Collins Gulf - Cheryl

We hiked 5.75 miles at Savage Gulf South beginning at the Collins Gulf trailhead.  We saw a small amount of water at Suter Falls.  We did see several wildflowers along the way.  On this hike, we went past the entrance of Horsepound Falls to the river.  It was dry but there were some small amounts of water flowing over the rocks.  We walked over to the cave and didn't see any water there.  We traced our steps back to Horsepound Falls where the water was flowing really pretty this time of year.  Everyone enjoyed lunch there.  This was an in and out hike; once we were done with lunch, we headed back to our vehicles.

Those in attendance were hike leader Cheryl Smith, Sara Pollard, Amanda Carkhuff, Jay Brain, Alan Nguyen, Jean Breuer all from Murfreesboro chapter.  Misty Fell, Sheila Miller, and Carolyn Day from the Plateau chapter.  Kim Bowers from the Nashville chapter.  Non TTA member Kelly Jackson joined our group. 

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Savage Gulf Day Loop

Today's hike with Anna of the TTA was the day loop at Savage Gulf SP. It was a beautiful day to be out hiking with friends. As an add on we hiked down to the base of the falls.

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Savage Gulf - Anna Lina

There were 14 hikers and one dog that participated in Saturday, March 29th's hike in the Savage Gulf. We started the hike on the Greeter Loop where we briefly stopped at the Greeter Homeplace before continuing on to view the upper and lower falls of Greeter Falls. After enjoying the waterfall, we then hiked to Boardtree Falls. We then continued on the Greeter trail, over a swinging bridge and followed the trail to Big Bluff Overlooked where we enjoyed the views and had a water break and snacks. We then re-traced our tracks back to the Greeter Loop. Seven of us then took the .5 mile out and back trail, to Blue Hole. The rain held off during our hike and the temperatures were very nice.

Hikers were Anna Lina Buckley (Murfreesboro), Joe Campbell (Murfreesboro), Amanda Carkhuff (Murfreesboro), Debra Dodd (Nashville), Chris, Caryn & Cassi Garabedian, John Gizelar (Sumner Trails), Karen Jones (Sumner Trails), Marietta Poteet (Highland RIm), John Ruth (Sumner Trails), Peggy & Mike Shirey (Murfreesboro), and Rebecca Zuckerman.

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Hobb's Cabin Savage Gulf Backpack

 

We had 8 campers for the backpacking trip to the Hobbs Cabin campsites. Campsites #6 and #7 were reserved. We started out at 9:00 am CT on a chilly Saturday morning from the Savage Gulf Ranger Station. It warmed up pretty quickly though for the 5.9-mile hike on the North Rim Trail starting from the Savage Gulf Day Loop. We set up camp and filtered water from the spring behind the cabin. Unfortunately, there was a campsite fire ban due to the drought. We ate an early dinner and sat around Bryan's camping candle. It was a clear night though and the stars were beautiful. 

The next morning, we were up at daylight and left camp around 7:30 am CT for the longer hike back on the North Plateau Trail. Backpackers were Jean Breuer, Craig McBride, Lora McBride, Andy Meeks, Sara Pollard, Bryan Tauchen, and Carl Westman. 

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Savage Gulf Backpack - Michael

Location: South Cumberland Recreation Area Savage Gulf State Natural Area had 12 TTA Backpack crew and weather was perfect all 3 days. Total mileage over three days was 27.2 miles.

Hike started at Savage Gulf Ranger Station for a 7-mile hike that will take us through the Savage Day Loop, Savage Falls and South Rim trails to the Stagecoach Road backcountry campsite. Set up camp and enjoyed storytelling and camping and map reading skills.

