Hurricane Remnants Wake Sleeping Waterfalls
Hikers Make Way To Backwoods Cascade
Last updated Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:34 PM CDT in Outdoors
By Flip Putthoff
THE MORNING NEWS
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Huntsville--It takes a hurricane to pour life into waterfalls and send them cascading over Ozark bluffs and hollows at this point of summer.
Hurricane Gustav, or what was left of it, came swirling into Arkansas last Tuesday, the perfect storm to wake sleeping waterfalls with torrents of rain.
Crags where water falls in winter and spring are normally dry as sun-baked brick during the last gasp of summer. To marvel at falling water in early September is a rare treat.
Sometimes you practically have to be standing at a waterfall in a downpour to see it tumbling at its prime. That's why Toby Von Rembow and I were bushwhacking through the wilds of the Madison County Wildlife Management Area in a steady rain last Thursday. A 46-foot waterfall awaited at the end of our muddy hike.
Falling Water Reigns
Von Rembow, a 27-year-old instructor at the Ozark Natural Science Center, proposed the hike two months ago on a scorcher of an afternoon in early July. The buildings and cabins of the nature education center are tucked into the folds of the 14,000-acre Madison County Wildlife Management Area north of Huntsville.
"When we get some big-time rain let's hike to Tea Kettle Falls," Von Rembow mentioned after we'd walked with some students on a nature hike he'd led.
Rain-laden leftovers from Hurricane Gustav brought the opportunity to join Von Rembow for the adventure. "It ought to be raging," the enthusiastic nature educator said.
First though, he was eager to show me another waterfall he'd found on his own. We hopped into his four-wheel-drive pickup and bumped down a muddy two-track road not far from the science center.
From our opened windows we could here roaring water. Bear Hollow Falls came into view pouring over a cliff in white and wet splendor.
"I call it Spongebob Falls," Von Rembow said, because on a previous visit he'd removed some litter that pictured the cartoon carrier.
That waterfall only whet our appetites for a visit to Tea Kettle Falls, which promised to be more majestic.
We set out from the science center to start the 3-mile round-trip hike. Mist turned to a steady, light rain.
Forget hiking boots and socks for this trek. Two knee-deep creek crossings spice this adventure. Our garb included Teva sandals and swim trunks for the wet hike that's part muddy bushwhack and partially on trail.
Clear, Cool Water
The rocky path from the science center wound up a glade to a ridgetop and into the forest. Von Rembow headed left off the trail. We plodded down a draw, bushwhacking our way through the hardwood forest to Rockhouse Creek and our first stream crossing.
Walking in the cool, refreshing water was a welcome chance to wash our muddy feet.
We picked up a horse trail on the other side of Rockhouse Creek and in short order walked in deep water where the stream joins Warm Fork Creek.
In spite of heavy hurricane-born rain, both streams ran clear as crystal. Ever the educator, Von Rembow explained why.
"This water is so clear because mostly it's spring water coming out of caves," he said. The watershed of both creeks is unbroken forest. there is little or no pollution.
So much rain had fallen in three days that Von Rembow heard running water where he never had before. This waterfall new to Von Rembow. The prospect of a discovery sent him scrambling through the tangled and wet forest for a look-see.
The pour-off turned out to be more of a curtain of droplets than a waterfall coming over the lip of rock, but it was worth the effort to see for ourselves.
Tea Kettle Falls wasn't far now. The route took us back to Warm Fork Creek and a hike upstream. The heavy flow of clear water curled around a boulder the size of an office desk.
"When you see that rock right there you're almost there," Von Rembow said. A few steps later we stopped. Von Rembow cupped an ear and smiled.
"Hear that roaring? That's Tea Kettle Falls. It's going to be raging."
Worth The Walk
We followed the bottom of a bluff that curled in a long, graceful arc. Near the center, the waterfall shot from a hole in the rock like, well, a tea kettle.
Tea Kettle Falls is one of those wondrous places in the Ozarks. It's the kind of place where people get engaged, then return to get married. The waterfall and its beautiful, wild surroundings stir spiritual feelings and make you thankful to be alive and for the natural wonders in our little corner of the Ozarks.
We marveled at the spectacular from every angle, including behind the tumbling water. Tea Kettle Falls splashed into what would be a perfect swimming hole on a hot day.
"This is one unusual sight for this time of year," Von Rembow hollered over the sound from the falling torrent. "It takes buckets of rain to get this thing going."
The bad news is, we had to leave this gorgeous oasis. The good news for those wanting to hike to the waterfall is this: There's an easier, shorter way to Tea Kettle Falls than the rugged, muddy hike Von Rembow and I took from the Ozark Natural Science Center.
That route begins in a meadow along Warm Fork Creek in the wildlife management area and follows the creek downstream to Kettle Hollow and Tea Kettle Falls. See the sidebar accompanying this story for directions.
Don't bother visiting the waterfall now. It's only a Tea Kettle Drip. Wait for a deluge this fall or winter, or maybe the next hurricane.
At A Glance
Tea Kettle Falls
• Height: 46 feet.
• Directions: From the junction of Arkansas 12 and Arkansas 23 in Madison County, turn south and go 1.4 miles to a Madison County Wildlife Management Area entrance on your left. Follow this gravel road 1.4 miles and park in the meadow before crossing Warm Fork Creek.
Follow Warm Fork Creek downstream for 1.2 miles. Kettle Hollow and Tea Kettle Falls are on your left.
• Best Viewing: Immediately after a heavy rain. The waterfall is nonexistent much of the year.
-- Source: Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook by Tim Ernst.
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