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Fall Creek Falls
iPhone photo doesn't do it justice.
For perspective, the tiny white specks by the pool are people. |
This weekend, I felt like I was in Hawaii – in middle Tennessee. MR’s small town of Cookeville doesn’t offer a wide selection of entertaining activities so we often flee to Nashville but this weekend we decided to stay put. Friday was a nice night on the deck, grilling burgers, drinking wine, talking and listening to music. Saturday is stormed on and off but we went to the 10th annual Cookeville Soapbox Derby – pretty cool! MR’s co-worker’s daughter had the coolest car on the drag and won third place.
Sunday, I made a frittata for brunch then we ventured 40 miles to Pikeville, TN to hike to Fall Creek Falls. Although I love a good workout on the humps of Mother Nature, I expected to park and walk an eighth of a mile to an overlook like you do at most state parks. Horrible assumption.
First we looked at Cane Creek Falls, which the plush summer foliage made hard to view; we planned to hike down to the bottom – the amazing thing about this park is all of the falls have beautiful pools to swim in. But after the rest of our adventure, we put the kibosh on that idea. Cane Creek Cascade was pretty… and the rope bridge was very Indiana Jones-esque – I had to scold MR not to jump, shake or touch me as we scurried across. It felt a bit janky.
Then we plowed straight up into the woods for a couple mile hike in the middle of the thick woods. It was a hot as a hornet and huffing and puffing! I mean, I could not believe there wasn’t any sort of disclaimer about this trail – it’s no stroll through the woods. It was a hefty hike! We came to an overlook and again the view was covered by trees. MR walked forward and I sat to rest – I did not hustle up here for this! Ten minutes later he came back looking for me – a few minutes further there was what we had needed in the first place – a parking lot and an overlook. We clearly came the wrong way – but just getting to where we parked was like the twisty turns of the moonshine routes in the hollers – I thought we’d fly off the side of the mountain at any turn. This park is so pristine - I didn't see any litter or what appeared to be human wear except for footprints on the trails.
The view of the falls here was gorgeous... 256 feet of two thin and steady streams of white water - the highest free-falling waterfall east of the Mississippi. We took it in then decided to climb down to the bottom pool. And I thought the last trail was treacherous… it was steep, jagged, slippery rocks the entire way down. It was beautiful and I couldn’t believe we were in Tennessee… we had fun manuvering down and then sitting on a big boulder enjoying the view and cool mist watching people swim – next time we’ll have to plan for that! I could have sat there all day; it was so peaceful. And it was quite romantic - albeit our sweatiness and the strangers. The trek back up was bloody hell – we were both sweating like high school wrestlers running laps in garbage bags – and you had to be ever so calculated with your footing or you’d slip. I never thought we’d make it back up – and then back through the woods and across the bridge. God dog! I will say it was worth it but today my buns and ribs are so incredibly sore and tender.
My friend Meredith just told me that the original un-animated "Jungle Book" movie was filmed here and the pool is shallow but in a small area it's around 20 feet deep and he had to hit the exact spot when he jumped off the waterfall!
I love how we’ve gone on these little adventures and sought out amazing things in this small and simple part of the country while MR is on this work assignment for a year or so. I laughed and told him it will be sweet to look back on in 10 years.
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| Suspension Bridge that begins the hike to the falls |
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Cane Creek Cascade
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