Rainbow Lake Loop

8.19.14    The Soddy Daisy TTA Chapter was taking their usual Social Hike this past Tuesday and when I describe it as a Social Hike it would generally fall  between 3 to 5 miles with an intensity of easy to moderate.  Our hike on this day was leaving by 8:00 a.m. from the Red Bank Bi-Lo parking lot and carpooling to Signal Mtn for a hike around Rainbow Lake.  The total length was approximately 3 miles and I would rate it as moderate for the group since there were plenty of rock fields to traverse and earlier that day we had some rains which made many of them very slick to navigate.  We arrived at the Ohio Avenue trailhead near the Alexian Brothers Village.

There was a total of 12 hikers which showed up for this hike and we left the trailhead area and proceeded down the trail until we intersected the Bee Branch Trail and continued in a northerly direction where we crossed a swinging bridge and then reversed our direction in order to reach the Middle Creek suspension bridge.  At that bridge you can either take a right on the trail prior to crossing and heads toward Edwards Point or cross the bridge and turn right to head for Signal Point but after crossing we turned left where we started the ascent from the ravine passing the Rainbow Lake Dam and working our way up the ridge to the trailhead parking lot.

For a little history lesson on Rainbow Lake, the lake is a legacy of Charles E. James, who developed the 250 room Signal Mountain Hotel and some of the 4,400 acres which he purchased surrounding it back in 1913.  Mr. James constructed a dam in a ravine where two mountain streams met, and Rainbow Lake was formed.  The lake was 1,200 by 200 feet across, with an average depth of 15 feet.  It suffered a decline as the years passed by from silt flowing down into the lake and with people discarding old tires and trash in the ravine until the early 1980’s.  This is when the Friends of Rainbow Lake and scout groups began working to save it. The Town of Signal Mountain designated the area as a park and preserve, and Rainbow Lake is now connected to the Cumberland Trail.  As usual I digressed but I thought that tidbit of information might be interesting in how the area came to be.  Also while I’m highlighting the great work of the Volunteer community in saving Rainbow Lake for our enjoyment I would be remiss in not mentioning the outstanding work in the recent creation of brand new trail signage in this area by Sam Powell, Clyde Womack & Bill Fronk and the installation of those signs on the trail by the Wednesday hiking group of the Chattanooga Hiking Club which just happens to be led by the effervescent personality of Che Carico.

This story wouldn’t be complete without also mentioning what the Tuesday hikes are famous for and that’s going to eat after their ”long and arduous” hikes.  Today we went to Nikki’s Drive Inn on Cherokee Blvd., one of my favorites for hamburgers and homemade onion rings and you guessed it most of the attendees had their hamburgers with a plate of onion rings while several others tried their hand with the jumbo shrimp plates which looked equally good.  All in all we had a somewhat hot, humid, but satisfying day, thanks to the overall camaraderie of the group and the great meals we enjoyed.  Happy Hiking!  For a few pictures, click here or the the Rainbow Lake Loop tab above.  

Larry