Waterfalls of Savage Gulf Pt 1

I have notified everyone I regularly hike with that I will no longer be giving heads-up about hikes because I grow weary of all the reasons people can't go and even more weary of not getting any sort of feedback on when they CAN go, so barring some latent psychic ability kicking in, I am currently really crappy at just hoping and guessing.  I had resigned myself to solo hiking.

So imagine my surprise when a lady I hiked with once last year, Jennifer, asked if anyone wanted to hike Sunday!  Well, yes.  Matt was in the studio and the kids were scattered to friends and job.  Another FB friend chimed in on the thread and joined us!  A hike I didn't plan!

We went to South Cumberland because it's the best hiking destination with the most options.  We met up and carpooled so we could talk through all the different trails and we agreed we wanted to see waterfalls, wildflowers, and take photos.  Helen had never been to the Altamont area, so we decided to start with Greeter Falls and ended up just hiking out from there into Savage Gulf.

So we parked, walked to Greeter, then continued the trail to Boardtree Falls, then crossed the swinging bridge and crossed over to the rim of Savage Gulf directly below the Alum Gap camping area.  We dropped down on the Big Creek Trail there and planned to hike to Ranger Falls.  When we got to the sinkhole, there was so much water that it was just swirling around the hole and the creek level barely dropped below that!  I've never seen water in that creek below the sinks!

We opted to keep going to see if we could cross, and ran into a pack of young women out for the weekend (yay!) who had just returned from crossing and said the falls was going so strong that the trail to reach them was awash and it was hard going.  We turned around and headed back, content with all we had seen already.  The water was up so high and the gulf so narrow at that point that we could barely talk over the sound of the rush.  I LOVE that!

I shocked myself on that climb out.  It's a 600-foot elevation gain and I just kept going.   I finally had to stop because I was mouth-breathing hard enough to dry my lips out and I needed water.  Helen and Jennifer caught up and Helen tagged me and said it was a life goal achieved to catch up to me on a hike.  I nearly rolled laughing because I am NOT fast, I have no idea why people think they won't be able to keep up, but she's not the first to think it would be difficult.  We made it out, the last stretch of the climb is INSANELY steep!  I only had to stop once or twice more, later at dinner when they called me the Energizer Bunny, I said no one was more shocked than I was.  I REALLY think the asthma meds have helped a ton and I only use them two or three times a week!  That and working those hills!  Yay, lungs.  I think we may be a team again!

Also, this:

I HOPE there is muscle under my fat! 

Jennifer and Helen looking at the falls. 

These scare me when it's wet.

Rainbow

Trying to figure out if this wall is from an old structure or just ranger-stacked.

The trail, ack

Boardtree Falls

This one bounced more than swinginged.  Swung. 

Pointy treeeeees!
All the trees across the way are level, so that would have pleased the Benner.  He does not like when there is one very tall tree poking up!  So I always check now.  haha!

The trail AFTER the steep bit

The steep bit is 100% rolling rocks

I do not know the name of these falls.

This is where the creek usually goes underground!

Lots of stream/trail combos down in the gulf

I always forget these stairs!

We hiked out, panting and gasping, then recovered on the relatively flat section between Alum Gap and Boardtree Falls.  There was some grumbling about the MANY stairs that had to be climbed to finish the loop past the falls, but we prevailed.

We got back to the car with loads of daylight left and went up to Stone Door to get Helen a map and to use the bathrooms there.  There is a new water bottle refill station located outside the bathroom building!  There's one at the VC as well with plans to add even more.

Both ladies had eaten at a place called Papa Ron's in Monteagle before, so we drove all the way down there to get dinner.  It was well worth the detour!  I had a calzone so stuffed with zucchini, we were calling it Ratatoulie.  They were not stingy with the feta either.

Jennifer had a sandwich and fries, the sandwich was in a little loaf of bread and had been assembled similarly to a baked potato being filled with toppings, then covered in cheese across the whole top.  The fries were really good, crisp and salty.  I will admit to having had several.  I also had 2 slices of the tiny bread loaves they serve while you wait-complete with herbed butter.  I was in heaven.

Helen got carbonara, which is apparently really good.  I really liked her commitment to getting as many carbs as possible, including the name.  hahaha!

By going this route, I was able to close a tiny gap of missed trail between Boardtree and Alum Gap, I still have not done that stretch from Ranger Falls to Horsepound Falls including seeing the Savage Decatur cabin!  It will happen, and in the meantime, we have decided to not only thru the Fiery Gizzard in one go later in just a few weeks, but to do it with another lady training to climb Everest this summer.  ACK!

But before that, I have a trip coming up backpacking with a women's group on the Pinhoti!  That will knock 2 of the 5 nights of my goal out.  Yay!

Matt stayed home today via a combo of an exhausting weekend for him (race Saturday and studio session yesterday) and general not feeling well.  I made us apple fritter bread French toast with maple syrup and turkey bacon.  It was so freaking yummy!

We'd planned to go for at least a walk today, but the off and on rain and chilly, damp wind changed our minds.  I don't mind a cozy day now and then, but I am looking forward to getting back out and hiking again!