Thursday, December 27, 2018

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

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Thursday, December 20, 2018

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:
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)
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Saturday, December 15, 2018

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

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

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Bailey Cole Creek, Falling Water Road area, Ozarks near Ben Hur, Arkansas

12-15-2018 Bailey Cole Creek

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking Location:  35.74158  -92.93337,  1258 ft.
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #1:  35.73691  -92.92531 
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #2:  35.73690  -92.92516
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #3:  35.73664  -92.92459
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #4:  35.73848  -92.92303
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #5:  35.73868  -92.92486
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #6:  35.74086  -92.91884
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #7:  35.74076  -92.91837
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 another hike without a lot of elevation change.  That being said, you do have to cross Falling Water Creek and will cross the creek in this drainage several times.  It was 3.43 miles round trip, with a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 271 feet.  I would rate this a moderate bushwhack.  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
  Falling Water Creek area waypoints
  Bailey Cole Creek track
  
Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:

Along Bailey Cole Creek
We got a fair amount of rain over the last couple of days, and I figured I needed to get out someplace new.  There are a couple of hollows north of Falling Water Falls that my friend Dan Frew hiked a few months ago that I have been meaning to hike ever since.  I went to one of those, the unnamed hollow containing Bailey Falls, last month.  Unfortunately, I had a little camera disaster and Boomer was unable to climb the rocks to get up through one of the bluffline breaks, so we made it to Bailey Falls but I called it a day after that and went back the way we had come.  Today, I left Boomer at home to supervise Bethany doing all the Christmas decorating.  Our house looks like a veritable Christmas explosion took place.  I love it, but my decorating skills are severely limited, so I helped by getting out of the way.

The first of these hollows is the drainage containing Bailey Cole Creek, a fairly good sized hollow for this area.  The second is an unnamed hollow with an unnamed creek but has a nice waterfall called Bailey Falls.  So, to be clear, Bailey Falls is NOT on Bailey Cole Creek or even in the same drainage.  Both drainages run adjacent to each other, draining into Falling Water Creek.  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 that was) stuff in the Falling Water Creek area.  

Parking Location
Getting to today's parking location is easy.  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". 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.  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 past Falling Water Falls.  No one was at Falling Water Falls when I went past it, so I stopped for the quick obligatory snapshot.

Along Bailey Cole Creek
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.  That's easier said than done, today.  The recent rains had brought the level up in Falling Water Creek and it was now running almost three feet at the deepest point here.  Of course, it didn't look that deep and figured surely it wouldn't be deeper than the creek waders I had used just a month ago when going to Bailey Falls.  Those waders only go up the crotch, so they were unfortunately just a tad short.  I took on some water in both legs and scurried across as fast as I could.  Not that easy to scurry when wearing waders.  The good news is, for this hike, crossing Falling Water Creek is about the biggest challenge.  

Horse Trail Junction
After getting to the other side, I took the waders off and assessed the damage.  One foot was still remarkably dry, but the other boot was pretty much full of water.  I drained the boot, put a dry sock on my left foot, and stashed the creek waders behind a tree for my return trip back across Falling Water Creek.  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 to Purdy Hollow or to Bailey Falls.  I have never heard of Purdy Hollow, and it doesn't make sense they would call it that when Bailey Cole Creek is the name of the creek running through the hollow.  Although this could be just another thing the map makers have screwed up, which would also explain why there are two "Bailey Cole Creeks" so close to each other.  In any case, we'll hike over to Bailey Falls later.  To get to the Bailey Cole Creek drainage, go toward "Purdy Hollow".

Falls #2
The horse trail runs close to Bailey Cole Creek, and with normal water levels would be a really pleasant hike through a part of the area most folks don't ever see.   Today, the creek was running pretty clear, but fast and deep for what you might expect in a hollow like this.  There are quite a few places the trail crosses the creek.  Since I wanted to explore the whole area, I broke away from the trail anyway and headed up into the first side drainage with decent flow.  Falls #1 and Falls #2 were a little over a quarter mile up this drainage, and above Falls #2 a short distance was Falls #3.  By now, this drainage was getting to the point where any waterfalls I found above wouldn't have much flow anyway, so I moved on and climbed up on the bluff alongside it.

Falls #4
I looked at the topo map on my phone and noted that the next drainage should have a decent amount of water.  Instead of going all the way down this drainage and then up the next one, I opted to just cut across to the upper part of the bluff separating them and hike down the next one.  This drainage had only a couple of small waterfalls I considered photo-worthy, but you just never know what will be in one of these hollows until you check it out.  Getting back to Bailey Cole Creek, I headed on upstream.  This is where I needed to cross the main creek several times, which was a little tricky with the water being so high.  I did the rock-hopping thing as well as I could, trying to keep in water below the top of my boots.  It was, however, much deeper and much faster than it looked.  I ended up slipping on rocks a couple of times and going face down into the creek a couple of times and finally gave up.  One of the advantages of hiking alone is that no one sees you when you act like a complete idiot.  

Falls #7
At any rate, as much as I hate hiking with water sloshing in my boots, I finally accepted that it was going to be a wet feet kind of day and it was much easier after that.  My feet were cold, but at least now I could stick to the horse trail and just wade across where the trail crossed.  At the next side drainage, you could see the beautiful series of cascades that I called Falls #6 from the main creek, and Falls #7 was visible above it, pouring off a bluff into a pool behind a large boulder.  Climbing up along the cascading creek, I noticed that the large boulder had broken off the bluff above and had landed right over a small waterfall.  You could see and hear the waterfall through a gap in the rock.  Above this boulder was Falls #7, a classic Ozarks waterfall spilling off the bluff into a pool before feeding the waterfall under the boulder.

Falls #6
From Falls #6 and #7, I went upstream along the main creek for a way but stopped short of the major fork for Bailey Cole Creek.  The creek was still flowing well at this point, and the Forest Service maps show it as a year-round creek much further up into the drainage.  But it was already mid-afternoon, and I did want to hike the horse trail up to Bailey Falls today.  So at this point, I turned back and followed the horse trail all the way back down to the junction that takes you over to the small hollow containing Bailey Falls.  It was a fairly quick hike since I didn't concern myself with keeping my boots dry.  I'll come back and explore the rest of this hollow.   The lower half of this hollow didn't contain a whole lot of waterfalls, nor any that were particularly notable, but it was a really scenic chunk of wilderness that isn't often seen.  I'll come back and check out the upper part of this hollow.  For now, I was heading over to Bailey Falls via the horse trail.  
Orange - Bailey Cole Creek track
Red - Bailey Hollow track from Falling Water Creek
Blue - Bailey Hollow track from horse trail


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