High Falls/Town Creek-Groveoak, AL

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Oct 26, 2000
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4-28-10 visit to High Falls Park. I wanted to see the falls in person, and scout the river below to see if it was something I might be able to handle with my sit-on-top kayak.
A nice drive through north-central Alabama:
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Thought it was a late start, but arrived 40 minutes before they opened the gate. This gave me time to get my Shortie gaiters and knee support thingie on, and boil up some water for oatmeal-I'd planned to have breakfast at the falls.
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This is a small park. Only 38 acres. That's ok, I wasn't here for the park, anyway. There are a couple of short trails, but it's there mainly for the preservation of the falls(hence the name). I spent some time bushwhacking around outside the fence that tops the cliffs trying to get better pics than the trail allowed. Climbed down the cliffs, onto debris below the falls, then started over, crossing the "creek"(that's a freaking river if you ask me) on a bridge above the falls, coming back down alongside the falls. I spent a lot of time climbing up and down, and occasionally backtracking, finding ways to go. The only place to breach the cliffs are sections where they've collapsed, so you're climbing through tangled vines and brush, deadfalls, and loose rocks with the equivalent of mulch filling the spaces between them. Very treacherous footing. I probed with my trekking poles, and managed not to step off between rocks, but several rolled under me, pieces of deadfall broke-some I scrambled over or worked my way through. A couple of times I crawled. I got wrapped in vines. Ledges collapsed underneath me. I probably fell 30 times, but usually into waist high ground clutter(couldn't see my feet a lot of the time) or face first into the incline. I lost my glasses twice, my cap probably ten times. The wrist strap got ripped off my camera.
It was great. I love getting off into the stuff I know noone else is going to go through.

Before long the river turns, and all I could see ahead were cliffs on both sides, and another facing me. There was no trail and the continuous deadfalls and undergrowth were practically impenetrable, while the river took over the bottom of the canyon, leaving no way to follow alongside. So I had to give up and head back.
It was hardly a loss, though. Got to see three small sets of rapids, find a waterfall that I'll post pics and maybe video from, see my first snake of the year at contact distance, lots of cool rock formations(or remains thereof), and High Falls, particularly on the Class VII side was worth the trip all by itself.
Enough talk.

Above the falls, and the bridge:
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It doesn't look like much from upstream, just a horizon, but that first step's a doozie...
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It was a beautiful day. There's a constant rainbow that this second one got edge to edge if it shows in the downsized version:
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Skirting the edges of the cliff for side pics:
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From the debris pile:
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Couple of the debris itself:
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Couple more:
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Back up the side..checked out a little stream coming in upriver of the falls, and then crossed on the bridge:
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Other side of the falls, climbing partially down the side:
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From this point on, travel becomes quite a bit tougher. Pics from the bottom, other side.
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Looking toward the falls, away from the falls...this crap only got worse, too.
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Some brushbusting, it started to clear and I started videoing, thinking I was about to be commenting on rapids below, and walked up on a stream that made a long series of waterfalls.
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Further up, further in:
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I stepped on this little guy, but was finally getting back down to the river.
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Second set of rapids below the falls:
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Other side between rapids. There's a little waterfall in the second one, just hard to tell...
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Third set of rapids below the falls. Small rapids in shallow water concern me a lot more than the bigger(and deeper!) water I'm used to.
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Eventually ran out of land to walk on, and the river turned away up ahead, so there was no point going further.
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A few from the return trip.
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I like rocks. Good thing, 'cause there's plenty of them.
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Top of that waterfall from earlier. I came back higher and discovered the ridge went further back than I'd realized.
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My camera has a 10 second timer. That's my happy face :D
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Great pics, would like to visit, have you been to Little river canyon yet?
:D I'll go back, probably soon, but definitely in the fall.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=725368

I've gotten into dayhiking(and taking pics) a lot this year, and have posted several threads in the last few months. Been having fun with it.
Gearing up for the Pinhoti, but will wait 'til fall. Gotta make sure my knees will hold up. They recently opened up 9 more miles, making it 111.

Will be checking out DeSoto State Park soon. Maybe next week if I don't go back down to Wetumpka. They've been upping the release from Jordan dam to whitewater festival levels-according to locals sometimes even double that, during the week to keep the water levels high and encourage the fish to move upstream. Need to break out the fishing pole on the flatwater next time. Supposed to be some of the best spot fishing in the country, though I don't fish much. I'm less sure about going alone(I always do!), though. I'm not very good:foot: Last time they had the flow at 8900cfs instead of the usual 2-4000, and Moccasin Gap was about my limit, though I made it through with no trouble. I was told they're jacking it up as high as 18,000 sometimes.
I get these folks to put me in at the dam, and take out at their place about 7 miles downriver:
http://www.coosariveradventures.com/

We live in a beautiful state. I wish I'd taken advantage of all these places a decade earlier. Well, two decades earlier!
 
Great pics Owen. Looks like a place I'll have to check out soon!

The Coosa is great! I love to kayak or canoe it, especially when they have the flow up.

Steve
 
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