Secluded Pool

The Appalachian Mountains form a barrier that separates a large portion of the Eastern Seaboard from the mid-west.

Technically, the range extends all the way from northern Central Alabama to the island of Newfoundland. It creates a significant travel barrier for trails, roads and railroads which has shaped American history. The range extends over 2,000 miles in length and is comprised of rocks considered much older than the Rocky Mountains. The highest peak of the mountain range is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), which is also the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The Blue Ridge Parkway drive takes travelers through the very heart and most dynamic portion of these heavily forested mountains. The 2,175 mile long Appalachian Trail follows this range from Georgia to Maine challenging backpackers and hikers by the thousands annually.
With usually abundant water supply, streams run from the crest of this range either eastward to the Atlantic or westward toward the Tennessee or Ohio River valleys. Scenes like this one pictured here are commonplace as are waterfalls of various magnitudes. Almost every canyon sports such a stream and dense forest coverage overspreading trail and stream provides pleasant, shady relief on warmer days. We don’t even have a record of exactly which stream this was, but we do know it was located near Jonesburough, TN. The shallow pool and small waterfall beckons hikers to pause, enjoy the silence of the forest and cool weary feet with a dip in the pool.