I met some Nashville TTA hikers at Burgess Falls State Park for a hike. Tom Vickstrom was our leader, Wanda came with him, and Pat from East TN TTA and me. Thunderstorms were forecast but we had sunny skies and lots of humidity to start our hike. We enjoyed all the water from the recent rains making the waterfalls a sight to behold. One mishap as one hiker propped their poles against the rails of an overlook platform, only to see them fall ground 25 feet below us. There was no way to retrieve them, so bye bye hiking poles. We hiked to the bottom of the big falls, climbed around the rocks enjoying the spray of cool water from the falls. Looking up at the top of the falls, we saw the big black cloud and decided to head for the top. The thunder really booms down in the gorge. The rain splattered on us as we hiked back to the top.
We drove out of the park to a little roadside fruit and vegetable stand to get an ice cream. They have Blue Bell ice cream cones for $1. Big scoop! Their veggies are organically grown so I was in heaven. I picked up a cantaloupe, Vidalia onion, and peaches. mmmmmm! Cockspur Farm Local Table - A Guide To Food And Farming In Middle Tennessee - Farm List: Putnam
We caravanned to Rock Island State Park for the next part of our hike. We ate lunch, (after ice cream), under the pavilion waiting for the rain and thunder to stop. We hiked down into the gorge passing a waterfall and then along the river bed toward the Twin Falls. We hiked back out and stood at the Mill watching youngsters jumping off the falls behind the mill. The witch’s castle is there across the road from the Mill. We had a couple more trails on the schedule but the storms didn’t agree with our plans. We drove back across the river and drove to the dam, hiked down to the overlook of the Twin Falls. It’s a spectacular site to see where part of the Collins River runs underground to spill thru the rocks there. Will have to get back to Rock Island to hike all the other trails we missed today.
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