the way up to the top of Bailey Cole Creek, so I left that drainage for another day and continued up the main creek.  Falls #14, and #15 were in a side drainage with Falls #16 directly opposite of them on the south side of the creek.  Falls #16 will be a wet-weather waterfall, I'm sure, but it sure looked nice today, extending all the way up the bluff.

Falls #19

Falls #17 is a two-tiered waterfall in a side drainage, and upstream from it, Falls #18 is a cascade on the main creek that seems to envelop a large rock in the stream bed.  From there, it was about a quarter mile upstream before I came to other water features.  Falls #19 is a beautiful set of cascades flowing over and around large boulders in the creek.  Falls #20 is a fairly large waterfall in the side drainage right next to Falls #19.  Upstream from that, Anniversary Falls (Falls #21) through #26 were all in rapid succession on Bailey Cole Creek itself.  Anniversary Falls was one my wife Bethany instantly took a liking to and is named to commemorate a special anniversary for us.  None of these are very tall, but a large amount of flow and the geometry of the waterfalls make all of the 'photo-worthy'.  These waterfalls were spaced out on the main creek scarcely 100 or 150 feet apart, but the ruggedness of the terrain and obstacles along the creek made it challenging enough to get from one to another.  It seems like I barely got my camera and tripod put away when I needed to get them out again for another shot.  

Falls #26

Upstream from Falls #26, the main creek still had a substantial amount of flow.  The Forest Service Maps show this as a continuously flowing creek almost all the way up to the headwaters near Highway 16.  This is unusual for the Ozarks in that there isn't a lot of drainage area above it to provide a lot of flow.  That being said, I have found that in the Ozarks weird things happen underground with streams of water, and I have seen water pouring out of a spring that had to be forced up somehow to the elevation it was at.  The maps do show a small lake or large pond on some private land above this on the other side of the highway, so that may be a source somehow.  The main creek flowed off from a juncture at this point, and it looked like it had some blufflines that may hold up.  However, I was running out of daylight, and the old logging road shown on the maps that I intended to take for my return to the parking area was shown to be just a few yards up on the bluff.

Falls #22

Just as an aside, don't trust the Forest Service maps.  There was nothing resembling an old trace road anywhere near where the maps showed it to run.  According to the map, the Jeep road I drove in on should have extended around the bluff and up the creek to just a few yards above Falls #26.  It did not.  I set off bushwhacking across the bluff toward the Jeep road I had parked on and never saw a sign of this trace road.  Getting back to the FJ and completing my loop, I decided to do a little more exploring and see just where the road did go.  From where I parked, I started hiking down it.  The road immediately goes to more of a trail, something I would not want to take a vehicle on.  Instead of turning right and going upstream as the map showed, it instead hooked left and went down the face of the bluff downstream toward the creek.  

Falls #23

This was at one time a road of sorts, now it is what I call a trace road.  It was probably cut into the face of the bluff as a mule/horse/wagon road at one point, and eventually, as people abandoned the hollows, the forest took over again.  It probably has progressed to being maybe an ATV trail at one point to just a horse trail, which it does look like it has been used for lately.  It crosses a small drainage and is washed out to the point I wouldn't even want to try taking a side-by-side over, but I have crazy friends that I know would give it a try.  This trail extends a quarter mile down to Bailey Cole Creek, right across the creek from the large prong that I had started going up, but turned back.  

Falls #25

From the parking location to the creek, it only drops in elevation about 200 feet, so this is a nice and easy hiking route to get from the parking spot to the main creek itself.  The small plateau where the trail ends up is fairly open amongst the large trees, a perfect camping or picnic spot if you are looking for such a place away from everyone also on earth.  It will also be a good starting point to hike up and down Bailey Cole Creek, or for me to explore that large drainage.  It was almost dark by this time, but I'll be back to take a look in that hollow.  I didn't travel very far today or have a big minimum-to-maximum elevation difference.  However, you make several climbs into and out of tight spots with steep and slippery bluffs.  Due to the ruggedness of the terrain, the numerous creek crossings, and steep bluff climbs, I would rate this a difficult hike.  Well worth it, but difficult.

