Bearcat Hollow

The other weekend, I met up with Matt and went to do some hiking around Bearcat Hollow, which was said to hold a few neat waterfalls. The hollow is located in the Ozark National Forest in the upper Richland Creek valley, and isn't the easiest to get to. We drove several hours, and then had to ford Richland Creek to reach the trailhead (luckily I wasn't driving since my car would have probably melted in the water). Along the way we passed by this old barn, which sat in a field along with some dedicated guardcows who did not look very pleased that people were stopping along their fence taking pictures.



The hollow is in a fairly remote area, and some parts of the hike were pretty steep and difficult (especially since I've gotten pretty out of shape). But we were a little surprised to find some faint trails through the hollow - apparently this is a popular little spot for rock climbers. We finally made it down the hill and to the creek, which ran past huge boulders and had a few neat waterfalls on it. The largest is Bearcat Hollow Falls, which has been estimated to be about 35 feet tall.



The waterfall splashes onto a few large rocks sitting in the turquoise pool below, which look like they must have fallen right off the bluff line sometime long ago. The falls were also surrounded by lots of trees, so this will definitely be an amazing waterfall to see in the Spring.



While we didn't see any bearcats there, the hollow did have a few more waterfalls.



This waterfall is about 25-30 feet tall, and it falls into a small pool that sat next to a large moss-covered rock. There was a nice collection of fallen leaves that were nestled in the moss like it was pillow.



And one last shot of the falls, taken before starting the hike back up the steep hill towards the car. It was a neat area, definitely one worth visiting again.