Upper Bassi

I really wasn't in the mood for a hike so decided to go to Bassi Falls. Got a late start and stopped for a map at the Forest Service location near Mills Run.
On the road to the falls, I saw 4 huge vehicles in a row heading up...so much for the peaceful and bucolic reading session I had planned at the falls. I decided to drive up the road further.

The Cheese Camp road was unbarred for the first time ever (for me). This is the road to the Van Vleck cabin and I had snowshoed here with the hound last winter.

It's a narrow paved road. We stopped at the locked gate and moseyed around a little but there wasn't a view and no water. There was a 1 mile trail to Upper Bassi. Drove about 1/4 mile to it. There is a horse campground and it's the Tells Creek trailhead.

The trail is very good. It heads south and very gradually drops (almost level), then takes a somewhat steep plunge, then heads easterly through a marshy area (pretty dry now) and finally starts crossing granite mixed with meadow mixed with more granite.

The creek was barely moving but it had cut quite a channel through the granite. A group of people had already established their turf just downstream so I headed a bit up. I soon found a likely looking pool, took my boots and socks off and waded into it. I had to move slowly because the footing was slimy with moss.

As it turned out, that was a good thing. The pool wasn't big, maybe double king size bed size and wasn't very deep. I was just looking at a likely spot to lean back against the rock when I noticed a very frightened snake poking his head up and desperately hoping none of the interlopers to his home (the human and the pooch) would kill and eat him.

I'm not snake phobic at all but I'm sure I would have jumped and screamed if he slithered across me to escape! I left him to his pool and sat on another rock and finished my water and snack. I noticed it was getting late and got the boots back on to head back.

I did explore briefly up stream and saw that I had missed some really large shady pools! Next time.