Ride to Bald River Falls

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Hooked up with Larry this morning for a ride out to Bald River Falls to check it out after all the rain this area has got over the last few days. We was already on the road when Gordon ( Lucky 13 ) called wanting to join us. We told him we would meet him at Good Times a local BMW / Yamaha / Can-am / Kawasaki dealership.We was checking out the new YXZ Yamaha they had outside . Larry ask the price and was told " It's only $22,000 "    998cc, 3 Cylinder, 12-valve, DOHC, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected
• Manual 5-speed sequential transmission
• On-Command driver directed 4WD with diff lock





Bald River Falls was cookin' today...The Bald River is a river located in Monroe County, Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest. It is a tributary of the Tellico River. Just before it empties into the Tellico, the river falls over a large waterfall, Bald River Falls, which is variously reported as being between 80 and 100 feet high. The river then flows under a bridge on Forest Service Road 120 (the falls and the river mouth are both very readily visible from the bridge). The falls is regarded as the most impressive and scenic waterfall in East Tennessee. The river is short in length but powerful as it flows through a steep, densely wooded valley and it is constantly replenished by the area's frequent rains. It rises just north of the North Carolina state line near the crest of the Unicoi Mountains and flows northeast for a short distance before turning to the northwest.





East Tennessee set a new record high today that had stood for 140 years. We hit some wet spots however over-all we had a awesome ride today .

" The Money Shot "

[klb]

Thank's for taking time to post the pictures.
Always look forward to seeing the beautiful
places in Tennessee ya'll have to ride. 

[Oss]

Nice pics

Great day to be alive and riding with friends

[Mr Whiskey]

Nice

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Thanks for sharing 

[hubcapsc]

Check out the size of the people up on the rock on this day... there's a lot of
water coming off the falls in Joe's picture!



-Mike

[The emperor has no clothes]

Check out the size of the people up on the rock on this day... there's a lot of
water coming off the falls in Joe's picture!



-Mike

Yeah, that's quite a difference !

[Ken Tarver]

Wow, never seen that much water there...great pic.

Ken

[Valkorado]

There.  Is.  Life.  Out.  There. 

Thanks for helping me through this -23* morning.   

[cookiedough]

Impressive comparison of water coming over those rocks.  Just think if all that rain was snow??

Glad you got out and drove, will be another 3 months before my bikes get outta storage.

I never understood all the craze right now with UTV sales.  You sit lower thus less view and less openness, a ton more cramped quarters, drive it like a car/big go-kart, and some trails are way too small/tight to maneuver thru since these UTV's are much, much larger than my Can Am Max 2-up ATV that is well under 1/2 the cost of a UTV.  If you have ever came across one on the trails with an ATV, you know what I mean almost getting run over and having to go into the bushes/woods to avoid a collision several dozens of times.  They are finally opening up more and more ATV trails for UTV use in WI, but still plenty of trails out there with restricitons on NO UTV's allowed since most all except for the skinny/cramped Polaris Razor (normal, smaller one NOT modded) are over 48 inches wide. 

I've even complained, although briefly, that my 2-up ATV at about 10-12" longer than a normal 1-up ATV is hard to maneuver and turn around on tight (skinnier) trails, but the added length sure does make it ride nicer and able to carry 2 people very comfortably just like a UTV, even more comfortably since anyone over 6' and 250 lbs. is cramped in any UTV.   I've looked at the Polaris Razor and even the Arctic Cat Wildcat (am sure both similar to the yellow yahama in that pick) and hard to get in/out of them and and more so very skinny and short in length for legroom.   I do like the Polaris Ranger being very roomy, but not very trail friendly being so large and not as maneuverable/fun to drive.   

[..]

Check out the size of the people up on the rock on this day... there's a lot of
water coming off the falls in Joe's picture!



-Mike

Is that Joe in the background?

[DDT (12)]

I had to drive across the Tallapoosa River bridge to get to Subway for a sammich yesterday... WOW! The highest I've ever seen the water level there! I thought to myself at the time that Bald River Falls would probably be rather impressive right about then!

I've seen BRF roar before, but whenever I took others there to show it off, the water flow was usually more like that in Mike's photo of Carolyn... Oh well... I never had much luck showin' out, anyhow...

Thanks for the photo and ride report! Hope to join y'all for some riding soon...

DDT