Holmes Chapel and Capsey Creek

[JustADude]

Saturday the 17th was a nice crisp fall day so my sweetie and I headed out to Bankhead. After reading some threads on this site I had put Holmes Chapel Falls on my list of things to see and noticed that it isn't too far from Capsey Creek. So we hit both.

We crossed Rush Creek heading north and drove to the top of the hill around 10 Sat morning. First thing we noticed was several Norhtern Flickers in the trees (we are birders, well sorta). We followed the directions I got from a post here and went straight to Holmes Chapel Falls. It was absolutely beautiful. It is tall and pretty. I am not sure how tall it is - 30 feet? The water was running strong and we took lots of pictures. Will try to post pics later.

Then we drove back to FS Road 124 and parked at the logging road that heads north-nw to Capsey Creek. That hike was either real easy, or pretty tough with not much in between. The bluffs are so high on the banks of the creek we didn't actually make it down to the creek itself. However we did go slightly up stream and find the feeder creek that has the three waterfalls within a distance of about 100 yards. It was cool. Will try to post pictures later.

We got back in the truck and headed back to Athens about 2 o'clock. It was a very nice trip. We would have stayed longer and tried to see more, but we had things to do at home. I hope to take riends and family back to Holmes Chapel Falls soon.

[JustADude]

OK. I was short on time when I wrote the first post.

The feeder stream to Capsey Creek is real neat, but it makes a narrow canyon that is impossible to climb down into without lots of effort. Here are pictures of Holmes Chapel Falls and one from the Capsey feeder stream, plus a pretty mushroom.

http://www.flickr.com/pho...0/sets/72157622613433626/

If we had more time I would like to do more exploration of Capsey Creek. It might be a good site for a canoe adventure, but it might turn into more adventure than I want. Sweetie and I aren't in our 20's anymore so we don't act like teens very often, he he. Has anyone here ever canoed Capsey? What is it like? What time of year and what was the water level? I can imagine lots of log piles blocking the creek and maybe some of them being up against tall banks that can't be climbed. I do flat water canoeing quite a bit - mostly birdwatching and fishing - but have never canoed in Bankhead.

All for now.

[DavidR]

Awesome pictures! I'm planning a trip to Capsey Creek soon. Is FS 124 a safe and open to the public location to park. I plan on camping for a few days while I explore. 

[JustADude]

Right on FS 124 there is a logging road with a gate across it. There is plenty of room to get a car/truck off the road there without blocking either road. It seems like the normal spot where people park in Bankhead all the time for a few hours of hiking. As to being secure during an overnighter, I don't know - maybe not.