The Waterfalls of Rock Creek and Dick Creek
Unaka Mountain Wilderness
Unicoi County, TN
with Mark and Brenda
Thursday, September 13th, 2018
Me and Mark at Dick Creek Falls #1
I decided to take Thursday off from work to get a little hiking in before Hurricane Florence arrived. The waterfalls on Dick Creek have been on my to do list for a while, so Brenda, Mark, and I planned a hike to check them out.
We started our hike at the Rock Creek Recreation Area Campground. Almost immediately, we saw signs for Rock Creek Falls which was not part of our original plan. But since none of us has been to this one, we decided to check it out.
About 2 miles from the trailhead we arrived at Lower Rock Creek Falls. A short scramble path down from the main trail takes you to the base of this one.
Lower Rock Creek Falls
Lower Rock Creek Falls
Shortly up the trail we saw what we thought was the Upper Falls so we bushwhacked down to it. Turns out it is not the Upper Falls, but it is a separate and significant enough drop that we are calling it Middle Rock Creek Falls.
Mark, Brenda, and Me at Middle Rock Creek Falls
Middle Rock Creek Falls
At about 3 miles from the trailhead, the Rock Creek Trail ends at Upper Rock Creek Falls. This one was much more impressive than any of us was anticipating! I figure it would be really spectacular with higher water flow!
Upper Rock Creek Falls
Mark and Me at Upper Rock Creek Falls
Mark at Upper Rock Creek Falls
Upper Rock Creek Falls Selfie
Mark at Upper Rock Creek Falls
The climb up to Upper Rock Creek Falls was over 1,000 feet in elevation gain. This is about all that Brenda wanted to tackle, so she decided to hang back, take a more leisurely pace back to her vehicle, and let Mark and I explore Dick Creek on our own.
Here is the GPS Track from our hike:
There are multiple drops along Dick Creek. I am calling the one furthest downstream Dick Creek Falls #1. We hit them in order heading upstream starting with #1.
Dick Creek Falls #1
Dick Creek Falls #1
Once you get past #1, there is not much of a trail anymore, but it is a fairly easy bushwhack upstream to Dick Creek Falls #2. I was a little disappointed in the amount of water flow. Photos I have seen of this one show it to be much more impressive with higher flow!
Dick Creek Falls #2
The bushwhacking/scrambling gets more difficult above and beyond Dick Creek Falls #2. However, the effort pays off as #3 is the tallest of the bunch!
Dick Creek Falls #3
The cave at the base of Dick Creek Falls #3
Mark has been to the first (3) on Dick Creek, but during his last trip he somehow missed #4! So we were not heading back until we found it! As a bonus, Dick Creek Falls #4 has a real nice swimming hole which we both took advantage of!
Mark and Me at Dick Creek Falls #4
Mark and Me at Dick Creek Falls #4
There are more drops upstream, but it is my understanding that they are not really worth the effort, especially compared to the main drops downstream. Therefore we decided to turn back after #4.
We arrived back at the trailhead to find Brenda stretched out in the back of her SUV enjoying a nice nap!
We decided to end the day with a stop in Asheville, NC for some grub and a few beverages at Ben's Tune-Up!
Mark, Brenda, and Me at Ben's Tune-up
Asheville, NC
The food was excellent but the service was a bit slow, especially considering it wasn't very busy. I also got a sampler flight of the Sake that they brew on site! Very interesting and I am glad I tried it, but I think I will stick with traditional beer.
This turned out to be an awesome day!
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157671257634467
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