Saturday we hiked the 14-mile loop starting down Stagecoach Road into Savage Gulf to Sawmill Camp to the Collins Gulf Trail. Hike along the river and Schwoon Spring and Fall Creek Sink along the way to Horsepound Falls. Had lunch and explore the area and continue up the trail to Suter Falls following switch backs and some rock hopping that follows the bluff along the Gulf. We then hiked just below Collins West to an area called the boulder field for a few miles to the boulder crossing over the Collins River. We crossed a cable bridge and up the bluff to Collins East and take the Collins Rim trail about 6 miles back to our campsite.

Sunday, we packed up camp and start our 7-mile hike back down South Rim to the Savage Gulf Ranger Station.

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Savage Gulf Hike - Sara

We had 7 hikers to hike the South Rim trail starting from the Savage Gulf Ranger Station. We started at 8:00 am and it was chilly starting out. Becky Stover didn't join the group until we reached the falls. We spent a few minutes to enjoy Savage Falls and it was beautiful. We stopped at a few overlooks and had lunch at the Stage Road Campsite in the group site area. It was the perfect day for a hike with temps in the high 60's. Leaves were starting to turn, and we saw a lot of unusual mushrooms. We got off the trail at 4:00 pm for a total of 14 miles.  Hikers were Jim Barritt, Joan Hartvigsen, Lora McBride, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, Becky Stover and Wayne Yancey.

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North Plateau - Michael

10 Mile hike with the TTA. Marietta Poteet led the hike today doing the North Plateau, Mountain Oak trail to North Rim trail back to Savage Loop trail and back to Savage Gulf Ranger Station trail head. Great hike crew and enjoyed some great overlooks! Enjoyed the hike company on the trail. Saw a bunch of mushrooms also on the trail!

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Savage Gulf, Hobbs Cabin - Sara

Great weekend for a backpacking trip to Hobbs cabin. Enjoyed hiking with Andy, our fearless leader, Allen, Jessica and Jennifer. We had a small, but good group and hike.  We were able to find enough wood to build fires Saturday night and Sunday morning.  It was cold!  But the leaves are starting to turn and we had great views.

Savage Gulf Backpack - Elisha

We had a great group of 13 folks for our may 2/3 backpack to Savage gulf. The group was equally divided from TTA Murfreesboro and Meetup Nashville. 

The weather was perfect and the Stone Door Ranger Station was packed by the time we headed out on the Stone Door Trail. After a quick look at the 150 rock split we were off the Big Creek Rim Trail and Alum Gap camp site. After setup and lunch we then headed for Broadfalls  Blue Hole and Greeter Falls. There were tired feet and shoulders after the 8 miles of hiking, but all recovered with a nice meal and conversation around the camp fire, made possible by the wood gathering expertise of TTA Faith Bennett. 

The hike out on Laurel Trail added an additional 3 miles to the outing. Cracker Barrel Manchester hosted lunch for most of the group. TTA outings leader Jennifer Zahn and Ed Zeagler co-lead the adventure making it possible to manage the larger than expected group from two different organizations. The Meetup folks proved to be a a great group of backpackers who would like to be included in more TTA adventures.      

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Stone Door - Craig

Today's hike included Murfreesboro members: Craig, Jennifer and daughter Lizzie, Danielle, and Alex. Soddy Daisy: Lora. CT Volunteers: Don, Carol, TC, Judy, and Caroline.

It was a beautiful hiking day in the snow.  We hiked the Stone Door, Big Creek Rim, and Laurel trails for a total of seven miles. We got our lunch in at the Alum Gap campground. Afterwards some of us and Cindy from Highland Rim chapter went down to see Laurel Falls.

Don gets credit for photo's and most trail maintenance. Jennifer get's most adventurist for walking through the water instead of using the stepping stones. Most active goes to Lizzie, who went down the Stone Door and back. She also got the only fall at Laurel Falls. Lora got most creative for making a snowman.

It was a great day spent with some wonderful people.

