Johnny Molloy - 50 Hikes on Tennessees Cumberland Plateau

OTHER BOOKS IN THE 50 HIKES SERIES

50 Hikes on Michigan & Wisconsins North Country Trail

50 Hikes in Northern New Mexico

50 Hikes in Ohio

50 Hikes in Orange County

50 Hikes in the Upper Hudson Valley

50 Hikes in Wisconsin

50 Hikes in the Berkshire Hills

50 Hikes in Alaskas Kenai Peninsula

50 Hikes in Coastal and Inland Maine

50 Hikes in Kentucky

50 Hikes in the Catskills

50 Hikes in Connecticut

50 Hikes in Central Florida

50 Hikes in the Sierra Nevada

OTHER COUNTRYMAN BOOKS BY JOHNNY MOLLOY

50 Hikes in Alabama

50 Hikes in the North Georgia Mountains

50 Hikes in the Ozarks

50 Hikes in South Carolina

Visit the authors website: www.johnnymolloy.com

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

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Copyright 2012, 2020 by The Countryman Press

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Series cover design by Steve Attardo

Cover photograph Khanh Nguyen

Back cover photograph Johnny Molloy

Production manager: Gwen Cullen

Series design by Chris Welch

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

The Countryman Press

www.countrymanpress.com

A division of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

www.wwnorton.com

978-1-68268-394-1 (pbk.)

978-1-58157-816-4 (ebk.)

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

Contents

W elcome to the second edition of this guidebook. My first encounters with the Cumberland Plateau, the wide tableland cut with a dizzying array of gorges fashioning a geological wonderland, were like those of most folks, a simple eastwest crossing by I-40. When I was growing up in Memphis, the Plateau, as it is known, was a distant place. However, 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. The outdoor bug bit me shortly after I moved 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, whitewater 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 I 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. Between the first and second editions of this guide, I further explored the Plateau, keeping a log of potential hike inclusions for the second edition. Readers also contributed their ideas. 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 the second edition. But I will continue putting my lessons to work, enjoying more of Tennessees Cumberland Plateau in future outdoor adventures.

I n writing and updating 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. 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 Plateau, John Christof. Thanks to Merrell for providing me with great hiking shoes, to Sierra Designs for great tents and sleeping bags. Most of all, thanks to my wife Keri Anne and the residents of my Tennessee homeland, who know the Cumberland Plateau as a great natural treasure of the Volunteer State.

T his updated and improved book details 50 hikes that take place on Tennessees Cumberland Plateau, from the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area near Kentucky to the fascinating Walls of Jericho astride the Alabama state line; from the thousand-foot gorge cut by the mighty Tennessee River down Chattanooga way to the watery beauty of Virgin Falls by Spartathe entirety of the Plateau in the Volunteer State. Specific emphasis is placed on the most scenic destinations and unique places that make the Cumberland Plateau so special, places like the Great Stone Door, with its sandstone formations and vertical rock walls, or the ancient trees and human history of Cumberland Mountain State Park. This new edition also includes a few hikes just off the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, including special destinations such as time-honored Burgess Falls, as well as newer Cummins Falls and the geologically fascinating Window Cliffs State Natural Area. Still other new additions on the Plateau consist of Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area, with its unique arches, overlooks, waterfalls, and rock housesjust about everything youd expect from a superlative site on the Cumberland Plateauand the Gentlemans Swimming Hole, a spot on Clear Fork adjacent to the historic community of Rugby. The Eagle Bluff section of the Cumberland Trail offers views aplenty and a trail shelter for overnight backpackers.