MEASLES AND SMORES

We left Lost Cove Falls and drove an interesting assortment of Tennessee back roads to Fall Creek Falls State Park. There were all kinds of fascinating sights along the way. First we crossed a culvert over a drainage ditch. The culvert had a sign proudly proclaiming that it was the Somebody or Another Memorial Bridge. What? That? The “bridge” was all of three feet across. You could probably lie down in the middle of the stream and not get wet. Didn’t they have any more substantial bridges to name after this poor guy? Oh yeah, I forgot, all of the streams around here seem to go underground.

I probably shouldn’t make fun of it though. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be lucky to get a guardrail named after me. The hilarity didn’t stop there though. We turned onto route 30, which is one of the main roads leading to the park, and crossed the Herman Measles Memorial Bridge. I swear I’m not making this up. At least this bridge was an actual bridge though.

I’ll be honest with you here. The person this bridge was named after wasn’t named Herman. For the life of me, I can’t remember his first name. His last name was definitely measles though. It would be hard to forget that. I’ve heard some god-awful names over the years, and for some odd reason, a disproportionate number of them seem to be on bridges. Previously, my all-time favorite was the Hyman Rubin bridge, on I-77 in Columbia, South Carolina. Lately that sign has been missing. I wonder why?

Anyway, back to what’shisname Measles. What kind of name is that? His wife must’ve really been in love. I wonder, when being introduced at parties, if people always said something like, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Measles. Are you still contagious?” Furthermore, I wonder what he died from. Can you die from the measles? How ironic would that be?

We approached another bridge, and I was almost bursting with anticipation. What would this one be, the “Robin Bird Flu Memorial Bridge”? The “Lars SARS Memorial Bridge”? How about the “Montezuma’s Revenge Memorial Bridge”? Gosh, what does that bridge cross? It sure would be a lousy place for a picnic.

We reached the bridge, which was unnamed. What a disappointment. A few miles of windy roads led to the turn for the park, where signs promised all kinds of treats, like golf, and ice cream, and free pizza delivery. A short distance later we entered the park. We reached an official picnic area, where we stopped for lunch. We found a table in the sun, where it was slightly less frigid. While we ate, huddled in our coats, a car pulled into the parking area, but nobody got out. It seemed like the people inside were just watching us eat lunch. What the hell? Were we some kind of exhibit? I wasn’t sure whether to wave to them, or toss them an apple.

They eventually left, and so did we. We drove to the Nature Center and parked. The car’s thermometer read 38. At the point, Christy and Thao expressed interest in pursuing recreation opportunities in a warmer climate. Uh Oh. Trouble was brewing. I’ve learned a few things about women over the years. Not enough to fill a book or anything. In fact, a magazine article would be ambitious. Ok, I’ll admit, I could write everything I know about women on 2 sides of a 3x5 note card. Actually, most of what would be on the back would pretty much contradict what was on the front. Here’s one thing I do know though. Don’t ever let them get cold. Once they get cold, they’ll never warm back up again. And you can bet that their being cold is your fault, like you have some kind of magical control over the weather.

I knew nothing good would come out of this. After a brief discussion, I decided to do a short hike, while they visited the nature center and toured the park’s scenic loop road. We agreed to meet back at the parking lot around 4pm.

I started my hike with a visit to the overlook of Cane Creek Falls behind the nature center. Cane Creek Falls is spectacular, but this overlook doesn’t provide a good vantage point. However, I was treated to a brilliant rainbow arching across the falls.

From there I headed upstream to Cane Creek Cascades, which is a pretty substantial waterfall itself. From there, it’s possible to follow the creek downstream most of the way to the brink of the falls. I didn’t fool around much down there though, as I was on a tight schedule. I did make a few futile attempts at photographing the cascades, but the incredible spray made it almost impossible.

I crossed the swinging bridge over Cane Creek, and hiked the Cane Creek Gorge Overlook Trail. This trail features side paths to a number of overlooks. One of those overlooks is worth seeing, while another is marginal. A couple of others are virtually pointless, and one provides an up-close view of a stand of trees.

