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Autumn Hikes in Tennessee
Saturday was an absolute gorgeous day to go for a hike with friends in Southeast Tennessee. The weather was mostly sunny and a cool upper 50’s to lower 60’s for a temperature. My wife and I met some friends at the Clemmer Trailhead in Polk County, Tennessee. The drive to get there was a spectacle to behold as we witnessed the annual color-changing of the leaves. The bright reds contrasting with the yellows and oranges were quite the sight to see as we hiked to Rainbow Falls. The entire hike came close to 4.2 miles according to my Garmin Fenix 5.
1st Set of Falls
The hike started out as a gradual uphill climb and quickly turned into a fairly level walk. Crossing another trail that intersected the trail we were traveling was Rattlesnake Falls. We were told that it is properly named as that trail has been known to have a few rattlers along the way to another set of falls. I’m not too sure we’ll ever see that set of falls in person. We had to cross a couple of streams to get to the 1st set of falls making up Rainbow Falls. When we arrived at this first set of falls, we had to sit down on rocks and slide down on a few occasions for a very short distance as the rocks and surrounding area were very slick. Please use extreme caution.
2nd Set of Falls
Our friends shared with us that most folks stop here. A lot of hikers don’t even know about the next set of falls that make up this chain of falls. So, this next part of the hike required us to turn into part billy goat as we had to climb some rocks and cross another part of the creek to get a better view of the 2nd tier of falls. It was a very serene setting. We listened to the sounds of the falling water and watched as a couple members of our party climb the rock walls surrounding the secluded area. They made their wat to a 3rd set of falls beyond this second set. We hope to get back again soon to try the 3rd tier.
Health Stats
The stats from my watch said that we hiked for 2 hours, I forgot to stop it when we stopped on several occasions. We traveled 4.21 miles and burned a little over 1,000 calories. It’s Wednesday and the soreness has finally worn off.
Next Adventure
Our next adventure takes us to Knoxville on Saturday as we go to watch UGA and UT play. I look forward to writing on the game day experience.
Be blessed and safe travels!!!
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