Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Downtown

Took the camera to downtown Little Rock last night and tried to take a few pictures. I ended up standing on a bridge over I-630, near Children's Hospital:
P2288501

After that it was time for dinner, and I ended up at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in west Little Rock. I checked in using Yelp, and was informed that I was not only a regular there, but the Duke of Five Guys. Yelp was also kind enough to tell me that I am also a regular at Flying Saucer, which is probably not a healthy combination.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Maidenhair Falls

Saturday was a perfect day for waterfall photography. So even though I was battling a cold, I dragged myself out of bed and drove to Conway to meet up with Zack. Our destination was a series of hollows near Moccasin Gap that contains dozens of waterfalls.

After parking on the side of Hwy. 7, we headed out into the woods. We soon met up with a small stream, which had a few little drops and waterfalls in it. But there wasn’t much water in the creek, which got me a bit worried. The area did live up to its reputation, we saw many waterfalls along the bluffs. But they were all just barely running. I was beginning worry that while we would see plenty of waterfalls, there wouldn’t actually be much water falling through them.

The first stop was the 36 foot tall Cabin Falls. I was a little annoyed to see that there wasn't much water flowing through the falls. But we set up the cameras and got to work taking a few pictures. Here is one, which I realize isn’t the greatest of pictures, but it does show an odd feature of the waterfall. Next to the waterfall, under the overhanging bluff, is a small stone structure that is about two feet tall. It is almost shaped like a casket, and it looks like it has been here for awhile. This is a pretty isolated area that probably doesn’t see that many people come through - so how’d it get there? We tried to figure out who might have built this, or why. The best consensus on what it might be is that it was used as a still back in the moonshine days…
P2188240

We walked along the bluffline and met another creek, which had a little bit of water in it. We followed it past a few small cascades and then wandered around a bit more. Eventually, we dropped down the hillside and met up with a larger creek. This creek was flowing, and finally, even had some decent waterfalls on it…
P2188293x

This one is about 10 feet tall, and kinda reminded me of Falling Water Falls...
P2188330x

All my previous worries about finding waterfalls were gone – this little creek was filled with them. This waterfall, which is maybe 20 feet or so(?), fell from a side drainage into the creek.
P2188364

P2188371

We followed this creek a bit further and found this small waterfall. It's actually a twin fall, with another creek running down and joining this one. This is a view of the larger of the two waterfalls.
P2188407x

Our last destination that day was Maidenhair Falls, which was nearby but not very easy to reach. We followed a small drainage and then hiked along the hillside above the creek that the falls are on. The hills were very steep here, and we had to carefully make our way back down to the creek (I gave up and just slid down the hill toward the creek).

I thought this would be an easier hike, but that would prove to be easier said than done. The hills closed in on the creek, so that the only way forward was to actually walk along the creek towards the falls. This was fine, until we came upon another waterfall that was maybe 15 feet tall or so. The easiest way through was to actually climb up the rocks on the waterfall (which I was surprised to discover that the rocks weren't slippery). From there it was just a short walk to Maidenhair Falls.

Maidenhair Falls is pretty - the falls are 30 feet tall and tumble over the bluff before spilling down a tall cascade. In a pool below the falls, a bit of foam was caught in a whirlpool. So we both rushed and tried to quickly set up our cameras to get some pictures of it.
P2188431x

The hike to Maidenhair Falls is listed as a "medium bushwhack" in the Waterfall Guidebook, but I think Tim Ernst is being a bit generous there. The hike out, or at least the way he went, was pretty difficult. The distance wasn't all that much, but we ended up heading right up some steep hills. I was pretty tired by the time we got back to Zack's Jeep, but it was well worth it. And even if the hike sucked, it would be worth it to return to this area when there is more water in the falls...

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Longpool

Saturday was a perfect day for going out and getting waterfall pictures. A storm had passed by the day before, which meant there might actually be water in a few waterfalls. So the question was, where to go? I decided to visit a certain waterfall that I've been to several times before. But during each previous visit, I've never seen it really flowing.

That waterfall is Longpool Falls, in the Ozark National Forest north of Russellville. For some reason, I've had awful luck at these falls. Every visit, the falls would be barely flowing (even in the Spring when waterfalls should be running full-tilt). But I hoped the rains the day before would have the falls running, and I drove towards the Ozarks...

I arrived at the Longpool Campground and started on the short trail to the falls. The trail runs along a hill above Big Piney Creek, which was muddy and flooded after all the recent rain. I finally arrived at the Lower Longpool Falls, and was pleased to find a nice amount amount of water going over the falls...
P2048012x

P2048032

I really like this small waterfall, I think it has a lot of personality even if it isn't very tall...
P2048041

From here it gets a bit tricky trying to reach Longpool Falls. There isn't much of a trail, so you have to carefully make your way past the gauntlet of large boulders and slick rocks that stand between the bluff and the creek. The rocks around the waterfall are incredibly slick, so I slowly made my way past them and found a spot for this shot...
P2048063

And another shot of the 44 foot-tall Longpool Falls:
P2048107x

I slowly made my way along a few boulders to get this shot of the creek just below the falls:
P2048178x

It was starting to get dark, but I stayed long enough to get a few more shots of the Lower Longpool Falls. This is above the falls:
P2048190

And one last shot:
P2048205x