For over 20 years, the American Hiking Society has designated the first Saturday in June as National Trails Day. Many units of the Tennessee State Parks system scheduled ranger-led hikes for this day. One of them is the South Cumberland State Park. This park consists of seven districts scattered over 100 square miles and four counties. At 15,900 acres, the Savage Gulf State Natural Area is the largest of these districts and actually contains three gulfs that merge together. Savage Creek flows west and Big Creek flows east into the north-flowing Collins River. Savage Creek and the resulting gulf or chasm are named after an early settler, Sterling Savage. There are four vehicular access points to the natural area: Stone Door, Greeter Falls, Collins West and Savage Gulf. Access to the Greeter Falls parking area is via TN 56 northeast of Altamont.
While the parking lot was over 1/3 full at the appointed time for the ranger-led hike, I was the only person waiting at the trail head. This allowed Ranger Aaron to tailor the hike to my photographic interests. For example, we hiked down a side trail that ended on the shelf between the upper and lower portions of Boardtree Falls that might have been a bit too steep for some visitors. We also climbed down onto the shelf below Upper Greeter Falls for some additional views of the falls. When I mentioned that this was my first visit to Savage Gulf, he also recommended several other trails that I should consider.
Although trained as a civil engineer at Tennessee Tech, it is clear to me that Ranger Aaron is more at home clearing trails in the woods or sharing his knowledge of the park with visitors than he would be behind a desk. His obvious passion for the job came across with every interaction he had with visitors during out hike. He and a very small crew have done a great job of maintaining their part of the 55 miles trails in Savage Gulf.
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| The paved Greeter Falls parking area |
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| The trail begins as a wide nearly flat roadbed |
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| At the loop junction, we headed left toward Boardtree Falls |
Boardtree Branch slides 30 feet down a stack of sedimentary rocks before plunging another fifteen feet into the gorge. The Boardtree Creek watershed is fairly small, so this waterfall can almost disappear during dry periods or turn into a raging torrent during and just after heavy rains.
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| Boardtree Falls from the loop trail |
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| The upper portion of Boardtree Falls tumbles down the rocks |
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| Mountain Laurel blooms on the brink of the lower portion of the falls |
Firescald Creek drops fifteen feet over Upper Greeter Falls along a fault line in the rock that is so straight that it almost appears to be man-made. This was once the site of a grist mill, although the forest has overtaken most of the remaining evidence. The creek bed between the upper and lower falls is a flat slab of rock that has resisted erosion for eons.
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| Upper Greeter Falls from the trail |
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| Upper Greeter Falls from the end of the trail |
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| The near side of Upper Greeter Falls from its base |
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| The far side of Upper Greeter Falls |
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| Upper Greeter Falls is divided by this large boulder |
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| Firescald Creek between Upper Greeter Falls and Lower Greeter Falls |
Lower Greeter Falls is accessed by a combination of descending trail, spiral staircase and wooden stairs and steps. I'd like to know the history of the construction of this trail as there aren't many spiral staircases installed on trails in Tennessee state parks. The fifty-foot falls is free-falling as the softer rock behind the falls has eroded away over the years.
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| Ranger Aaron at the top of the spiral stairs |
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| Lower Greeter Falls from the top of the wooden stairs |
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| Lower Greeter Falls from the landing |
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| Part of the wooden stairs down to the plunge pool |
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| The fifty foot Lower Greeter Falls |
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| A swimmer braves the cool water in the plunge pool |
Boardtree Branch empties into Firescald Creek downstream of the falls and the combined stream then flows into Big Creek. The total distance we hiked to see all three waterfalls was about 1.9 miles
The natural area website is http://www.tn.gov/environment/na/natareas/savage/.
The state park website is http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/SouthCumberland/.