Bailey Cole Creek (upper section) GPS track
Red - GPS track today along creek
Green - Jeep road
Purple - Trail to creek level

Entire Bailey Cole Creek area
Red - GPS track today along creek (today's hike)
Green - Jeep road
Purple - Trail to creek level
Orange - GPS track along lower section of creek
Blue - horse trail t Bailey Falls
Yellow - GPS track along Bailey Hollow Creek

Triple Falls and Rock Bridge Creek Falls, Buffalo National River area near Jasper, Arkansas

12/27/2018 - Triple Falls and Rock Bridge Creek Falls

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking Location:  36.05646   -93.25742
  Triple Falls: 36.05470, -93.25830
  Trailhead - Rock Bridge Creek Falls:  36.05579   -93.25725
  Rock Bridge Creek Falls:  36.05529  -93.25634

Pet-Friendly: Dogs will be fine.  This is a short, level hike with a well-defined volunteer trail.  It is a popular location so there may be other folks there as well.  If your dog doesn't play well with others, please leave it home.

Hiking Statistics:  This is more of a stroll than a hike.  It is only about a quarter mile each way to Triple Falls, mostly on the level along the creek.  Rock Bridge Creek Falls will be even shorter, but you will need to bushwhack to it from the road to get to the base.  The top of the waterfall is just below the access road to the parking lot.

GPS files (.gpx format) - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
  Middle Buffalo waypoints
  

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:
  Liles Falls

Triple Falls
Tom, Jeannette, Rick and Bethany Henry

I have written a blog post for Triple falls before, which you can see here. That was almost five years ago.  I like to think this blog (as well as my writing, hopefully) has evolved over the years, but this is such a simple hike it has not needed an update. Today, however, I got to see something new.  New for me at any rate.  My brother Tom and his wife, Jeannette, were staying with us for the Christmas holidays and Bethany and I wanted to show them some of the Natural State beauty in the Buffalo River area; Triple Falls, Liles Falls, the Parker-Hickman homestead, and other scenery along this part of the Buffalo National River.  Of course, we also wanted to treat them to deep-fried burgers at the Ozark Cafe in Jasper.  Not just deep-fried burgers, but everything here is delicious.  We rarely are able to pass through Jasper without stopping.

To get there, look for the road to Kyle's Landing Access on Hwy 74 west of Mt. Sherman.  The road is marked with many signs for Kyle's Landing and Camp Orr, and there is a canoe rental place next to the turnoff.  Take Kyle's Landing Road for one mile where the road forks, and take the right fork.  i.e. - go to Camp Orr, NOT Kyle's Landing.  Follow the road to Camp Orr another 1.8 miles, which will take you to the bottom of the mountain.  At that point, the road crosses a creek and immediately to the right will be a parking place for the falls. Note that the sign says "Twin Falls Parking".  The falls have long been known by the name Twin Falls as well, but there are in fact now three waterfalls side by side,  and there are many other "Twin Falls" in Arkansas.  Tim Ernst calls it Triple Falls in his excellent guidebook, Arkansas Waterfalls.  That's good enough for me, and if you don't have that book as a reference, get it.  You will thank me later.  Be aware the road to Triple Falls is steep and can get very rough, but is quite driveable by most vehicles.  Today, it was actually in very good condition despite all the recent rains.

Rock Bridge Creek Falls
Tom (6' tall) added for scale in the middle

Today, on the way down the road, I noticed something I had never noticed before.  As we passed over the small creek just before the parking location, I caught a glimpse of whitewater in my peripheral vision.  Slowing down and steering way over to the edge of the road (to the extreme nervousness and discomfort of my passengers), I could see a large, long, cascade.  Even looking from the top down, it was easy to see it would be beautiful.  I didn't want to burden our guests with bushwhacks or long hikes today, but this was too close to not check out.  I made a mental note to do just that after we visited Triple Falls, and went on to the parking location just a couple hundred feet further down the road.  My wife, Bethany, has learned keywords like "bushwhack", and knows that it means no trail whatsoever, which she has also learned she wants no part of if she can avoid it.

