It was a short trip but at least i got out there. When i passed Randolph/Johnson TH there had to have been 10 or so cars parked on friday, when i left the following day the Sipsey Rec Area was packed. What is amazing is that out of all these folks in the woods i saw not a one.
Got to Wolfpen cemetery a little after 2 on friday and ate a quick sammich and headed on down the trail. The hiker trail heading north from Wolfpen doesn't last long before fading in and out in the blowdowns, although the drainage is easy enough to find and soon you are down at the creek. Wolfpen Falls was a nice wide ledge with a 15-20 ft drop with decent flow. Further down the canyon there are several very large Tulip trees, plus several large Beech's - a very nice section of older growth forest. On the west side of the canyon there is an old road that makes the trek down a bit easier, it crosses over Wolfpen just before you reach the Sipsey.
Once at the Sipsey it is a short walk or so up to Little Ugly/Eagle and also the Fernglade ck jct. The recent rains had washed a good amount of sediment up on the bank which in some spots is at least 5 ft above the creek, there was even some debris further up in the trees suggesting it could get pretty hairy around here with enough rain. You can hear Fernglade falls from the the jct and it is certainly worth the fairly steep jaunt up to the falls. It is a smaller fall (10-15 ft) with another 25-30 ft cascade. The falls are hemmed in on the west side by a sheer cliff which makes for a scenic little cove.
Upstream from Fernglade Little Ugly/Eagle narrows a bit and becomes quite a scenic canyon. I camped just before Hemlock ck on a wide level bench where there is a fairly large established campsite. Hemlock Falls is a really nice drop (maybe 40-50ft) and then with another smaller drop of 5ft+ or so at the bottom. The shelter surrounding the falls is walkable the entire way around and would be a nice spot to sit and enjoy the forest.
The next jct off of Eagle is Little Ugly and for me it was the highlight of the trip. Just a short ways up brings you to Deer Skull Falls and it is really a dramatic set of falls. The north/east drainage is a multi tiered fall of what looks to be 50-60ft and the west drainage is a smaller cascade of 15ft or so. It looks like there may be another waterfall above the west drainage but i couldn't be sure cause the canyon ends abruptly at the falls. There looks to be a way out on the right side of the north drainage but it looks sketchy and i didn't have the time to venture. I would really like to get back to this spot in the early morning for a photo op, by the time i got here it was awash in harsh sunlight.
After Little Ugly the canyon becomes even narrower and requires several crossings, most were rock hoppers and a few were crossed on deadfall. About midway between Eagle Falls and the Little Ugly/Eagle jct there is a very nice waterfall on the north side of the canyon. It is probably an intermittent waterfall but it is nice when running. Eagle falls on the main stream further up and is a cascade type waterfall that would make for a great cooling off spot in the summer. To exit the canyon i took the first sizeable drainage off of Eagle and headed south to Cranal and then back to Wolfpen cemetery. Coming out of the canyon is a bit disappointing with all the pink flagging but overall the loop is packed with scenery.
This could be an easy day hike but if you care to do some exploring it is set up for a nice overnight er as well. I think it took me around 6 hours of hiking time which included about 20 min at each of the falls. Next time i would like to make it upstream past Deer Skull and also venture further up Eagle or maybe cross over at Cranal and drop down into the North Fork Caney and pop back out at Wolfpen.
Wolfpen Falls Fernglade Falls Camp along Eagle Ck Eagle Ck
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Hemlock Falls Eagle Ck Deer Skull (west falls) Eagle Falls
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
Wolfpen-LittleUgly-Eagle Report
