waterfalls – Emily Takes a Hike

Although I knew long before the end of 2018 that I wanted to keep my resolution to explore more going into 2019, one hesitation lingered in the back of my mind: Will I run out of new trails that I can access and hike as a day trip from Nashville? I travel frequently, both for work and for fun, so about half of my new hikes have occurred away from Tennessee. Aside from the obvious joys of discovering new places far away from home, regular travel makes this resolution more practical. I hate to say it like that, because Tennessee is home to many outstanding trails, and I’ve revisited most of the new ones I’ve discovered over the past year simply because I loved them and wanted to go back, regardless of my New Year’s resolution. However, time and geography absolutely impose limitations on how long I can reasonably continue this resolution, considering my other obligations (like paid employment and a dog, for example).

Machine Falls, the main attraction at Short Springs Natural Area

Finding new trails within relative proximity to Nashville hasn’t been much of a challenge yet, and I can say with relative confidence that if anything stops me from completing this resolution in 2019, it’s not going to be a lack of convenient trails. Sure, I’ll continue to have opportunities to hike while traveling, but even if those don’t work out (I try not to think about the remote possibility that I encounter a torrential downpour on every day of every vacation I take for the rest of the year… Yikes!), I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface on trails close to home. And that’s an amazing feeling.

At the beginning of February, I decided I’d take advantage of the first weekend day without rain in the forecast as my opportunity to explore a new trail. I had to wait three weeks into the month for this, and despite record-breaking rainfall and flooding across middle Tennessee that closed many of our state parks and trails, I discovered Short Springs Natural Area and Machine Falls Loop Trail. Located about seventy miles southeast of Nashville, the interconnected trails at Short Springs traverse sections of easy to moderate terrain. A couple of signature waterfalls are easily accessible from the main trailhead, but multiple spur trails off the main loop provide options to extend the journey for those who want to see more.

Bobo Creek, as viewed from a bridge a few dozen feet upstream from Busby Falls

I learned about this trail through AllTrails, and what the site define as Machine Falls Loop actually includes Bobo Creek Trail as well. Bobo Creek Trail leads past Busby Falls and forms a horseshoe shape that connects with Machine Falls Loop on both ends. Roundtrip, this is about a 2.3 mile hike. Off of Bobo Creek Trail, just past Busby Falls, there’s another loop trail called Laurel Bluff that extends the hike by about a mile and a half. I took this detour, and although most of the trail winds through a dense forest, the section that runs close to the edge of the bluff exposes idyllic views of the creek and several small waterfalls from above. While Machine Falls is certainly the main attraction and can be accessed by a quick 1.6 mile roundtrip trek, Bobo Creek and Laurel Bluff trails are certainly worth exploring too.

views of Bobo Creek from above on Laurel Bluff Trail

I hiked these trails on a Monday, President’s Day (I’m not sure how this qualifies as a holiday at the marketing technology company where I work, but some questions are better left not asked. I’ll take a work holiday however I can get one.). I ran into very few other hikers, and only on Machine Falls Loop. I ended up hiking most of this trail with a mother/daughter pair of hikers who live in the area. The daughter had visited all of the trails at Short Springs before and provided some insightful tips that helped confirm my decision to hike Bobo Creek and Laurel Bluff after Machine Falls Loop, instead of hiking a nearby trail at Old Stone Fort State Park. I’ll save that one for another month.

Although relatively short, Machine Falls Loop contains a couple of moderately challenging sections. I hiked this loop clockwise, because I intended to hike to Busby Falls via Bobo Creek Trail on the way to Machine Falls, saving the bigger waterfall for the last part of my journey. The trails at Short Springs are well marked, but because the trail map in AllTrails is inaccurate, I ended up hiking straight to Machine Falls, bypassing Bobo Creek Trail. Because of this, I hiked a short section at the beginning of Machine Falls Loop twice in order to circle back around to Bobo Creek Trail. In hindsight, this also allowed me to knock out the toughest pieces of my hike earlier on, as Bobo Creek and Laurel Bluff are both relatively mild trails.

beautiful view of the creek from Machine Falls Loop

About a quarter of a mile from Machine Falls, the trail sharply descends down a steep bluff, with stairs and even handrails in some places in order to provide extra support. The sun was out in full force on the day of my hike, but I proceeded with caution through this section because the trail was still slick and muddy from previous days of rain. After reaching the bottom of the gulf, the trail leads across a wooden bridge over Bobo Creek, downstream of Machine Falls. At this point, Machine Falls isn’t visible around a bend in the creek, and reaching the falls requires a short journey over slippery rocks along the edge of the creek. There’s not a trail, but the path forward is pretty apparent, and a close-up view of this magnificent waterfall is totally worth the extra effort.

As is always the case with loop trails, what goes down must come back up, and vice versa. When hiking the loop clockwise, the journey out of the gulf isn’t as steep as the way down, but there’s still several hundred feet of elevation gain over about a third of a mile. This section of trail runs along the edge of a bluff, overlooking a wider section of Bobo Creek that flows into the Machine Falls Branch of Normandy Lake. After curving away from the edge of the bluff, the trail loops back around the other side of Machine Falls, past an overlook that offers a beautiful view of the waterfall from above.

Although my hike at Short Springs wasn’t as long or as challenging as most of the new hikes I’ve taken since I started this journey, I never set out on a mission to complete the most strenuous new trail I could find every month. Difficult hikes generally lead to more rewarding scenery, because significant elevation change often means big views from high points overlooking expansive spaces. Longer hikes allow deeper access into wild and pristine spaces, which often results in lower foot traffic and the opportunity to enjoy some peaceful time alone on the trail. However, the trails I hiked at Short Springs are a perfect example of why it’s unfair to overlook easy hikes. There are so many things worth seeing in the wild that really don’t require much effort.

all smiles for this close up view of the Machine Falls

Ever since my first hike of 2018 at Virgin Falls, I’ve been itching for another waterfall hike. I’ve always felt a fascination with waterfalls. There’s something majestic about the infinite motion of water cascading over a vertical rock face, always flowing and never stopping.