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Savage Gulf Day Loop - Ann

Ann Ford, Linda Strickland and Ann Jacobs, hike leader, braved the freezing temperature Saturday morning to hike the Savage Gulf day loop. It turned out to be a perfect hiking day as the sun warmed the woods and us. There was still lots of red and golden yellow colored leaves on the trees and the sun shining on them made the hike even more enjoyable. We stopped at a market/deli, that the ranger at the Savage Gulf ranger station recommended, and enjoyed a lunch of chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, beans and cornbread. 

Stone Door to Greeter Falls (Savage Gulf State Natural Area) - Tony

I led a Wednesday hike for the Tennessee Trails Association-TTA to Savage Gulf where we walked from the Stone Door Ranger Station to Stone Door and then on to Greeter Falls.

This portion of the massive Savage Gulf State Natural Area/South Cumberland State Park is located in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee.

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Savage Gulf State Natural Area -Stone Door - Tony

Today's hike was supposed to be the Stone Door to Big Creek Rim to Alum Gap and then on to Greeter Falls----BUT, a last minute unanimous change of pans had us going down through the Stone Door crack and along the much more difficult Big Creek Gulf to Greeter via Ranger Falls. Needless to say, we survived the heat and the difficulty of the trail but when we came to the junction to Greeter Falls (left) or Parking Area (right) we aimed our compass for the parking area---Greeter will have to wait for another day. Nabil Wakid, Faith Bennett and Ann Ford of the Murfreesboro Chapter of the Tennessee Trails joined me on this hike along with Paul Disbennett and his Irish Wolfhound, Dana.

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Stone Door - Tony

It was a wonderful day for a hike. The weather was in the upper 60's and the visibility was great despite it being a tad bit hazy at the overlooks. Eleven hikers from two chapters of the Tennessee Trails Association enjoyed this near eight mile walk from the Stone Door Ranger Station to Stone Door, and then along the Big Creek Rim to the Alum Gap Campsite where we had lunch and then continued on the Laurel Trail back to the parking lot with a side trip to Laurel Falls which is just off the main parking area.
This is one of my favorite hikes in Middle Tennessee. EVERYONE should see the Great Stone Door!

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Hobb's Cabin Backpack - Kim

Savage Gulf - Hobbs Cabin Backpack Feb 22-23, 2014

Charlotte and Kim from Murfreesboro and Ann from Clarksville enjoyed a night out under the stars at Hobbs Cabin this past weekend.  Charlotte was the tour guide since this was Ann and Kim’s first trip to the cabin. The weather was perfect! Sunshine, clear skies and warm breezes were a welcome relief (and an apology) from Old Man Winter.

We started our “there and back” hike to the cabin at the Savage Gulf Ranger Station. A sign tacked to the kiosk warned of bears and to hang all food. For a brief moment, we thought we were in the Smokies. First stop - Savage Falls. We gratefully dropped our packs to cross the suspension bridge and appreciate the falls. After Thursday night’s storm, the creeks and streams were swollen, and the falls were higher and more powerful than remembered. As Ann said - the sound of the rushing water played as background music for most of the hike.

On our return to the main trail, we met a large group of Boy Scouts from Murfreesboro whose leaders were instructing them on Trail Etiquette.  We eavesdropped for a bit and then continued on to the North Rim trail. Once on this trail, we stopped several times to appreciate the views, eat lunch on a ledge, and soak up the sun. Along the way, we side-stepped fallen trees, untangled from groping green briars, rock-hopped across streams, and even enjoyed an old-fashioned foot washing. The water was COLD, but invigorating and soothing to tired achy feet.

After 9 relatively level (but long) miles, the cabin was a welcome sight. We chose a prime spot with level ground, a big fire ring, healthy trees, and great views for star gazing.  Charlotte, the expert fire-builder, gathered tons of dry-ish wood as Ann and Kim filtered and hauled gallons of water uphill both ways. Shortly afterwards, the Boy Scouts arrived and received more instructions from their leaders - this time on Camp Etiquette. Again we eavesdropped a bit, decided they were good neighbors and then went about the business of setting up camp.

