White Creek Falls

[McDowra]

First things first, without Uncle Waynes Pictures I would have had no clue these waterfalls were there.  And his directions didn't hurt either  . Ok White creek runs parallel to trail 201 on its east side. Lower white Creek falls is the most spectacular  falls I have seen in Bankhead Forest. It is certainly the tallest i have seen, guessing about 75 foot or taller. The whole walk was great, i'm trying to get all the info together and do a trail report soon. be sure and look at gallery pictures

[cwhiker]

Okay, I go see this how do I get there?

[McDowra]

The easiest way to the big falls would be park at randolph trailhead, take 201 to 209 when you hit the sipsey, turn right go up first tributary you come to. That gets you to the Lower Falls  which is what most people wanna see.   A very agile person could climb up on the right side facing falls to get to the rest of the falls. Thing is it is a very narrow slick moss cover ledge, and if you fall its a long way down from top of falls. If I was carrying a lot of camera equipment that's the way I would go.
   Now having said that, we didn't go that way. We went up 201 till the trail gets wet, bushwacked east till we hit the creek. followed it all the way down to the sipsey. The wet part of the trail has a culvert that runs under it, and a tag on a pine tree right past it. It is pretty obvious when you hit it. I'll upload pictures when I can but right now it says upload folder is full

here is a LINK to  pictures

[mich4076]

Nice pics! Sorry we missed yall. We had gotten there earlier than we thought. Parking was pretty bad there since there was about 3 trucks that took up several extra parking spots.     

[McDowra]

Nice pics! Sorry we missed yall. We had gotten there earlier than we thought. Parking was pretty bad there since there was about 3 trucks that took up several extra parking spots.    

No Problem hated we missed you guys, we noticed the poor job of parking some people did.

here is a LINK to some of our pictures

[JC785]

Looks like yall had a great time hate we missed it.

[cwhiker]

Thanks McDowra, I am planning on going next weekend if I am not helping a friend move.

[McDowra]

Thanks McDowra, I am planning on going next weekend if I am not helping a friend move.

I can't wait to see your pictures, I have a topo map with gps waypoints

[Joshua Szulecki]

Thanks for sharing the photos. Until today, the only photos I'd seen were Uncle Wayne's. This was an area I didn't manage to get out to, and will be high on my list for whenever I'm next in N. Alabama.

[Uncle Wayne]

First things first, without Uncle Waynes Pictures I would have had no clue these waterfalls were there.  And his directions didn't hurt either  .

Glad you found the falls of White Creek.  They are among my favorites. Were you able to follow / find my landmarks? You took some very good pictures, thanks for sharing.  I'm glad you enjoyed the trip.

[McDowra]

Your landmarks were dead on, thanks again. As much as i enjoyed the falls, bushwacking to them was just as awesome.

[toph]

My dad and I overnighted in the area this weekend as well.  Beautiful spot.  Did not make it to the upper falls tho...definitely doable but couldn't get my nerve up to make that climb and crawl.  Will come in from upstream next time.  Haven't seen any pictures of "Valentine Pond" yet from any of the folks who have been upstream...did you see it?

Got up Sunday and finally found a way into Shangri La Falls too

Toph's Flickr Pics

[Joshua Szulecki]

Yeah, if somebody has any pictures of Valentine Pond, that would really sort out some confusion. I have a small but nagging feeling that the pool on Hemlock Creek we've been trying to find may be Valentine Pond on White Creek.

SHANGRI-LA? How was the access? I was driving myself mad trying to get at it, but every time I wanted to the easier access road was closed.

[toph]

Access really wasn't too bad...usual hike in to Collier Falls plus another quarter mile or so bushwhack.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Toph,

Oh, right, don't you go in via the lumber yard?

[toph]

No, I go in off of FS245...drops you right out at the head of Collier Falls.

[Uncle Wayne]

Yeah, if somebody has any pictures of Valentine Pond, that would really sort out some confusion. I have a small but nagging feeling that the pool on Hemlock Creek we've been trying to find may be Valentine Pond on White Creek.

Part of that confusion is a result of the picture of upper White Creek Falls in the "Alabama Canyons" book with a description / directions to Hemlock falls.  He has the wrong picture (upper White Creek Falls)  with the description to Hemlock Falls.

I have a few pictures of Valentine Pond with Upper White Creek falls and I'll try to upload them later tonight.  Haven't taken any pictures solely of Valentine Pond as I've always been fascinated with the waterfalls when I was there.

[Joshua Szulecki]

AHA!

We knew something was up with that photo. That may finally sort out why nobody has been able to find it on Hemlock Creek. That also calls into question the existance of a second waterfall on Hemlock Creek.

Is this it? http://www.alatrails.com/...ndex.php/topic,828.0.html

[Uncle Wayne]

I loaded 5 photos of Valentine Pond in the gallery.  As I stated in an earlier post, I don't have a real good photo of the Pond as I've always been shooting the falls when in that area.  I'll do better next time.  

here's a link to one of the photos:  http://www.alatrails.com/...age.php?album=1&pos=0

[Joshua Szulecki]

That's definately it, so it really is mislabeled in the book.

[Uncle Wayne]

That's definately it, so it really is mislabeled in the book.

Yeah, there are a few other typos that slipped through also.  But none as big as that one.

[Pully]

There is only one cascade above Hemlock Falls.

[Uncle Wayne]

There is only one cascade above Hemlock Falls.

Yeah, only one.  Welcome aboard Pully.  I've been meaning to tell you about this site. Lots of good stuff here.

[cwhiker]

hey guys about how far its it from the trail head using the short cut to the falls. I might have some people from flickr going with me on Monday and they would like to know

[Uncle Wayne]

I'd say between 1.5 mile to 2 miles.  Should be flowing nicely after this rain.  Enjoy.

[McDowra]

I would leave early and plan on getting back late. There is a lot of beautiful stuff to see, when you get to the upper falls stay left. Do you have a gps?

[cwhiker]

I would leave early and plan on getting back late. There is a lot of beautiful stuff to see, when you get to the upper falls stay left. Do you have a gps?

Yes, I do

[McDowra]

you got mail!

[cwhiker]

Thanks for all your help guys. we made the trip today. We in Via the short cut and back out 209 making a nice lope hike for the day. working our way down from the upper to lower falls wasn't all that bad,but not something I would have tried if I had been alone. its good and slick and a not so nice fall if you slip. I have posted the photos on Flickr
Photos

[Joshua Szulecki]

CW,

I enjoyed the White Creek photos, but your Virginia Bluebells in bud photo brought a smile to my face. I've never seen them in that stage.

[cwhiker]

CW,

I enjoyed the White Creek photos, but your Virginia Bluebells in bud photo brought a smile to my face. I've never seen them in that stage.

Josh, thank you I got lucky on the Bluebells there was a whole crop of them just before the 209 jct. some had already bloomed. Have you ever seen them with white buds? I saw some that were white and not pink. have photo if you need to see

[Joshua Szulecki]

Nope, never seen them white. I've seen them in both the pinkish-purple and blue stages, but never white. One cool thing is that these are now nursery-grown, and you can plant them in your yard!

There is a MASSIVE cluster of them at the junction of Clifty and Braziel Creeks (mentioned in Alabama's Canyons) that should be absolutely awesome in a few weeks. You might want to check it out on the way to Clifty Creek Falls, although it smelled REALLY bad there last year.