Savaged by Savage Gulf Pt. 1

Heat, humidity, mosquitos, rock scrambles….Savage Gulf threw everything it had at me.  So who prevailed?

Tennessee’s Savage Gulf State Natural Area is part of South Cumberland State Park.  Located near the tiny towns of Altamont and Beersheba Springs, it has long been one of my favorite places.  I’ve done several solo hikes there over the years, and have taken the family twice when the kids were young as well.  But I’d never done some of the more formidable sections.  It’s a great place for short family trips, as all of the campsites have privies, and two of the camps are only 2-3 miles in from one of the two ranger stations.  However, on the one solo trip where I ventured down into the gorge, the combination of a partially-torn MCL and 8 degree weather had a ranger advise me to limp out early.

Savage Gulf is actually named after the Savage family, who once owned part of the 15,000 acres that are now protected.  Nearly a third of the 2,300 plants native to Tennessee are found here, as well as 500 acres of old growth forest.  Each of the three gorges (Big Creek, Collins and Savage Gulfs) come together like a giant crow’s foot.  There are many notable waterfalls, some of which are terminal (i.e. flow right into the ground below).  The creeks/small rivers in each gorge also typically end up underground at some point except during wet weather events.  Such is the limestone geology of the South Cumberlands.

I started early Sunday morning from the Savage Falls Ranger Station, having already made my backcountry campsite reservations online (this is required, and there is a small nightly fee).  The first mile in is part of the Savage Day Loop, and early on you see that they’ve put in some work making these trails.

After a mile or so, the Day Loop junctions with the South Rim Trail, which follows the southern (or left) side of Savage Creek.  In less than a mile you come to the portion of the creek above the falls, which has some very attractive cascades.

Apparently this was a nice location for moonshine stills, and a sign notes the past presence of one.  Other than the sign itself, I saw no evidence of a bootlegger’s prior presence, however.

A little further on, a short side trail leads down stairs to the plunge pool below 30 foot Savage Falls, which looks like a nice place to take a cool dip in the summer.

Opposite of this side trail is the spur to the Savage Falls Camp Area.  I continued on down the South Rim Trail.  The abundant moisture in the area near the river proved to be a great environment for a variety of interesting mushrooms and fungi.

After crossing Laurel Branch on a metal footbridge you come in rapid succession to 3 nice overlooks on blue-blazed side trails.  Then, after crossing Rhododendron Branch on another bridge are 4 more overlooks.  I lost track of what pictures came from which overlook, although reputedly the best views are from Laurel Bluff Overlook at Mile 5.2.  The overlooks were great for catching a breeze, watching buzzards, and the vast views of the interesting topography.

Shortly after the last of these (Lichen Rock Overlook) I came to the Stage Road Camp Area, which seemed like a good place to stop for lunch.  I whipped out my stove and made some TrailFork Loaded Veggie Hummus, which I had with pita chips, and then cameled up at a nearby stream.  It was here that the ravenous mosquito hordes first took note of my presence.

I then crossed over so-called Peak Mountain and hit the junction for the Collins Gulf Trail, starting down the eastern side.  I passed by a couple more modest overlooks and then some interesting rocky areas covered by reindeer moss.

Strangely enough, I then ran into one of my favorite forest creatures right near the rim.

I also passed a few of these interesting shrubs with bright red berries.

The trail started getting more rugged as I neared the (now-closed) Collins East Camp Area, where I spent one of the coldest nights of my life with a sprained MCL a few years ago.  The trail then began a steep and sometimes rocky and slippery descent to the Collins River, which thankfully had a bridge.

Take the water away, and that’s what the next couple of mile of trail looked like.  I was quickly regretting biting off such a high-mileage day.  The endless rock-hopping took a toll on my tender feet.  Finally, a steep uphill climb ending with 40 stone steps brought me to the Collins West Camp Area just 30 minutes before dark.  I quickly pitched my tent and made some Good To-Go Gumbo for dinner, which was right tasty.  Even though this campground has road access from less than a mile away, I had it to myself for the night.  However, I was so beat that not even a rowdy Boy Scout troop would’ve kept me from crashing.  Day 1 (counting spurs) 13.6 miles.

