The morning of Day 3 brought a light drizzle and slightly lower temperatures.  I appreciated the break from the heat, but the precipitation, on top of the already high humidity, had everything I owned feeling moist.  Even my Dyneema pack.  However, I was excited that the first part of the day was going to bring some more amazing sights.

My stomach still wasn’t feeling up for breakfasts, but I managed to get down 2 granola bars and some peanut M&M’s.  On my way back from the privy, I passed a 4 year-old boy with his parents.  The boy proudly and loudly greeted me with an “I’m going to poop!”

The first 3 miles of the day were along the Big Creek Rim Trail heading towards the Stone Door Trail.  Naturally, there were several nice overlooks with sweeping early morning views.

After 3.2 miles I arrived at the junction with the Stone Door Trail at the Stone Door Overlook.  To the left about one mile is the other ranger station, and to the right you descend through the Stone Door back into the gulf.  I choose to linger at the overlook to enjoy the breeze and a snack.

The nearly 270 degree views from Stone Door Overlook are my personal favorites.

Since this overlook is easily accessible from the ranger station, lots of touristy folks are often there, so they have signs to warn them about the dangers:

It was then time to check out the most unique geologic feature of the hike- The Great Stone Door.  The “door” is a narrow vertical cleft in the rocky bluff that descends maybe a hundred feet.

The view from the bottom is actually more impressive, and better displays the extensive stonework that the trail builders employed to make this hikeable.

Unfortunately, multiple layers of punishment awaited at the bottom- mosquitos, the return of humidity, and a continued steep descent with numerous rockpiles to hop through.  By the time I hit the junction with the Connector Trail at 4.1 miles the mosquitos and gnats were driving me insane and my feet were sore.  I turned left and retraced several miles that I had hiked yesterday, crossing the dry beds of Laurel Creek and Big Creek on suspension bridges, and then passing the spur trail to the Savage Cabin.  Along the way I found one of my parents’ favorite shrubs.

After crossing another bridge over the dry Collins River, I made it to the junction with the Collins Gulf Trail, which I took to the left for nearly a half mile.

I had left camp with 3 liters of water and was now down to 1, and had not passed any immediate water sources.  I didn’t feel like I was drinking enough to counter the massive amounts of sweat I was losing, yet I now faced having to ration what I had left.

At 7.7 miles, now down nearly into the central portion of the gulf, I reached the junction with the Stage Road Historic Trail.

This trail follows an old stagecoach road that led from the rim down into the gulf and then out along the Collins River.  Perhaps back in the day it was navigable, but now a good portion of it is almost a rock-strewn gully.  However, it had a surprisingly gentle grade as it ascended 700+ ft. to the rim over 1.6 miles.  But still, lots of mosquitos and no water.  I was down to my last gulp when I spotted a pooling seep to my left.  I quickly deployed my 2 oz. measuring cup to ladle out 3 liters of cool agua into my HydroPak, which I then filtered.  I drank 2 of those liters on the spot, then refilled my bottles and HydroPak before continuing on.  It took a good while, and the mosquito hordes helped themselves to another pint of my blood during the process.

Naturally, after all the work that this took, another 200 yards up the trail there was a small wet weather waterfall that was flowing nicely.  Grrr.

Just before the Stage Road Trail ended, it did a sharp hairpin turn that featured some impressive rock terracing to buttress the upper portion of the trail.

Finally, I reached the rim and the junction with the South Rim Trail.  From there, it was another mile to the Stage Road Camp Area, where I had made lunch on Day 1.  I found my tidy little campsite (#7) after passing a miserable one (#6) that I thankfully had not selected during my online registration.  It took only a minute to set up my tent and get ready to cook dinner, which tonight was Good To-Go’s Indian Vegetable Korma.  This was the big winner meal of the trip.  SO good.  Right as I finished dinner it started to drizzle again, so I battened down the hatches and was asleep before hiker midnight.  Day 3:  10.3 miles.

I emerged from my tent the next morning into a drizzle and immediately triggered a loud bucksnort 20 yards in the woods behind me.  I was dismayed to discover that the mosquitos were out in stronger than ever numbers.  I suddenly became aware that my body was COVERED with bites.  My elbows looked like I was a leper, and quite honestly I was miserable.  Once again I cursed myself for leaving a 0.5 oz. mini bottle of DEET at home.  That’s what happens when you overdo the gram weenie thing.  I packed and broke camp with lightning speed, hit the nearby stream to filter 2 liters of water (the mosquitos got another half pint toll fee from me) and started booking it down the trail.

I had originally planned to end up at the far end of the North Rim Trail tonight to stay at Hobbs Cabin, but that was over 12 miles away, and between mosquito agony, rain picking up, and bruised feet, not to mention a text from one of my kids who missed their Dad a LOT, I decided to cut this trip short.  Guilt-free, I trotted the 6 miles back to the Savage Falls Ranger Station by 12:30 and hit the road, where I soon found an unsuspecting McDonald’s to deal with my suddenly-awakened hiker hunger.

It was a fun trip nonetheless, and provided me with some valuable learning points.  One, I do not prosper hiking in heat AND humidity and definitely need to drink more water in such conditions.  Two, bring the bleeping DEET.  Every. Time.  Three, I had some serious work to do with dialing in breakfasts, and in general solving my appetite problems during the first two days of hikes.  And four, I had otherwise nailed my gear selections and pulled off my lightest weight hike ever.  Hopefully I will be able to apply some of these lessons to my upcoming Virginia AT section hike in December.  Day 4:  6.0 miles.

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