Summertime in the Southern Appalachians is a great time to hike if you can find a way to beat the heat of our traditionally hot and humid days.

Rock Sprite Kitty Myers and Badger decided that an altitude of 3,000 feet and 12 creek crossings in the Cherokee National Forest would serve to keep us cool. Kitty had wanted to visit Upper Laurel Falls nearest Hampton, Tennessee, for quite some time. In fact, this waterfall was actually on the List.

The List is sacrosanct – only the most worthy adventures make it. Only Kitty knows which adventures are on the List. She allowed Badger to see the List ONE TIME for only about 10 seconds for fear he’d give up its secrets.

Every outing to a landform on the List has proven worthy. The Echo Canyon Journey to the Gunnison River in Colorado was on the List and that’s the trip that piqued the interest of KnoxTNToday’s Susan Dillard Espiritu that eventually led to this weekly column. If it weren’t for the List, this column might not exist.

Thomas gets the shot (photo by Kitty Myers)

We found our way to the Laurel Creek trailhead at the aptly named Frog Level area and ventured up a seldom used trail adorned with wildflowers and with the ubiquitous Helene obstructions. The creek crossings cooled us off on a warm hazy day and the waterfall was more beautiful than the photos we’d seen had led us to believe.

The water fell in two separate 25-foot cascades into a plunge pool surrounded by a rocky amphitheater, ending in a lovely lower run. Guess who took advantage of all that rock? The Rock Sprite, of course.

Look who’s on the rock: Rock Sprite Kitty Upper Laurel Falls (Photo Thomas Mabry)

Kitty’s List had come through once again. Our friend and Linville Gorge legend Bob Underwood says that “risk makes the adventure come alive, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.” We would also add to his thought that the destination makes a great hike even better. Upper Laurel Falls in the summer is a hard hike to beat.

Thomas Mabry – Honey Badger Images

Many of the HoneyBadgerImages are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages.

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