Cumberland Mountain State Park 7.13.2021

 The day started out a little scary and gloomy.  As we gathered in the parking lot prior to departing for Cumberland Mountain State Park, the skies to the East of us were very dark and ominous.  The weather report said that we should escape showers until after lunch, so we took a chance and trusted the report.  Perhaps the iffy weather was the reason for the weak turn out as only 8 bodies showing up for the 5.8 mile hike.  That was too bad for them as we had a delightful hike.  It was partially overcast and relatively cool.  The hike lasted for 4 hrs and 12 minutes, but since the trail was level and followed around a lake and then a creek I would have to rate the hike as easy.  The trail was extremely lush and reminded me of a rain forest.  We didn't see many, but there were certainly a lot of birds nearby as we could hear their cries.  Just past the halfway mark we found an interesting tunnel that we traveled through to get to the other side of a massive boulder field.  Just past the tunnel we stopped for our mandatory snack stop near the Byrd creek.  Amazingly, we made it back to the parking lot with no rain.  Unfortunately, shortely after arriving at the parking lot we heard lots of sirens.  Evidently a hiker had been injured on the trail.  We wish this person the best.  Just as we arrived at the parking lot in Soddy, the sky opened up and we had to make a run to our cars.  Overall, it was a wonderful hike.  

If you would like to see some photos taken during this hike including maps, click here.  

Craven House Loop Trail 7.10.2021

Saturday was another good day for a hike. Although it started out threatening storms and humidity, they appeared only for a short time. Four of us hikers departed Cravens House Trailhead at around 9am. We started out on the Rifle Pits Trail and it was really cool because shortly after arriving at the actual pits site, the short lived storm started and as we donned our rail gear, the thunder made it feal like we were experiencing what it must have felt like long ago when real canon fire filled the air. From the Pits trail, we made our ascent on the Gum Trail up to the Bluff Trail. This was the most difficult part of the hike. It was .6 miles of upward climb, with no switchbacks to ease our ascent. When we arrived at the Bluff Trail, it was another neat experience due to the fact we were up amongst the clouds and the light and atmosphere was truly a sight and experience to behold. We then proceeded to the Mountain Beautiful Trail and had our snack at the memorial site on the trail. I think the Mountain Beautiful Trail might better be titled the Mountain Jungle Trail. A machete would have made a useful tool to have on the trail due to the fact much of the trail was pretty much grown over. We crossed under the Incline Railway and continued on to Hardy Trail. The Hardy Trail part of the hike was the easiest to hike, but to me it was the most uncomfortable. There was very little shade along the trail, and by this time, the afternoon sun was a bit uncomfortable. We arrived back at Cravens House around 2:30 having completed the 6 mile hike – tired but happy we had made the hike, despite the threat of a washout at the start. 

If you would like to see some very nice pictures taken during this hike, click here.