Bearwaller Gap Trail,
(Click to enlarge pictures)
The Bearwaller
Gap Trail is at the north end of
From the dam we drove up to Tater Knob, site of the upper
trailhead. There is a nice view of the lake from up here.
We
decided the best way to do this was to drop Dan McDowell off up here, then Peej
and I would head down to the Defeated Creek trailhead, then we should (note the emphasis) meet more-or-less
in the middle. It didn’t exactly happen that way, but here is Dan ready to go
at Tater Knob anyway.
P.
J. at the Defeated Creek trailhead, down by the lake. We would be starting from
the bottom and working our way up. I have since decided that this is not the preferred way to do this trail!
Atypical
trail on the lower end of Bearwaller Gap…atypical
because this bit is flat!
This was a point of interest along the way
to Tater Knob. It appears to be a tire or something wedged high in the tree.
How did it get there? Surely the lake doesn’t flood this high!
You pass several scenic inlets along the
way. Likely fishing is allowed here and elsewhere along the trail; we’re fairly
certain hunting is too, because we happened upon several guys out for deer.
They were dressed in blaze orange or we’d never have seen them; if you’re here
during fall hunting season you should wear it too!
Another nice overlook, which featured
something Peej was seriously interested in…
FOSSILS!
Naturally he wanted to take this one home,
but, “take nothing but pictures, leave
nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time…” Oh well, there will be more
fossils on other trails!
Here’s a kinda neat-looking bit of fungi
at the base of a tree. Peej thought it looked like…well, he was twelve then, I
bet you can guess. Even if you’re wrong you’re probably not far off!
So we eventually ran into Dan on his way
down to Defeated Creek. He had a pretty good lead on us by that time.
There are a couple of places along the
trail where you could camp if you were so inclined. This is a spring at one of
those sites.
Like a lot of the area, Bearwaller Gap is based on limestone, and where there is
limestone and water, there are bound to be caves. Here Peej peers into a
precipitous sink found along the trail.
Another overlook,
another picture. I will confess I was pretty well give
out by this point, and we still had another mile and a half to go! Peej,
meanwhile, was going strong…
One last overlook.
It’s getting dark now. We finally staggered (well, I staggered, anyway Peej was just fine) atop Tater Knob right at
sundown. I would recommend getting an early start on this one if you plan to
go…and you should! It comes highly recommended.
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