Triple Falls 

The land beyond the parking location is actually on land controlled by the Boy Scouts, not public land.  This is part of Camp Orr, operated by the Boy Scouts of America.  I took a quick look while Bethany, Tom, and Jeannette were unloading, and sure enough, the "Private Property" sign was downstream of where the Rock Bridge Creek Falls was, so it should be okay to hike on over and take a look.  After parking, we crossed back to the other side of the road and the trail to Triple Falls is straight ahead.  The trail is on the level, running right next to Shop Creek, which feeds Triple Falls.  You will be able to see and hear the waterfall almost immediately, it is that close.  It is less than a quarter mile to the waterfalls.  Along the way, there is another trail branching off to the right that goes to the top of the falls, but go straight ahead and you will be at the base of the three falls in no time.  Today, Triple Falls was spectacular, with the recent rains really letting it put on quite a show.

Upper section of Rock Bridge Creek Falls
with Tom Henry

Hiking back to the FJ, Tom and I left Bethany and Jeannette at the parking spot while we checked out this new (new to me, anyway) waterfall.  One of the BNR hiking trails actually runs from the road near the parking spot, close to the private property line, and across the bottom of Rock Bridge Creek.  I'm assuming the creek was named for a rock bridge that had probably been built across it many, many, years ago.  After I got home and did a little research, I found one reference to a Rock Bridge Creek Falls with the correct GPS coordinates, so unlike a lot of waterfalls that I notice while out hiking, this one actually had a name already.  It was, in fact, a remarkably beautiful cascading stairstep-type waterfall, and the heavy rains really had it flowing well.  I'm really surprised to not find any photos on Panoramio or Google Earth of it.  Hiking back, I found it to be much shorter and easier to just hike over to where the road bends around to the parking location.  It's an even shorter hike than the one to Triple Falls.

Triple Falls is a must-see waterfall if you are ever in the area, preferably during wetter periods.  This is the most natural beauty for the least effort you will ever experience.  If you go after a good rain, Rock Bridge Creek will give you a fantastic bonus with just a little extra effort.  Today, we had guests and I couldn't get away with a lot of bushwhack-style exploring.  However, I did notice on the drive out that there was another nice sized waterfall upstream of where the road crossed back over Shop Creek, which feeds Triple Falls.  I'll come back on another day and hike both Shop Creek and Rock Bridge Creek from top to bottom.

GPS Waypoints for Triple Falls and Rock Bridge Creek Falls

Bearcat Hollow waterfalls and bluffs, Arkansas Ozarks near Iceledo Gap

12-18-2018 Bearcat Hollow 

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking location:  35.86422   -92.92651,  1916 ft.
  Trailhead to Bearcat Hollow:  35.86117   -92.91119,  1803 ft.
  Bluffline Break:  35.86425   -92.90439,  1498 ft. 
  Bearcat Hollow Falls:  35.86322   -92.90621,  1501 ft.
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #2:  35.86253   -92.90500
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #3:  35.86262   -92.90319
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #4:  35.86299   -92.90206,  1347 ft.
  Trinity Falls:  35.86315   -92.90175
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #6:  35.86338   -92.90122
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #7:  35.86339   -92.90078
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #8:  35.86339   -92.90050
  Bearcat Hollow UNF #9:  35.86340   -92.90039,  1183 ft.
  

Pet-Friendly: Dogs off leash should be OK.  Be aware that downstream of Falls #4, it is very steep and smaller dogs may have a lot of difficulty in the jumble of large rocks.  I took Boomer today and he managed just fine.

Hiking Statistics:  This is a hike along a trace trail until you get to the bluffline break to descend into Bearcat Hollow itself. From below the bluffline, it is all a bushwhack hike.  I hiked 4.5 miles, with two miles of that being on Kettle Corn Road.  The minimum-to-maximum elevation difference was 733 feet, and a good deal of that was in very rough terrain.  That climb out really raises the difficulty factor on this one.  We took approximately five hours on the hike, but a good deal of that time was photo-taking time.  Our actual moving time was only 1.3 hours.  I would rate the hike down to the base of Bearcat Hollow Falls as a moderate hike, and the hike downstream and back up as a difficult one.

