Ramsey Cascade 1984

My all time favorite hike. It is demanding but rewarding, in so many ways. It is four miles (one way) starting in the Greenbrier section of the park. The elevation at the start of the trail is about 1800 feet. The first 1.5 miles of the hike gain 800 feet along an old jeep trail. The falls are about 4600 feet so, as anyone knows who has hiked it, the hike is an uphill climb with the hardest part loaded at the end.

This trail is best hiked in late spring or early summer. I am always tempted to hike this trail in early to mid-spring before it turns hot but by the time the trail reaches 4000 feet, the rocks can be icy or snow covered, making passage very difficult.

Despite its difficultly, it is a very popular hike and well worth it. Most of the trail walks along the Little Pigeon River and then the Ramsey Prong. At times, Ramsey Prong flows over rocks that the trail crosses, which is why, when there is ice, the hike can be slippery.

(The Mount Guyot topo map shows a trail to the Greenbrief Pinnacle Lookout Tower. If you look closely you'll see the makings of a trail but it is no longer marked. Some experience hikers and clubs still traverse it.)

There are numerous spots for photographs of the stream or the woods but stopping means delaying the arrival at the Cascades so it is tempting to pass them by.

This photograph was taken on my first hike to Ramsey Cascade. At the time, I had a new large format camera (this was long before digital cameras) which required me to carry it, the loaded sheets of film and a tripod. I like this perspective on the falls better than other photographs I have taken or seen. Most are taken above the lower section of the falls so they are by necessity close to the falls. While still beautiful, the viewer of these photographs does not get the full sense of the complete falls.

The print of this negative is much more rewarding than the digital scan. The rocks glow with illumination (even though the print is over 20 years old) and the whites of the water have more definition or tone than the digitally scanned version.