Four State Parks today with very different trails, and add to that a scattered chance of thunderstorms, and you get–exhausted. First park. Short and strenuous but easily done because it was only two trails–one to the overlook of the falls and one downstream of the falls, and only a total of less than two miles.
Cummins Falls
The second park was challenging to say the least. It said it was a 4.7 mile trail and maybe it was when the CCC built it in the 1930s, but by the time we hiked it, the four foot treadway was often down to less than a foot due to erosion, and badly maintained as well, and lots of poison ivy, and was more than more than 5 miles. Not excessively off, but considering some of the brush we had to cut through and side hill trail that disappeared into gullies and lake . . . it took a lot out of us.
The plants are taking over!
And then we hiked a couple of short but nice trails that made up for it. Two parks that only had one trail each and both significantly historic because they were related to Tennessee personages–Cordell Hull (Nobel Peace Prize for forming the United Nations) and the famous Alvin C. York (yes, the movie–Sergeant York with Gary Cooper). SO, exhausting day, but awesome, and sometimes trying trails, but all in all, worth the effort.
A woodland walk along the Bunkum Cave trail.
Walking across the suspension bridge to the York grave site.
And just for fun–snakes on the trail today__
Look at that color!