GPS files (.gpx format) - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
  Richland area waypoints
  Bearcat Hollow GPS track
  

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:

  Stack Rock Homestead Falls and Punchbowl Falls
  Dogwood Falls
  Sandstone Castle

  Devon Falls, Twin Falls, Hamilton Falls, and Richland Falls
  Landslide Falls

  Wild River Hollow

  Terwilliger Falls and Pine Hollow

Bearcat Hollow Falls

I had been to Bearcat Hollow just two weeks ago with an old friend and frequent hiking companion, Dan Frew.  We had been exploring other bluffs in the Richland area and encountered a long-time resident of the area that told us of this hollow tucked away between the Richland Wilderness and Dry Creek valley.  His directions were not the best in the world, and he didn't know the names of the hollow or roads nearby.  However, after several missteps and going down the wrong tracks, we finally found our way down into the hollow.  Bearcat Hollow has an upper hollow with a very tall bluff surrounding the whole upper section, that then spills out over the very steep bluff above Richland Creek.  On that first trip, we had already put in a few miles that day and only hiked as far as the large waterfall at the head of this upper bluffline.  Water levels were low on that day, but we could tell it would be a really nice waterfall with a little rain.  Today, I decided to go back out and see what else was in this hollow, so Boomer (our German Shepherd and another frequent hiking companion) and I loaded up in the FJ and headed out.

Boomer chillin at the base of Falls #4

To get there, take Highway 7 north and turn onto Highway 123 north at Lurton.  From the 'T' where you can turn left to Hwy 7 or right to Hwy 123, turn right and go 1.5 miles.  Turn right on NC5070 (aka FR-1200, aka CR-36, aka Herbie Hampton Rd, aka Assembly of God Church Road).  Take NC5070 for 6.8 miles, then turn right on NC5080 (aka FR-1205).  Go 1.6 miles on NC5080 and you are at an odd 4-way juncture; this is Iceledo Gap.  Go 1.9 miles south of Iceledo Gap on FR-1205 (aka NC-5070) to Dickey Junction.  Dickey Junction is 5.0 miles north of the Richland Creek campground if you are coming from that direction.   From Dickey Junction, turn east onto FR-1201 (aka Richland Road or NC-5085).  Go 2.1 miles on FR-1201 and turn right onto Kettle Corn Road.  This is a dead-end road that has a gate across it in just a few yards.  If the gate is open, you can drive an additional 1.0 miles on Kettle Corn Road to where an old logging road branches off on the left.  Park here, this is the trailhead to Bearcat Hollow.  If the gate is closed, as it usually is, park at the gate and walk the additional mile to the trailhead.  The Forest Service does use this road, and there are two small parcels of private land down this road,  so park far enough off the road that folks with a legitimate need for the road (and keys to the locks on the gate) can get through if needed.

If you look to the left of the old logging road, there is a faint trail heading downhill.  Someone has put up a sign "Bearcat Hollow aka Horseshoe Hollow".  I have never heard of Horseshoe Hollow, and can't find a reference to it anywhere; on all the maps, it is Bearcat Hollow, so that's what I'll call it.  It looks like no one has used the trail for some time, but it actually follows a good route down to the creek just above the top of Bearcat Hollow Falls.  That name, by the way, seemed logical to Dan and me on our initial trip here.  At that time, we didn't see any evidence of other waterfalls nearby, and we normally name the biggest waterfall in a drainage after the hollow it is in if they are all previously unknown and unnamed.  On that initial trip, we followed the top of the bluffline looking for a break but didn't find one until all the way at the end of the upper hollow, where it opens up above Richland Creek.  We noticed that faint trail at that point and followed it back directly across the top of the knob to where the trail crossed the creek.  This is a much easier route than trying to follow the top of the bluff.

Falls #2

Having the advantage of that first experience a couple of weeks ago, Boomer and I followed the trail across the creek and directly to the bluffline break.  Another advantage of having Boomer along is that he can follow a trail that I will lose when it gets too faint.  When I give him the "lead" command, he'll follow a trail ahead of me, and if there isn't one will find the best possible route.  The break is easily hiked, sloping down the north side of the hollow toward Bearcat Hollow Falls.  We hiked down the break and kept going right along the base of the bluff.  The bluffs here are solid sandstone, and quite high.  At one location, there are pitons and chains hanging from them left at some point by some very adventurous rock climbers.  I can see why the backward-sloping cliff of hard, solid rock would appeal to rock climbers, but it's just not for me.  I'm terrified of heights as it is.  I believe the folks that climbed here are the ones that initially cut the trail down into the hollow, to get the best path possible for packing all that gear in.  