After the sun settled down (and the Scouts), we sat around Charlotte’s fire, ate a delicious dinner, swapped hiking stories, and star-gazed. About 8:30 Kim made a feeble attempt to hang her food in the only tree with a branch, and we called it a night.

The Scouts were up and out early the next morning practically without a sound, but we lingered over coffee, tea and conversation as the sun warmed the day. Our hike back to the Ranger Station was similar to the hike to the cabin: perfect weather, lethal green briars, blown down trees, multiple stream crossings, and another foot washing. But something was different. Time in the woods does that – transforms the everyday into something miraculous. Maybe this is the true lesson.

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Savage Gulf - Tony

Savage Falls is a beautiful year round waterfall located in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area near Palmer, Tennessee. The Savage Day Loop is about a 4.5 mile loop that is just part of a connection of trails that span about 55 miles total.

There  are other falls in this park as well and it is also the home of the Great Stone Door, Fiery Gizzard and other fascinating places to hike to and visit.

It was cold today but that didn't stop the five of us from the Murfreesboro Chapter of the Tennessee Trails Association from enjoying a wonderful hike and lunch laster at Logan's Roadhouse in Manchester, Tennessee.

Thanks to Ann Jacobs for putting this together last minute and Ann Ford, Wayne Yancey and Sara Pollard for joining me on this adventure.

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Savage Gulf - Tony

It's getting HOT but that does not necessarily rule out a hike. Today, I led six of us hot blooded souls on a 6.3 mile shuttle hike to Savage Gulf State Natural Area in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee.

We parked a car at the Stone Door Ranger Station and another at Greeter Falls so that this would be a one way hike.

We started at the ranger station and walked one mile to the Great Stone Door Overlook then another three and a half miles around the Big Creek Rim trail to the Alum Gap campsite where we took a much needed rest and ate our lunch. Then it was another couple miles to Greeter Falls via a nearly dry Boardtree Falls. Greeter was very nice and flowing nicely. The water was ice cold but that did not stop some brave souls from getting into it.

Luckily, I don't think it actually reached the "feels like" temperature that they were predicting....although hot and humid it was still a fairly comfortable hike.

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Savage Gulf Hike - Tony

This week, I led members of the Tennessee Trails Association back to Savage Gulf State Natural Area but to the other side of the park from last week. We hiked the Collins Trail to Suter Falls and to Horsepound Falls then turned and retraced our steps back to the parking area.

It was a stormy morning and the question of cancelling the hike came up---but, we decided to go and once we arrived we had NO rain at all on the hike. We did have one couple cancel on us but three of us Myself, Ann Ford and Dan Miller enjoyed a fantastic hike.

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Savage Gulf State Natural Area 4-28-12-Tony

The day was most beautiful for a 10 mile hike through the Savage Gulf in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. Myself along with Murfreesboro Tennessee Trail members Martin McCullough, Ann Ford and Gary Frost and a visitor from Knoxville, Pat Serio enjoyed fabulous views from the top of the Great Stone Door before heading down the crack to the Big Creek Gulf Trail.

The BCG, as it is known, is a tough hike due to the many rocks and uneven terrain---but to get to get to Ranger Falls, you have to go that way.

Ranger Falls was flowing nicely and it was nice to feel the spray on such a warm day. We ate our lunch at the falls and then made it back from the spur trail to the BCG so that we could continue to the top. Once there, and after a very nice extended rest we trudged back towards Stone Door along the Big Creek Rim trail which affords beautiful views of the valley below (which is where we were).

I have hiked Savage Gulf many times but NEVER when it has been lined so beautifully with blooming Mountain Laurel....it was everywhere pink and white and it was absolutely stunning to see so much in one place.

The total mileage for this hike was just about 10 miles and all of us felt every bit of it. We all came through happy and healthy and ready to hike another day....

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