The one worth visiting is the Cane Creek Falls Overlook. It provides a better view than the overlook behind the nature center. From the cliff, the view includes the wide and powerful Cane Creek Falls, and the taller, more elegant Rockhouse Creek Falls. Both waterfalls spill into the same immense punchbowl. Either waterfall individually would be well worth seeing. Both of them together are an incredible sight.

From there I followed the trail towards the park’s name-sake, Fall Creek Falls. I eventually joined the Woodland Trail, and crossed bridges over Fall Creek and Coon Creek. From there, a short hike brought me to the official overlook of Fall Creek Falls. This is the center of attention for tourists visiting the park, and there was a fair crowd here. I imagine it would’ve been much worse on a warmer day though.

I eventually jockeyed for position where I could see the falls. Fall Creek freefalls some 250’ into a vast basin. Coon Creek launches itself off the same cliff a hundred or so feet away. The site was impressive, but I was actually slightly disappointed. Both creeks are fairly small, and neither waterfall is as impressive as Cane Creek Falls. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I was more impressed with Rockhouse Creek Falls, too. It’s still worth a visit, although I do think the name of the park should be changed to Cane Creek Falls State Park. Don’t look for that change to be adopted anytime soon though.

I decided to skip the hike to the base of Fall Creek Falls. Instead, I hiked back to the Nature Center on the Woodland Trail, which is a little shorter than the Gorge Overlook Trail. I still had 45 minutes or so, which I spent on the Cable Trail. The Cable “Trail” is an exceptionally steep gully that provides access to the base of Cane Creek Falls and Rockhouse Creek Falls. After a short walk along a path parallel to the main park road, I reached the precipice. Here I found the usual assortment of warning signs, and the beginning of the cable. The cable runs the length of the “trail”, and provides a safety line. More often than not it was just in the way, but there were a couple of places where it was useful. The worst part of the descent was near the beginning. After that it moderated.

I reached the bottom a few minutes later, and walked the edge of the huge pool below the falls. Cane Creek Falls and Rockhouse Creek Falls look even more impressive from the base. A few clouds had finally moved in (after 2 ½ days of brilliant sunshine), and I managed a few photos despite the profuse spray. The best vantage for photos turned out to be near the base of Rockhouse Creek Falls, with Cane Creek Falls beyond. I had a lot of fun here exploring the photographic possibilities.

It was almost 4pm when I left. If you want a workout, try climbing the Cable Trail without stopping! I reached the parking lot 10 minutes later, where Christy, Thao, and Saucony were waiting for me. They had had a pleasant afternoon, touring the park in the warmth of the car.

Although a return to Fall Creek Falls State Park isn’t at the top of my priority list, there is one hike there I’d like to do. Starting from the nature center, the route would follow the Gorge Overlook (and stop at only one of the viewpoints) to Fall Creek Falls. From there, the route would continue down the switchbacks to the base of Fall Creek Falls. From the base, an off-trail adventure begins. The route goes downstream along Fall Creek, which is mostly underground. At the confluence with Cane Creek, the route turns upstream. This hike would require fording Cane Creek at least once, and possibly multiple times. Therefore, it’s probably best done during periods of low water. The route would follow Cane Creek to the base of Cane Creek Falls, where the Cable Trail provides a return to the nature center.

We headed back to camp, where we showered before grilling chicken for dinner. Dinner was still cooking when the snow began to fall. It came in big, fat, wet flakes. The snow didn’t stick, but it was still quite a sight, especially for Thao. It was the third time in her life that she’d seen snow.

That night we managed to keep Thao awake long enough to enjoy some Smores. Thao also turned out to be quite adept at keeping the campfire going. We burned the last of the wood, and actually stayed up kind of late. It seemed warmer near the fire than we expected it to be in the tent. At one point, I announced that the snow clouds would actually prevent the temperature from dropping as much, since they would help hold in the day’s heat. 10 minutes later, the snow stopped and the clouds parted, revealing a brilliant sky full of stars. So much for that theory. At least Thao was enthralled, as we don’t have stars in Charlotte, thanks to the bright city lights.

Continue reading about our trip as I hike in Savage Gulf.

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