Inside-out view of Bearcat Hollow Falls - with Boomer

From the bluffline break, we hiked along the base of the bluff back up to the top of the hollow, where Bearcat Hollow Falls is.  I did some scaling on this waterfall and found it to be just over 35 feet tall, which gives you an idea how large the shelter cave behind it is.   From the large pool below Bearcat Hollow Falls, the creek winds through the upper hollow past some rocks bigger than a barn which broke off the bluff in eons past and ended up in the center of the hollow.  This is one of the most scenic creeks I have seen in the Ozarks, with crystal-clear water and pristine surroundings.  This will be a truly photogenic area in the springtime.  There are a couple of small waterfalls, Unnamed Falls #2 and #3, along the creek before it gets to the point the upper hollow spills over the next huge bluffline and tumbles down to where it flows into Richland Creek.  

Falls #4

This is where we found Falls #4, with an initial drop in the 25 to 30-foot range.    At the top of Falls #4 is a huge sentinel rock, and directly in front of this huge boulder is a break allowing access to the base of Falls #4.  After spending some time taking photos, Boomer and I headed on downstream.  I chose the left side of the creek to go downstream, and it was a real rock jumble.  The creek tumbles down very steeply at this point.  There are a series of waterfalls tumbling down for a total drop of about a hundred feet, so close together I called the whole thing Trinity Falls.  

Trinity Falls

Below Trinity Falls, the slope on the creek still dropped off steeply.  If you look at this area on topo maps (see the map below), it doesn't really tell the exact story, but you can see that the bluff directly above Richland Creek is very steep and deep.  If you look at it with satellite imagery, you can see the distinctive upper hollow, with a more gradual slope, then from the top of Falls #4 the dramatic change in slope.  Below this second bluffline, the area around the creek is beautiful, with a continuous chain of cascades and small waterfalls.  We found UnNamed Falls #6, #7, #8, and #9 one after another over a distance of about a hundred yards.  That is where we called it quits for the day and turned around.  I'm sure there are more waterfalls downstream, but at this point more and more of the water was going into the rocks and underground, and the flow in the creek was decreasing.  If I can make it here with good water and greenery in the spring or early summer, I'll explore further downstream.  

Falls #7

Boomer was starting to whine about having to maneuver around and over the large rocks in the jumble on this (south) side of the creek, and I had been keeping an eye on the other side to see if it was any better.  It appeared that once you got above the rocks close to the creek itself, there was more even terrain on the bluff over the north side.  So we climbed the short bank on the north side (right side as you go upstream) and made our way back upstream and uphill.  It actually was much easier hiking on that side, with not nearly the amount of rock climbing needed.  As we approached the top of the lower bluffline, where that huge boulder was near the top of Falls #4, we had to weave through some good-sized rocks.  If you were going to blaze a trail down this hollow, this would be the exact route to do it.  At any rate, Boomer liked it.  I think he had had about all the swimming, barking, chasing turkeys, and other such dog fun he could handle for the day and was ready to head home.  

Falls #8

The climb back to where we parked was a total of 733 feet, which never seemed like much on trails in the mountains out west.  Here in the Ozarks, a climb like that is a lot more challenging and tiring.  Going from Falls #9 to the big rock next to Falls #4 was less than 200 feet of that climb out, but it seemed like it was straight up.  It's basically like climbing a flight of stairs 20 floors up, but with a pack and without stairs, on slippery leaves and rocks, while climbing over and around stuff.  Which is a long way of saying we had to stop at the big sentinel rock and catch our breath.  After a short rest, the other 500+ feet we had to climb did not seem all that bad.  The bluffline break is not that far from Falls #4, and the slope back out isn't that bad until you go up the break.  As bluffline breaks go, it's not that bad either.  We made our way back along the faint trail, which Boomer could find with ease, even in spots when I couldn't see a trace of it at all.  

Bluffs at Bearcat Hollow - evidence of
rock climbers climbing both faces here.

