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)