Discovering the Watkins Glen Gorge

 

The entrance to Watkins Glen State Park has recently improved with a new welcome center and expanded parking, and the welcome given the first time visitor has not diminished.  Local people just love the Glen.  After decades of visiting the gorge, this summer I attempted to put myself back into the mindset of my first visit.  Actually, I just stood back and observed newbies and did some listening. It refreshed my perspective.

The glass facades maintain a connection to the gorge itself.  Then, as the visitors approach the start of the gorge, the new landscaping has beds of summer flowers with a background of the first gorge walls. Stately  pink cone flowers towards the north wall are complemented by native bee balm in other areas.  

One enters the gorge through a tunnel and into a grand view up the gorge with the Glen Creek, weaving its way towards the valley.  Ahead is the first big "gotcha" at Cavern Cascade.  The fascination for first time visitors is seeing the path go behind the Glen Creek. 

This is a great place to observe visitors' reactions.  First, they want a picture and then they want another with a companion in it.  (I can't remember how many times visitors have asked me to take their picture on their phone.)  Next, as they walk under the water, many want to look back for a much different view.  Roughly one in ten reaches out to touch the falling water.   It gets really crowded under the stream at times.  Magical, I'd say.

After passing under the falling water, the trail enters a spiral tunnel leading up to a long stretch of sinuous channels carved over a ten thousand year post-glacial period.  Its easy to lose sight of many small features.  It follows the idea that many look, but few actually see.  Here's a delicious spinning eddy below a minor drop in the stream.  With normal rainfall, this would be covered by fast flowing waves. 

On my recent hike through the Glen Cathedral, there was  Purple Loose-strife blooming in spare rocky debris.  Most overlook it.  Just a weed, and considered an invasive specie in New York.

Continuing up the gorge, one reaches what many consider the most captivating part of the glen, falling from the south wall, an overhanging spring drops a veil of water over the path.  I call it the Bridal Veil.  Beyond it is a beautiful bridge where many pause to take in the beauty below them.

In early August 2022, the drought has reduced it to a gentle thread of water. Still beautiful to see.  That can change.  On July 25 of 2018,  the Glen Creek presented a different personality for the Bridal Veil. 

At the top on the Rainbow Bridge, I note a person watching under a large umbrella.  The gorge has many versions.  This one was a powerful one.  These different faces are what draw people back for additional visits.  Watkins Glen is truly a gem.

Paul

Smoky Mountain Waterfalls

This April's trip to the Smoky Mountain area was rich in two of my photographic passions - wildflowers and waterfalls.  There was no time to address the third passion, birds, though we were constantly hearing warblers singing in the treetops.  This time, I will present the best of the waterfalls.

Our dear friends near Knoxville took us to the Bald River near Tellico Plains. In my research on the area, I had not been alerted to this location, and I wonder why.

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee

Most interesting in this particular falls is the pool halfway down on the right side. Notice the large boulders resting in the pool. I'll surely return to this waterfalls on any future visit.  And, I'll be sure to again visit the little bakery in Tellico Plains for lunch. It is a must.

Little River Cascade

Arriving at the Smoky Mountain National Park on Tuesday, we drove the Little River Road as a roaring rainfall slowed traffic.  The nearly continuous progression of cascades and small waterfalls  set my first priority for the next day, mapping the best waterfalls.

A key to this area is locating both the nice drops and the safe parking areas.  I noted the key areas as we drove up to Cades Cove with mileages, and checked the weather to learn that the next morning would begin cloudy, perfect for waterfall photography. The next morning I began at a nice cascade about 2.5 miles below the Sinks.


Working upstream towards the Sinks, I found this nicely framed drop in the river. To me, this image is about the plants that frame the waterfall.

Streamside Flowers- Little River

Now, to reveal why the Sinks is perhaps the most popular site on the Little River.  This falls has steeply inclined plates of richly color rocks, and is the largest drop on the river.

The Sinks on Little River

There are many different ways to look at the Sinks.  I also like this view.

Newly Leafed Trees at the Sinks

Our wildflower forays were usually around streams, and so we also discovered some nice hillside cascades coming down steep slopes. This was near the Elkmont campground on the upper reaches of the Little River. It was a rich wildflower area. The cascade was lined at places with Brook Lettuce that resisted my attempts to photograph; preferred not to take a bath because of the slippery rocks.  Next time I will take hip boots so I can move around more freely.

On a second cloudy day, I found the nice cascade seen below. It was along the Little River in a site  that required a little rock scrambling to see.  I only wished the Rhododendron was in bloom for this image to add more "pop" to the scene.

Large Cascade on Little River

On our final day in the park, we went east of Gatlinburg to the Porter Creek area. The Little Pigeon River is  a beautiful trout stream formed at the junction of the Porter Creek and the Ramsey Cascade.  The junction is an intriguing setting that proves to be very difficult to capture, largely due to the large trees along the river bank.  Rather than eliminate the one Y-shaped tree, I decided to use it as the inverted pattern of the two branches of the incoming Ramsey Cascade. The Ramsey Cascade splits around an island in the middle ground as the Porter Creek spills in from the right hand side. Another photographer told me "Someday I will get this right.  Someday."

Beginning of the Little Pigeon River

I cannot close without showing why the Porter Creek area was a favorite that will call me back on a future trip. It was very rich with wildflowers.  I found beds of  Hepatica acutiloba that covered areas the size of a queen size bed.  They were past bloom, so I must go again earlier in the season.  But, we also found this delicate little Pink Lady's-slipper.  Wild orchids and waterfalls are sure to excite me about future visits.

Best,

Paul Schmitt