The Richland area is one of my favorite hiking spots because the remoteness 

Pitons and chains hanging from
near the top of the bluff above

and ruggedness of the terrain means few people even venture into it.  The Bearcat Hollow area is just outside of the designated wilderness area but is every bit as rough and isolated as the wilderness area itself.  Even though "leaves off" season is one of the uglier times of year for us, it was still absolutely beautiful and unspoiled.  The thick, undisturbed moss and ferns in the area added a little greenery, but I'm sure it will be even better with some foliage.  It's hard to tell this time of year, but it didn't appear that there was very much underbrush or briars to worry about.  If you are up for a little rigorous trekking, I would highly recommend this area.  If you aren't so keen on the "rigorous" part, you can avoid most of that by just going to Bearcat Hollow Falls, then following the creek to Falls #4 and heading back from there.  Oh, by the way, I know you have been wondering the entire time you read this; there is indeed an animal called a Bearcat.  Just not around these parts.  The only thing I can imagine is that the name was partially the result of the output of some of those old whiskey stills from the prohibition days that we find remains of throughout the Ozarks.  If you drink enough of that stuff, you see all kinds of things.  Be careful out there!

Red - Bearcat Hollow GPS track
Dashed red - where the Forest Service thinks the Ozark Highlands Trail is
Blue - Punchbowl Falls GPS track (where the OHT really is)

Bailey Falls - low impact route, Falling Water Creek area, Ozarks near Ben Hur, Arkansas

12-15-2018 Bailey Falls

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking for Bailey Falls:  35.73473  -92.93368,  1258 ft.
  Bailey Falls:  35.72905,  -92.92902, 1332 ft.
  Bailey UNF #1:  35.72995,  -92.92916,  1332 ft.
  

Pet-Friendly: Dogs off leash should be OK.  This is a bushwhack all the way and you have to cross Falling Water Creek, which can be fairly challenging after a good rain. 

Hiking Statistics:  This is a relatively short hike without a lot of elevation change.  That being said, you do have to cross Falling Water Creek.  In order to take the trail to and from Bailey Falls, you also have to climb down the bluff without a real bluffline break.  It was 2.35 miles round trip to Bailey Falls on this route, with a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 254 feet.  I would rate this a moderate hike.  If you don't do the only bushwhack part, which is climb down to the base of the two waterfalls, I would call it an easy hike.

GPS files (.gpx format) - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
  Falling Water Creek area waypoints
  Bailey Falls track - via the horse trail from Bailey Cole Creek
  

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:
  Bailey Falls (bushwhack route)
  Bailey Cole Creek

  Horsetail, Fuzzybutt, Intersection, and Six Finger Falls

  Keefe Hollow Waterfalls

  Landslide Falls

  Lilly Falls, Hidden Falls, and Ripple Slide Falls

  Devon Falls, Twin Falls, Hamilton Falls, and Richland Falls

  Wild River Hollow

  Terwilliger Falls and Pine Hollow

Bailey Falls

I visited Bailey Falls just over a month ago for the first time.  Why am I writing an updated blog post so soon?  I thought about just updating my previous post, but really, these two hikes are totally different routes with different creek crossings, parking locations, etc.  About the only thing they have in common is the end result - ending up at Bailey Falls and Bailey Hollow Unnamed Falls #1.  I think to minimize confusion, I'll just post a separate blog post and let the readers decide what works best for them.  That last hike here didn't end well, with some camera damage and Boomer being unable to climb the bluff to get to the top of Bailey Falls.  You can read all about that one here.  After hiking all day along nearby Bailey Cole Creek, I made sure I had time to try this new route to Bailey Falls, this time without Boomer and with a new camera filter.

Bailey Hollow upstream of Bailey Falls

I feel like I need to repeat some clarifying verbiage about the hollows and creeks in this immediate area so you know exactly which hollow this is.  Nearby Bailey Cole Creek is a fairly good sized hollow for this area.  This hike is to an unnamed hollow with an unnamed creek, but one with a nice waterfall called Bailey Falls.  So, to be clear, Bailey Falls is NOT on Bailey Cole Creek or even in the same drainage.  I'm calling the hollow with Bailey Falls in it Bailey Hollow (since it has Bailey Falls in it).  Hopefully, that won't add even more to the confusion.  Both drainages run adjacent to each other, draining into Falling Water Creek about a half mile apart.  To make things a little more confusing, there is another Bailey Cole Creek.  The headwaters for the two creeks are less than a mile apart, with one flowing north of Highway 16 into Falling Water Creek and the other flowing south of Highway 16 into the Middle Fork Illinois Bayou.  So, to be clear AGAIN, we are talking only about the Bailey (whoever Bailey Cole was) stuff in the Falling Water Creek area. 

