This was the day that kicked our asses both figuratively and literally (more on that later)
With a height of 100 feet, Ramsey Cascades is the tallest waterfall in GSMNP and while that doesn’t rank it very high in the world of falls, it is a beautiful sight as it cascades over rock outcroppings and boulders and it’s well worth the journey.
The trail to the falls was challenging to say the least and required that we do what we would consider “strenuous” hiking. A short distance from the parking area, it began it’s upward climb and it didn’t let up until for four miles at which point we reached the base of the falls 2,000 vertical feet higher:
Along the course of the trail, we passed through the largest old-growth forest in the Smokies. There are several “fallen log” bridges that cross the Ramsey Branch and Ramsey Prong of the Little Pigeon River and the trail follows these two creeks as they wind up into the watershed of Mt Guyot.
After an initial approach via a dirt road and smooth trail head, the path quickly becomes rocky and even boulder-y with a fair amount of roots thrown in for interest. It had rained quite a bit for a few days before our hike so the path was fairly wet and the rocks very slick. Given the thick forest cover I suspect that this trail is always on the moist and slippery side.
We were rewarded for our few-hours-long climb with sunny skies above the falls and a very nice view for a short rest …
before heading back down.
After reaching the falls we were both pretty footsore and having to navigate down the slick and uneven path was just as tiring as going up. This was compounded by Laura’s neck getting jolted each time she landed after stepping down from a boulder or washout. Many times the drops were over a foot down from slick rock onto loose dirt. That doesn’t sound like much unless you picture a staircase three miles long with treads unevenly spaced from 2 inches to 2 feet apart … and wet … with no handrail. Thankfully we were dressed appropriately and we have great hiking boots. Still, after a bit, bracing before and recovering after each step did a number on Laura’s back and neck. To help, I started standing in front of her for the larger drops so she could hold my shoulders as she stepped down. That worked well until I went to get in front for a somewhat large drop after a rounded and, apparently I didn’t notice, particularly mossy boulder. As I said, we have great hiking boots and I trust my gear and mountain goat skills implicitly so I don’t always look closely at where I’m stepping – well, I should have because I slipped and went straight down landing my tailbone quite firmly on the offending rock. My ass. hurt. for weeks. Want to know how bad? A week after we got home from this trip, I hopped on my motorcycle with it’s (I thought) generously padded seat. After getting just a quarter mile from the house, I turned around and went back for the car and if I ever swap my bike for a car and it’s not a-hurricane-ing out, you can bet there’s a problem!
Nevertheless, we did eventually make it back to the car and the sweet relief of getting our feet off the ground. And we saw a turkey:
