Wilson River: Jones Creek to Wilson Falls

This was a pretty easy trail. The river was beautiful but you will find it crowded for the first mile or so. The waterfall was very pretty. It is 2 miles to the Wilson Falls mark but the trail does go on longer if you choose to keep going.

I was having a really great time with the under water camera. I am really excited about this picture. The camera I use is an Olympus. My Cannon Digital SLR is in the shop at the moment. 

The first thing that struck me about the river were the deep swimming pools and their rich aqua color. They were much like the color of Green Lakes in Syracuse, NY. The water was crystal clear with sandy shores and very little mud. The sand was heavy and didn't murk up the water.

The entrance of the trail had some really cute picknic areas set up with nice clean grill fire pit spots. There were really attractive benches along the trails that had memorial placks on them. When we first arrived the river was pretty quiet with only a few swimmers. Tubing seems to be a big thing here even with the really low water levels of this August afternoon.

There were quite a few fish in the water. I couldn't spot any over four inches in length but did see a father and son fishing on the other side. I imagin they were catching things with the abundance of minnows in the river. There were also lots of deep pools with nice rock outcrops for fish to hide in. I bet there were some big ones lurking under the toes of the swimmers. 

Add caption

The trail weaved away and back towards the river. There were enough spots for us to dip our dogs and let them get drinks on the hot day. The trail became more quiet as we reached the falls area. The forest smelled like celery. It was a really fresh nice smell. The trail was narrow and dry. It had been trimmed on the edges so it was easy to navigate.

I was goofing around with my underwater camera but it really shows how clean the water was and even with me walking around no silt was brought up even in the slower shore areas. 

Power lines and atv roads did interrupt the river hike but this seemed like a place where a lot of people with a lot of different interests could come and enjoy their day with out too much interfearence. It seemed that everyone was able to find their own private spot even with the quantity of visitors at the river. We found a couple areas where we could head down to the river and snack on our trail mix with out interruption.

I gotta mention that I have some kick butt hiking shoes. I wear the Solomon trail shoes and they really grip even on the crazy slippery rocks in the river. I have owned their water shoes as well and totally love them.

The mountains behind the craggily moss covered trees was breath taking. Everything has a green aura as the sun shone through the moss and leaves. The trail was nice and shaded keeping the really hot sun at bay.

Add caption

I bet this waterfall is even more fantastic in the spring. I am looking forward to revisiting these trails when the water is really cruising down the cliffs.

This is a little shelter made by larva in the river. 

I was so tempted to dive in here. I need to get in shape so I can start bringing a swim suit on river walks. :D

I really love the colors in this picture.