Rock Creek Segment Cumberland Trail

Lora and I hiked the Rock Creek Segment of the Cumberland trail starting at the upper leggett trailhead. We hiked across Rock Creek and up the other side of the Rock Creek gorge. It was too warm out and too early for grass hoppers and butterflies. Even a few early flowers. 

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Rock Creek segment of the Cumberland trail

 

Lora and I did the Rock Creek Loop from Upper Leggett Road. Beautiful day to get out and enjoy the weather. We added on the overlook trail. 

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Rock Creek CT

 

Lora and I did the Rock Creek segment of the Cumberland trail from Retro Hughes road to the Rock Creek bridge and back. It was a beautiful day to be out.

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Rock Creek Trail - CT

We went to the Rock Creek segment of the Cumberland trail for todays hike.

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Rock Creek SMHC

The SMHC came to hike Rock Creek from the Retro Hughes trailhead to the cascades and back.
Cindy brought a carload of hikers, 4 + her, I met them there. Doris had helped scout these southern segments of the CT so hearing her stories about the early days of the trail was neat. It started out cool, so I kept my fleece on going into the gorge and didn't take it off until we started back out. Rock Creek had very little water, but the pool at the bridge was nice. We had lunch here on the huge boulder. And there was a pool by the campsite. No rain for the last 45 days makes a huge difference in the creek gorges. No water at the cascade at all.

Coming into the gorge, one hiker saw a weird looking root on the ledge that looked like a snake; it was a snake. A big black snake that Doris managed to piss off. She got a little too close for his comfort so he coiled up and struck at her. Of course then we all had to pass by the pissed off snake...
Just don't understand.

Nice day for a hike, thanks to Cindy and the SMHC.

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TTA Rock Creek 2014

After a late night at work, I got up early to hike with my chapter close to home. We met at the Lower Leggett Road trailhead, dropped cars and drove to the Upper Leggett Rd trailhead to start. 14 hikers and one hiking dog. I was carrying my full backpack, training for backpacking season. We got started trying to out hike the heat. It didn't work. It was sticky hot. We had to check out the overlook so we could climb back up. 

Most of us were only hiking 3 miles today but 3 of the guys wanted more so they did the loop back to the upper trailhead. And still beat us to the cars. Most everyone headed out to eat lunch; I headed home for a nap.

Good to see my hiking friends and meet some new ones too. 

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TTA Rock Creek Segment CT

Cumberland Trail Volunteers Ava Navin, Bob DeHart, Carol Deakins, and Don Deakins accompanied Murfreesboro Chapter of Tennessee Trails Association Sara Pollard, Tony Jones, Ann Jacobs, Faith Bennett, Roy Duncan, Wayne Yancey, Rebekah Norman, Lora and I on a 7.5 mile Cumberland Trail hike.

Sara was the hike leader for this hike.  Plan A was for her to meet the Volunteers and I at the Lower Leggett Trail head.  Plan B was for us to meet them all at the Retro Hughes Trail head.  Plan C was Sara was gone when we got there and had taken Ann to drop off a car at the Lower trail head.  So finally we got on the trail with twelve hikers.  Lora was going to hike in from the Lower trail head when she got off work.

We began at Retro Hughes Trailhead.  We had a good hike and got credit for some trail maintenance on the way.  Don lead the way and headed up all the maintenance.  Everyone but Sara stopped at the Rock Creek Campsite for lunch.  Sara, who was just refusing to stop, went ahead and scouted out some more of the trail.  OK, the front pack of hikers went down to check out the creek and Sara just kept on hiking.  When the rest of us got there we noticed that Sara was not with us and sent a scout to go find her.

We took a side trip down to the top of Flat Branch Falls, paused at Rock Creek Overlook for the view, turned right at Boiling Spring onto the lower half of the loop trail, and ended the hike at Leggett Road Lower Trailhead. Just after the loop start, Lora met us and joined us for the rest of the trail.  Weather was perfect and, as usual when with hikers, the company was superb. 

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Tony's Pictures:

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Bob's Pictures:

CT Volunteer Hike - Rock Creek Segment

Lora McBride, Bob DeHart, TC Varner, Judy Varner, Shauna Wilson, Larry Hill, Caroline Woerner, Carol Deakins, and Don Deakins made a hike we have done many times before but it never gets old, Rock Creek. We met at Upper Leggett Road Trailhead, then shuttled over to Retro Hughes Road Trailhead where hike began. After 5.4 miles at a casual pace, we were back at Upper Leggett Road Trailhead and discussing what might be next.

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Rock Creek Segment - CT

Lora and I decided to take a day hike on the Cumberland trail.  It was a cool down for me after my Georgia Loop and Lora's regular hiking date.


We went to the Rock Creek segment and hiked the six miles to the bridge and back.

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Rock Creek

January 7, 2012
Rock Creek Hike

Soddy Daisy TTA had a hike at Rock Creek scheduled for today and it's just 20 minutes from the house to the trailhead. Nine hikers showed up in the parking lot. We took 2 cars to Retro Hughes trailhead for the shuttle back. Back at the Lower trailhead, we started out with
George Bonneau leading the hike. It rained on us for a little while and two of our hikers turned back. Two more were only going for a while and then going back. So the other 5 of us hiked thru the shower and on down the trail. It was a beautiful day to be in the woods. The creeks were all flowing and the water cascading down the falls was so pretty.

We stopped for lunch at the Rock Creek bridge then hiked up out of the gorge. This is one of the prettiest sections of the Cumberland Trail. You get it all on this trail: ups, downs, rock walls, overlooks, creeks, cascades, hardwood forest, pine forest, rocky trail, pine needle covered trail, swimming holes if you want to get wet, birds singing, ice falling.......beautiful in every season.

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TTA National Trails Day

We got to spend the day with the Soddy Tennessee Trails Association. They did a set up at the Rock Creek Section of the Cumberland trail and took hikers out on the trail and then fed them. It was a good time with some great people. Lora and I led a hike around the loop trail and then got some swimming in at the old swimming hole.

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Rock Creek- Cumberland Trail

Lora and I hiked the Rock Creek section of the Cumberland trail. Our origanal plan of doing an overnighter in the Smoky Mountains got changed due to weather.

This section lies between the Possum Creek Section and the Laurel Snow Segment of the Cumberland Trail. It has 9.6 miles of through-trail and associated side trails near and in Rock Creek Gorge. This is the northern-most section in the Three Gorges Segment of the Cumberland Trail, which altogether contains 36.2 miles of trail.

We parked at the lower trailhead on Leggett Road and hiked the connector trail to the Cumberland trail. Then we hiked the Cumberland trail to Retro Hughes Road, took a break and hiked back to the Loop trail coming back out at the upper trailhead on Leggett Road. A total of 12.9 miles.

With all the rain we've had lately, the water falls and cascades were beautiful. There were alot of different wild flowers out as well.

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