Stop 3 on Pie in the Sky: A Drive for Adventure
I love snow. Which is ironic since I’ve lived in a state for the past 8 years that had ice instead of the soft fluffy precipitation that I adore. So, with this cold front coming through south eastern Tennessee I have eagerly been looking out my windows looking for snowflakes. Unfortunately, besides a few random spurts my wishes have been unmet….at least not near my apartment. When we set out yesterday morning to mark another outdoor stop off the list for Pie in the Sky, I had no idea that we’d be walking into a winter wonderland.
So a little bit about Savage Gulg Natural Area. Located in Palmer, TN it’s actually a part of the much larger South Cumberland State Park. The entrance is a bit hard to see so once you see the sign that states the park is ahead, do not be thrown off by mailbox. Just turn. The front of the park consists of the parking lot and a small rangers station near the trailhead. There are several trails that begin at the point including Savage Falls Overlook and Campground, Rattlesnake Point, Savage Gulf Day Route, and the South Rim Loop. We took the trail to Savage Falls which was 1.5 miles of trail criss crossing through the forests surrounding Savage Falls. While it was only 1.5 miles, the 37 degree weather made this hike a fun challenge to bring in the holiday season.
The trail has a multitude of bridges that lead you over a few mini marshes and several creeks that feed into the falls itself. The fact that the bridges over the creeks are suspension bridges is the best part of the trail. Seriously, they were the one of the highlights of the hike because a) covered in snow they were beautiful b) I’ve never walked across a suspension bridge before and c) who doesn’t want to be Indiana Jones? Now the snow did make them a little slick especially towards the steeper parts, but come on. Just look at them!
Due to the cold weather there wasn’t a lot of animal activity along the trail besides the occasional Robins hopping along the ground, but there were signs that warned us of bears in the area. Keeping that in mind the occasional creaking of the trees would probably have been a tad creepy if I hadn’t been in bliss. The snow coated the still green leaves like a christmas card and the trail itself was very well kept, I felt like I was in the missing Indiana Jones movies where he goes to uncover a nordic treasure. I had so much fun. I giggled like a child on Christmas, waltzing through the trees and marveling in the natural beauty. Since it was so cold we had the trail all to ourselves, a blessing for the most part but the cold became a little less bearable when I sat in a puddle by the falls. But OMG were they worth it. I had to sit down and admire them.
We spent total of 3.5 hours out on the trail going out to the falls and then back. The bulk of that time was on the way there, again I was legitimately frolicking through the trees and ogling at every small bit of nature, and the trip back was much colder and hungrier than the way there. Note to self: bring snacks on adventure days and don’t sit in puddles. Who could’ve guessed right? Well for the rest of the review of this park I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. I do plan on going and exploring the South Cumberland Park as a whole so stay tuned for that!
If you’ve made it this far thank you so much! I appreciate you following along with my adventure. If you are looking for something to do in east Tennessee then I recommend this nature area for a fun family outing or a slightly challenging, but scenic hike. If you enjoyed reading my blog I hope you’ll stick around and give this article a like.
Until our next adventure!
Southern Nomad 