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Betsy is still my favorite hiking partner. This picture was taken several days ago when we visited Rutledge Falls near Tullahoma, Tennessee.

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Betsy and I enjoy hiking in the winter, although that is not always the ideal time to see waterfalls at their best. But hiking in January is usually more pleasant than hiking in the heat of August. This picture was taken during a January hike to Northrup Falls, which is only about 20 miles from our home in Fairfield Glade. Betsy and I were on opposites of the waterfall when I snapped this picture.

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Betsy and I have often visited Bald River Falls near Tellico Falls, Tennessee, but back in June, 2010, I hiked along the river above the falls. Bald River is a pretty stream with water tumbling over ledges and rocks.

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This picture of Hurricane Falls was taken in May, 2010. We had stopped by Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia, when we were on our way to the beach. We didn't have time on this trip to hike to the bottom of the canyon, but I got this picture of the waterfall from a short hike along the south rim of the gorge.

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This picture, taken in August, 2006, when we were at Old Stone Fort State Park near Manchester, Tennessee, shows my beautiful, and favorite, hiking partner. How can anyone look at this picture and not smile back?

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This pretty little waterfall doesn't have a very appealing name, but we found it after a nice hike through the woods along the Chattooga Trail near Walhalla, South Carolina.

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There wasn't a lot of water going over King Creek Falls when we visited it in August, 2006. But moss covered the little ledges over which the water dropped, and that, along with the pleasant hike through the woods to reach the falls, made it a wonderful place to visit. King Creek Falls is near Mountain Rest, South Carolina.

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The 3.5-mile Rim Trail encircles Mount Nebo just below the summit. I found this scene on the eastern side of the mountain.

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Betsy enjoys a mountain stream almost as much as she enjoys waterfalls. This picture was taken in March, 2009, along the Little Pigeon River in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Black Mountain, which is fairly near us, is part of the Cumberland Trail State Park. I captured this picture of my favorite hiking partner at the South Overlook on top of Black Mountain in July, 2007.

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Sometimes the water going over a waterfall is more like a trickle (or series of trickles) than a stream. Machine Falls is one of those waterfalls, but Betsy and I had a nice winter day's hike to reach it.

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I can't resist posting pictures of Betsy taken on some of our hike -- it's just too bad that some old guy is with her in some of the pictures. This picture was taken back in 2006 at Lost Creek Falls here in Tennessee. Lost Creek gets its name from the fact that it disappears underground about a mile from this waterfall, emerges from a cave at the top of this descent, and then disappears underground again just to the right of the pool shown.

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I've often posted pictures of Little River in the Smoky Mountains, but Betsy and I have another river that we enjoy exploring -- the Tellico River in Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

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In December of last year Betsy and I spent a couple of days near Brevard, North Carolina, visiting waterfalls. We visited three waterfalls along Log Hollow Branch during a hike along a nice two-mile trail. Two of the waterfalls were right off the trail, but we had to bushwhack to reach the very first one, shown above.

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Black Mountain is a part of the Cumberland Trail State Park here in Tennessee. In addition to the cross-state trail that passes over the mountain, there is a loop trail around the mountain top. The loop trail has a couple of nice overlooks and with the help of our trusty tripod, I got this picture of me and my favorite hiking partner on a summer hike.

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Winter is a wonderful time to go waterfalling. The rains of autumn usually do a good job of renewing the water flow and it's easier to find waterfalls that require bushwhacking when the leaves are off the trees. This picture of me with my favorite hiking partner was taken at a waterfall near Brevard, North Carolina, this past December. (I carry a small tripod in my backpack). This particular waterfall was near the trail and the rails on a bridge over the creek provided us with a place to rest and get this picture.

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Mount Nebo State Park in Arkansas contains several trails which are great for hiking. One of my favorites is the Rim Trail, which circles the mountain just below the top. The 3.5 mile trail offers some wonderful views, even in the winter.

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In June Betsy and I visited some waterfalls in Rabun County, Georgia. One of the waterfalls we visited was Panther Falls, which we found after a pleasant hike through the woods. The nicest thing about this falls is that we had it all to ourselves even on a beautiful summer day.

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I got this picture of my favorite hiking partner about a year ago. We were hiking in Colditz Cove near Jamestown, Tennessee. The hike was fairly short, but obviously my Beautiful Bride got thirsty along the way.

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Black Mountain, which is only about 15 minutes from our house, has a nice hiking loop around the top. The trail is pleasant any time of the year, but the view from the overlooks is wonderful in winter. This picture looks across the Sequatchie Valley toward the Smoky Mountains in the distance.