Ramsey Cascade 1984

My all time favorite hike. It is demanding but rewarding, in so many ways. It is four miles (one way) starting in the Greenbrier section of the park. The elevation at the start of the trail is about 1800 feet. The first 1.5 miles of the hike gain 800 feet along an old jeep trail. The falls are about 4600 feet so, as anyone knows who has hiked it, the hike is an uphill climb with the hardest part loaded at the end.

This trail is best hiked in late spring or early summer. I am always tempted to hike this trail in early to mid-spring before it turns hot but by the time the trail reaches 4000 feet, the rocks can be icy or snow covered, making passage very difficult.

Despite its difficultly, it is a very popular hike and well worth it. Most of the trail walks along the Little Pigeon River and then the Ramsey Prong. At times, Ramsey Prong flows over rocks that the trail crosses, which is why, when there is ice, the hike can be slippery.

(The Mount Guyot topo map shows a trail to the Greenbrief Pinnacle Lookout Tower. If you look closely you'll see the makings of a trail but it is no longer marked. Some experience hikers and clubs still traverse it.)

There are numerous spots for photographs of the stream or the woods but stopping means delaying the arrival at the Cascades so it is tempting to pass them by.

This photograph was taken on my first hike to Ramsey Cascade. At the time, I had a new large format camera (this was long before digital cameras) which required me to carry it, the loaded sheets of film and a tripod. I like this perspective on the falls better than other photographs I have taken or seen. Most are taken above the lower section of the falls so they are by necessity close to the falls. While still beautiful, the viewer of these photographs does not get the full sense of the complete falls.

The print of this negative is much more rewarding than the digital scan. The rocks glow with illumination (even though the print is over 20 years old) and the whites of the water have more definition or tone than the digitally scanned version.

Rainbow Falls - November 2003

These identical photographs (of Rainbow Falls) illustrate my point (see prior post) about the different moods of black and white v. color photography. I like the color photograph immensely but it is a "snapshot" compared to the black and white photograph. By that I mean the color hasn't the expression of the black and white. I don't find this an absolute, but I do have an unapologetic bias for black and white.

What surprises me about Rainbow Falls (from a photographic point of view) is the absence of good quality photographs of it online. A Google search reveals some photographs (of this Rainbow Falls - there are quite a few others) but other Smokies waterfalls are more and better photographed. None show the rainbow.

The 2.7 mile (one-way) hike to Rainbow Falls is moderately demanding but compared to the hike to Ramsey Cascades (4 miles), it is a breeze. The only difficulty I've found in photographing it is that other hikers enjoy crawling around on the rocks under the falls (a very dangerous adventure as the water makes the rocks quite slippery). This hike, however, was on a cool, slightly rainy day, so there were only a few hardy hikers out and they respected the dangers.

The view of Rainbow Falls looks to the east so it is better as an afternoon hike. The falls have the sun behind them or are in shadow most of the morning. As the sun lowers on the horizon, the rainbow appears. The park service reminds us that the falls can also freeze over in very cold weather.

Porters Creek, Greenbrier

Porters Creek is in the Greenbrier section of the National Park. The trail to Fern Falls crosses the creek several times. We hiked the trail in May when the greenery along the trail was freshly grown.

This view struck me as we were hiking to the falls and upon the return, it was an irresistible photo opportunity (and, as usual, I ended up making us later for dinner).

The digital color image is quite different from the black and white image. The color image is so Wizard of Oz (emerald green) that it overwhelms the palette. The black and white image, on the other hand, captures the tonal relationships in a way the color could not.

Snow, Rainbow Falls Trail 2003

When it snows in the Smokies, familiar trails change their complexion. There are far fewer people on the trails, giving them a peaceful quality, and the fragility of the snow perched on branches of a bush or tree limb makes what would be an ordinary view, unusual. The snow, of course, absorbs sounds so it is much quieter.

This was actually a late March snow. While snow in March is not unusual for the Smokies (there appeared to be a dusting on the peaks this evening), at this elevation (about 2600 feet), in early spring, it warranted special attention and I was glad we went. I'm quite sure we followed this walk in the snowy woods with dinner at the Park Grill.

This view caught my eye because of the contrast between the tree trunks and the snow covered branches and bushes. (If you look closely in the lower left portion, you'll see a rhododendron bush under the snow.)

Mount LeConte, Clouds, Late Winter

I was on my way to a morning meeting when the view at Campbell Lead overlook made me rather late. (I would have been late anyway but this was a better excuse.) Shortly before 10 Am, I crested the Gatlinburg bypass and realized, I have a wonderful life.

The crepuscular rays, lined up with the foreground peaks as if they agreed to pose for the picture.

I've always been a sucker for clouds and mountains.

Lynn Camp Prong

There are numerous opportunities for beautiful photographs along the way to Indian Flats Creek. This is one, along the way, that captures for me the essence of a stream in the Smoky Mountains. The leaves in the lower right were natural, not arranged.

I originally photographed the stream at a higher angle but upon reflection, I wanted the water in the stream to be more prominent so I lowered the tripod to get the camera as close to the water as possible.

As mentioned in the prior post, this is the view of all the falls at Indian Flats Creek. This 2002 photo was taken after a muddy crawl down the bank and precariously stepping out on (dry) rocks while balancing the tripot in the stream. The rhododendron bush in the lower right corner is a distraction but a necessary one as there was no other place to take this photo.

Indian Flats Falls

This lovely little water fall is the upper fall in a series of falls on the Indian Flats Creek near the Tremont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail (to the falls) departs from the Lynn Camp Prong trail and is unmarked but can be located without too much effort. It is a short crawl through several rhododendron bushes to this fall. The lower falls are less accessible - getting a picture of all of the falls involves crawling down the bank and perching on pointed rocks in the stream while your tripod gets its feet wet.

Despite being unmarked, these falls are quite popular as every time I've been to them, it has had other visitors.

New Photographs

It isn't that the web need yet another blog about photography. I just need a creative outlet. My photos will show the beauty of East Tennessee and, from time to time, elsewhere.