Gentry Creek Falls

Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee

July 15, 2020

Gentry Creek Falls is a 4.5 mile out-and-back trail with a 613 foot elevation gain.  The hike is rated as moderate, but consort and I, and the three mangy mongrels, thought it an easy hike.  We did not climb to the top of the falls, however.  At the end of the trail, there were tumbled boulders one could climb to reach the falls.  After our experience with climbing boulders at Laurel Falls, we have no desire for further rock climbing.

The trail leading to the falls crosses Gentry Creek 18 times.  Of course, you cross the creek an additional 18 times as you make your way out of the forest.  The crossings were about ten feet wide on average, although some were more narrow and others were wider.  The average depth of the creek was about 18 inches.  More often than not, there were small boulders set in the creek to allow hikers to cross without wetting their feet.  A good theory that didn't necessarily work out in real life.

My writing and photography skills are incapable of capturing the beauty in this region.  The forest is dense with trees giving it a magical, nearly primordial, feeling.  Upon close inspection of the flourishing vegetation, one almost expects to see fairies darting swiftly along from flower to toadstool and back again.

While here, I have been cultivating my knowledge of waterfalls and the terminology of the same.  During our bike ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail, we passed at least 24 small "falls" within the creek bordering the trail.  What I've learned is that these miniature waterfalls are called cascades.  We were rewarded with some spectacular views of incredibly beautiful cascades during the course of our hike to  Gentry Creek Falls.

This is the road that led up the mountain to the trail.  It is wide enough for only one vehicle.  This one-lane road is the last mile to the trailhead.  On the left side of the road is a sheer drop straight down the side of the mountain.  On the right side of the road is the vertical wall of the mountain itself.  We met a Subaru heading down the mountain as we were heading up.  The Subaru was able to back up to a wide spot in the road so we could pass.

The Pulik loved all the creek crossings that kept them nice and cool.  These two pictures are of D.O.G. and Annie.

With the short haircut, D.O.G. looks more like a wooly black lamb than a dog!

The rest of the story...

The picture of the mushroom -- all of the pictures for that matter, were taken with an iPhone 11.  The camera is greatly improved, as advertised, especially photographs taken at close range.

Both consort and I had one fall while hiking the trail.  As for me, my ankle gave way and I did a slow-motion tumble onto a large, flat boulder covered in lichen.  It was a soft landing.  My only thought was that I can totally see why pioneers used lichen to stuff mattresses.

Ever heard of stinging nettles?  They're real.  Here's a little piece of advice direct from me to you:  Learn to identify them and avoid them at all costs.  They really do  S-T-I-N-G!!

At the top of this post is a picture of the falls.  As previously mentioned, we did not climb the boulders up to the falls, so the photo was taken from a distance and is not great.  For consort and I, this hike was more about the creek and the 36 crossings than the falls at the end.

I took a photo of consort capturing images of the falls.  Check out his footwear:  Crocs rubber loafers.  Consort's fall was a direct result of inadequate footwear.  (My fall was due to my complete inability to stand upright for any length of time without falling.  I blame gravity.)  Consort stepped onto a large, flat boulder that was slanted at about a 45-degree angle and wet.  His feet slipped out from under him and he landed on his gluteus maximus then slid the rest of the way down.  We were neither one injured and concluded the day on a happy note -- especially when we did not meet oncoming traffic as we descended the one-lane mountain road.

Author's note:  Consort has just previewed my blog post and maintains he chose the perfect footwear for hiking.  Why don't all of you let him know what kind of shoes he should be wearing?