Parking location

Getting to today's parking location is easy, it's just a half mile down the road from the one for the other route.  From Pelsor (Sand Gap), go 9.9 miles east on Highway 16, through the small community of Ben Hur, and turn left (north) on Falling Water Road.  This is the first left after going through Ben Hur.  You'll pass a sign for the Piney Creek WMA on the right, and there is a sign here that says "Garrison Falling Water Horse Camp" on the left. Go 4.5 miles on Falling Water Road and turn onto the dirt road on the right.  It goes down to a campsite along Falling Water Creek that you can't see from the road.  The road leading into the campsite is very rough, but it's also very short;  I think most vehicles will be OK on it.  Park at the campsite.  This is midway between Falling Water Falls and the low water bridge downstream. It is about 2.2 miles north of Falling Water Falls.  

From the parking location, you can see where the dirt road you were on goes to a horse trail that crosses the creek here.  Cross Falling Water Creek and get on the horse trail.  I had done that on my first hike today, and you can read that blog post for a recap of my earlier trials and tribulations.  From here, just follow the horse trail.  It will lead to a junction, where the horse camp folks have kindly put up signs to point

Along the trail above Bailey Hollow

to Purdy Hollow or to Bailey Falls.  Head right, toward Bailey Falls.  The trail parallels Falling Water Creek, and today it seemed like it had about as much water.  The horse trail slopes up from the junction to the top of the bluff above Bailey Hollow, and there was a good stream of water running down it from the slope, sometimes two or three inches deep on the trail.  The trail continues on along the top of the bluff on the north side of Bailey Hollow and soon comes to the top of Falls #1.

Bailey Hollow Falls #1

The Forest Service maps don't even show the drainage feeding Falls #1 as a seasonal creek, but today it had pretty good flow.  Continuing on around to the top of Bailey Falls, I could see that it had what I would call massive flow.  If you look at the topo map below, you can see that this hollow extends on quite a way upstream of Bailey Falls and has a good sized drainage area.  I had intended to explore a little of that today, but I was simply running out of daylight.  I followed the horse trail up to where the main creek forks, then decided to head back to make sure I got out before dark.  I went back to Bailey Falls and took some photos and video, then climbed down to the base of the waterfall.  I have not found a very good bluffline break, but I know of three not-so-good ones.  As always, use your own judgment and if it looks iffy to you, don't do it.  On my previous visit, I found a break on the right side of Bailey Falls, as you are facing it, but Boomer couldn't make the jump up to the start of this rather steep break.  This time, I looked at the small waterfall to the left of Bailey Falls (as you are facing it, on the side with the horse trail and found a way to climb down the rock outcroppings there to get to the base.  

Bailey Falls

After taking some photos at the base of Bailey Falls, I went back downstream to Falls #1 and shot a few there as well.  While there, I found another route climbing ledges and rock outcroppings on the right (east) side of the waterfall.  From there, I made my way back down the trail and the parking location with an easy half-hour to spare before it got dark.  It had been a great day in the outdoors.  I spent most of it with cold water sloshing around in my boots, and a good part of the day with wet clothes, letting my body heat dry them out with temperatures in the 40s, but still an awesome day nonetheless.  So what are the pros and cons of this route?  Well for starters, it's not a bushwhack.  There is a fairly good trail the whole way, at least to the top of the waterfalls.  On the con side, if you don't bushwhack up the hollow along the creek, you miss some awesome creekside scenery, but it's definitely an easier hike on the trail.  The trail is about a mile longer, 2.35 miles vs 1.3 miles to just go straight up the hollow, but even with the added length, it is still much easier and less tiring.  Climbing up and down the bluff to get to the base of the waterfalls would be the biggest downside of this route, but I'm terrified of heights and I managed it just fine.  

Bailey Falls is a really nice waterfall in a very scenic location, right in the middle of one of the most prolific polyfoss areas in Arkansas.  I would venture to say that the Falling Water/Richland area is one of the best areas anywhere for waterfall hunters.  So if you want to give it a go, and I highly recommend you do, take a look at both blog posts and pick the one that best suits the time of year and what your capabilities and interests are.  Whatever you do, be safe out there and have fun!

Red - Bailey Falls GPS track (bushwhack route)
Blue - Bailey Falls GPS track (horse trail route)
Orange - Bailey Cole Creek track