As the highest plunge waterfall (meaning the water drops vertically, losing contact with the rock surface) east of the Mississippi River, Fall Creek Falls has been on my bucket list for a while. Fall Creek Falls State Park and the surrounding areas endured a torrential downpour of rain for several days before I visited the park. Disclaimer: Wet conditions present a serious challenge on any trail, and I’d advise hikers to proceed with caution when considering a hike that may be impacted by weather. With that in mind, however, the best time to visit a waterfall is shortly after significant rainfall, when the water flow is at its peak.

Park visitors can catch a spectacular view of Fall Creek Falls from an easily accessible overlook. And when I say easily accessible, I mean this overlook has a parking lot attached and a set of bathrooms, no hiking required. Honestly, this surprised me, but then again, Fall Creek Falls is the most visited state park in Tennessee. After seeing the falls in person, I can understand why a view like this, that requires minimal effort, attracts so many visitors.

The overlook provides an immaculate view of Fall Creek Falls, which always appears to be shrouded in mist, resulting from the forceful impact of falling water hitting the creek below.

My friend, Lexi, joined me on this adventure. After parking in the lot at the overlook, we started out onto the network of trails that runs along the cliffs surrounding Fall Creek Falls. We didn’t have to hike very far before it felt like the civilized overlook was far behind us. The trails are designed to provide ambitious hikers with multiple vantage points of Fall Creek Falls, as well as the area’s other waterfalls. The main trail, Fall Creek Falls and Cane Creek Falls, has many short spur trails that provide worthwhile detours to secluded overlooks with expansive views.

a breathtaking view of Fall Creek Falls from a small section of cliff accessible from a spur running off the main trail

Wanting to make the most of our day at Fall Creek Falls, and having plenty of time to do so, Lexi and I decided without much hesitation to explore all of the spur trails that we encountered. The main trail is a 2.5 mile loop, and all of the spurs are relatively short (the longest one measures less than a mile, round trip). To say the least, some of these spurs were more worthwhile than others, but each presented a unique journey to a view that we’d have otherwise missed.

We actually ventured down the first spur trail by mistake. We assumed that the first split in the trail was the beginning of the loop, and that hiking in either direction would eventually bring us back to this spot. We veered to the left and didn’t think twice about it until we’d hiked almost half a mile further and found ourselves scrambling over roots and boulders along the edge of a high and precipitous cliff, several hundred feet above the floor of the gorge.

After some very careful and very exposed navigation on the edge of the cliff, we realized that there was no route forward from where we were. However, this happy accident provided us with some of the best views of the day, so this side trip set the precedent for deciding whether or not to explore the other spur trails that we encountered later.

We made our way back to the main trail, which eventually led across a wobbly suspension bridge, about twenty feet above the fast flowing water that runs over the edge of Cane Creek Falls. Although Cane Creek Falls can’t compete with Fall Creek Falls in height, it far exceeds the park’s namesake waterfall in volume. Cane Creek Falls is actually responsible for carving out the gorge, therefore making it possible for Fall Creek Falls and the other waterfalls in the area to form and thrive over time.

Although you can’t see it from the angle shown in the picture above, Rockhouse Falls, another of the park’s plunge waterfalls, is located just a few hundred feet away from Cane Creek Falls and cascades over the same rock face. The trail that leads to the suspension bridge runs along the top of the ridge that faces these two waterfalls, granting hikers access to idyllic views of both from above.

Lexi and I were lucky enough to see Rockhouse Falls and Cane Creek Falls from above AND from below, which brings me to our most exciting hike of the day: Cable Trail. “Exciting” is only one of many, many ways to describe our experience on this very short (but very dramatic) journey. When we initially reached the top of the cable, that first glimpse of the sharply downward trail to the banks of Cane Creek, at the foot of the waterfalls, sent waves of panic through my brain. I’d read that the Cable Trail was steep, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so intimidating.

We were the only ones on the cable during our descent, so we didn’t have to worry about the potential domino effect of someone above us falling and taking us out with them on the way down. Hikers (or climbers, as that’s the more appropriate description) on this trail are definitely at the mercy of anyone above them on the cable. Because the cable isn’t within arm’s reach the entire time, we had to plan ahead to put ourselves in favorable positions as we made our way down to the bottom of the gorge.

Despite the lingering fear of slipping and falling, this was an exhilarating journey, and the reward was an intimately close view of Rockhouse Falls and Cane Creek Falls.

I’ve seen photos from other hikers who’ve completed this trek when the water level is much lower, which creates an opportunity walk out into the shallow water of Cane Creek for a closer view of the falls. Unfortunately, the creek was way too high and moving way too quickly for this to be an option for us. However, it’s very uncommon to catch a glimpse of these waterfalls flowing as heavily as they were when we saw them, and we were very lucky to experience this extraordinary view with no other people around.

In case you were wondering, the journey up the cable and back out of the gorge is even more challenging than the journey down. More importantly, it’s absolutely worth it, whether the falls are barely trickling over the edge of the cliff above or blasting at full force. That’s another thing I love about waterfalls: they’re constantly moving and therefore constantly changing. You can visit the same one a hundred times and witness something different every time.

Up next for May: a highly anticipated trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. I’ve heard great things and can’t stop daydreaming about what this place must look like in person. I’ve seen some amazing new places in 2018, each one more wild and beautiful than I could have imagined, so I’m sure this one will be full of surprises too.

Tag: waterfalls

Short Springs State Natural Area

Fall Creek Falls State Park