Karen and I moved to NC five years ago and started chasing waterfalls. Our hiking adventures increased when we relocated to Chattanooga and Karen retired. With the threat of the coldest weather this winter arriving yesterday, we set out Wednesday (1-5-2022) seeking our 100th waterfall.
Temperatures atop the Cumberland Plateau can range from 10- to 20-degrees colder than our home on Chickamauga Lake. A recent, winter storm left snow in shaded areas and on roof tops at South Cumberland State Park’s Fiery Gizzard Trailhead.
The trail plunged into the Little Fiery Gizzard Creek gorge. A massive rock overhang dubbed Cave Spring Rock House was our introduction to the wonderland that is one of Tennessee’s highest ranked hikes.
Karen is standing by a 500-year-old Hemlock tree. There were many of these ancient, evergreen giants with shade tolerance that allows them to thrive in the shadows of the deep ravine.
A string of rain storms prior to our excursion provided plenty of water for our enjoyment. Most hiking reports describe 20-foot-tall School Branch Falls as dry or just a trickle. The lovely cascade produced a steady discharge for our visit.
The recent,violent storms that produced tornadoes and snow in Kentucky and western Tennessee, knocked down lots of trees in the gorge. Coupled with moisture from the creek and frequent rains, fungus and lichen were doing their jobs reclaiming nutrients from the deadfalls.
Blue Hole Falls only drops 10 feet, but it gushes into a beautiful, 7-foot-deep pool that is very popular with summer swimmers.
Just past the merging of Little and Big Fiery Gizzard Creeks, the heady stream barrels through a narrow gash in dark slate called the Black Canyon Cascade.
270-million-years ago, Chimney Rocks were formed by compression from the slow collision of North America and Africa. When primordial seas retreated, the mostly sandstone with shale folded in “chimneys” were exposed by wind and water erosion. There are five of the pillars that look like haphazardly stacked rocks and range from 25- to 60-feet tall.
Sycamore Falls was our mid-hike destination for the day. The raging, 12-foot falls provided no place for us to sit and eat lunch, while enjoying the view. I spied falling water high above Sycamore Falls and across the creek, so we forged past to check it out.
Our 100th waterfall has no name. It only runs during times of plentiful rainfall and snow melts. Plummeting 120 feet, the nameless cataract was a fitting milestone for our waterfall quests.
The Fiery Gizzard Trail was listed by Backpacker Magazine as one of the top 25 hiking trails in the United States. From the Tracy City Access, where we started, the trail ends over 14-miles away at Foster Falls. Our Adventure was only 3.7 miles, out and back. Legend has it that Davy Crockett burned his tongue on a turkey gizzard and spit it into the gorge giving the creek and gorge the Fiery Gizzard moniker. The oddly-named pathway is truly a jewel in Tennessee’s crown.