Molloy - Explorers Guide 50 hikes on Tennessees Cumberland Plateau: an explorers guide: walks, hikes & backpacks from the Tennessee River Gorge to the Big South fork and throughout the Cumberlands

50 Hikes on Tennessees
Cumberland Plateau

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The Best in Tent Camping: Georgia

The Best in Tent Camping: Kentucky

The Best in Tent Camping: Southern Appalachian & Smoky Mountains

The Best in Tent Camping: Tennessee

The Best in Tent Camping: West Virginia

The Best in Tent Camping: Wisconsin

Day & Overnight Hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Visit the authors website: www.johnnymolloy.com

50Hikes
on Tennessees
Cumberland Plateau

Walks, Hikes & Backpacks
from the Tennessee River Gorge to the Big South Fork
and throughout the Cumberlands

JOHNNY MOLLOY

AN INVITATION TO THE READER
Over time trails can be rerouted and signs and landmarks altered. If you find that changes have occurred on the routes described in this book, please let us know so that corrections may be made in future editions. The author and publisher also welcome other comments and suggestions. Address all correspondence to:

Editor, 50 Hikes Series
The Countryman Press
P.O. Box 748
Woodstock, VT 05091

Copyright 2012 by Johnny Molloy

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-0-88150-933-5
50 Hikes on Tennessees
Cumberland Plateau

Maps by Erin Greb Cartography,
The Countryman Press
Book design by Glenn Suokko
Text composition by Eugenie S. Delaney
Interior photographs by the author unless
otherwise specified

Published by The Countryman Press,
P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091
Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is for past, present, and future hikers so they can further appreciate the unique beauty of the Cumberland Plateau.

50 Hikes at a Glance

Preface

My first encounters with the Cumberland Plateau, the wide tableland cut with a dizzying array of gorges fashioning a geological wonderland, were like most folks, a simple eastwest crossing by I-40. Growing up in Memphis, the Plateau, as it is known, was a distant place. But after I moved to Knoxville to attend the University of Tennessee, this scenic swath situated between Nashville and Knoxville rose on my radar. And not just because of road crossings, for the outdoor bug bit me shortly after moving to Knoxville. Adventures in the Smoky Mountains were followed by forays to the Plateau, including backpacking trips at Frozen Head State Park, canoe camping the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, white-water adventures on the Obed River, and hiking along the Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River at Prentice Cooper State Forest, down Chattanooga way. Later exploits lay ahead as I branched outbackpacking all over the Big South Fork and discovering the incredibly rugged beauty of Tennessees Cumberland Plateau state parksSavage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls, and more. I saw high waterfalls, distant panoramas, and natural bridges that presented a stark and welcome contrast to the Southern Appalachian highlands to the east and rolling Middle Tennessee to the west of the Plateau.

Later, I turned my passion for the outdoors of our great state into a vocation. I kept the Plateau on the front burner, going on more adventures, hoping for an opportunity to document what this Tennessee treasure offered. I pitched the idea for this guidebook, then began systematically reexploring the Cumberland Plateau for the best hikes. I found new wildlands and new trails, especially with the expansion of Tennessees master paththe Cumberland Trail. It was a real pleasure (most of the time) to hike the Plateau, from the arches and rock houses of Pickett State Park, to the overlooks of Black Mountain, to the waterfalls of the Piney River, to the depths of Buggytop Cave. Not all the treks I made are included here. Along the way, some unexpected hikes pleasantly surprised this grizzled veteran. And with the joy of completing a book and the sadness of an adventure ended, I finished my research. But I will continue putting my lessons to work, enjoying more of Tennessees Cumberland Plateau in future outdoor adventures.

Massive boulders litter Richland Creek in the Laurel Snow Wilderness.

Acknowledgments

In writing this book I had the pleasure of meeting many friendly, helpful people: local residents proud of the unique lands around them, state park and national park employees who endured my endless questions, and, even better, my fellow hikers, who were eager to share their knowledge about their favorite spots.

Thanks to everyone who walked with me on the trails, including Bryan Delay, Nathan Delay, Pam Morgan, and John Cox. Thanks to those who helped back at home and all the land managers who answered my persistent questions. Special thanks to a hardworking Tennessean who loves the PlateauJohn Christof. Thanks to Merrell for providing me with great hiking shoes, to Delorme for the Earthmate PN-40 GPS, to Lafuma for great backpacks and sleeping bags. Most of all, thanks to the residents of my Tennessee homeland, who know the Cumberland Plateau as a great natural treasure of the Volunteer State.