I awoke the next morning feeling less than stellar.  The unseasonably warm weather and oppressive humidity combined with overdoing it the previous day had me feeling off.  My appetite is never great the first day or two into a hike, and it’s often a struggle to get enough calories into my body to keep me from bonking, particularly on the second day of hikes.  You’d think I would’ve learned from past experience, but no, that would be too sensible.  Already in calorie deficit, I could only force down 300 calories of breakfast bars before I took off.  That was a mistake that paid me back all day long.

After descending back down the stone steps to rejoin the Collins Gulf Trail, I descended yet further on slippery rocks to approach Suter Falls.  The trail approaches beneath a semicircular rock overhang  that was somewhat steep and treacherous.

The bridge over the creek below the falls wobbled like Galloping Gertie and challenged my vestibular system, which didn’t do much for my appetite either.  The prominent mist generated by the falls also somehow managed to mess up my phone intermittently for the rest of the day, which was really disappointing, because there were still three more gorgeous waterfalls ahead.

The first of these was Horsepound Falls after about 2 miles.  It was flowing nicely, albeit less than in this photo I mooched off the internet.

I’d love to know the origin of the name.  I find it hard to believe that anyone could get horses back in there to impound them.

After another mile or so I crossed back over the now dry Collins River on another bridge.  Supposedly during high water, this is not possible.  Scary to imagine water rushing OVER the bridge.

At almost 4 miles I hit the junction with the infamous Connector Trail, the rockiest trail of them all.  It seemed to alternate stretches of following an old logging road with inexplicable diversions through rock hopping hell.  Before long I came to the spur trail to the old Cator (Decatur) Savage Cabin, and figured it was time for a rest.  There was a nice older couple already there, and they had in their possession some aerial photos of the area from 1939 in which you could clearly see the cabin.  They left, and I took a 30 minute siesta on the porch, which ended suddenly when a wasp nest fell from the ceiling onto my belly.  Thankfully it was old and inactive, but the adrenaline jolt got me going back up the trail quickly.

I wasn’t making good time thanks to my general bonkiness, taking frequent short breaks, and soon it became apparent that A) I didn’t have time to stop and cook lunch, and B) I was going to have to sacrifice one of the upcoming 2 waterfalls.  I chose to forego Greeter Falls, having seen it before.  After crossings of the dry Big and Laurel Creeks, I finally reached the junction with the Big Creek Gulf Trail, roughly the halfway point for the day….and it was well past noon already.

I tried to force some snack calories into my balky stomach, but it didn’t want any.  Even the old reliable Snickers was unable to satisfy.

I finally reached the 0.4 mile spur to Ranger Falls.  My smartphone managed to eke out one extremely blurry photo after repeated attempts.  I wasn’t thrilled about hiking nearly a mile round-trip to see this and not get a good pic, especially since I was pressed for time.  It’s a really pretty waterfall though, and I’m glad I visited.  Sadly, I present yet another image from the web instead of my own.

Shortly after returning from Ranger Falls, I took a quick side trail to the Big Creek Sinks, where Big Creek swirls into a sort of cave and vanishes into the earth.  At over 11 miles into the day, bonking like crazy and really pressed for time, I didn’t have the opportunity to return to Greeter Falls.  It is possibly the most spectacular of all the waterfalls in Savage Gulf, and it’s accessible from a nearby road for a nice day hike.  If you come in by road, you descend an impressive metal staircase to get to the viewpoint.

In the fading light, I made the climb up out of the gulf to the Alum Gap Camp Area at the end of the Big Creek Rim Trail.  Along the way, I stopped at Alum Branch and filtered water for my 2 SmartWater bottles and filled my 3L HydroPak.  I finally reached the campsite just before sundown, pitched my tent, and cooked up some Good To-Go Pad Thai, which happened to be so good that my recalcitrant stomach finally decided to enjoy food.  I fell asleep with a quickness, only to be jolted awake at 10PM by some late-arriving and noisy hikers.  BTW it’s illegal to hike after dark in Savage Gulf.  Day 2:  11.9 miles