THE WALLS OF JERICHO
We
got off to lazy start on Monday. We
stopped at Cracker Barrel (the Wal-Mart of restaurants!) for breakfast. We arrived shortly after a bus, so we
actually had to wait in the gift shop (shudder)
for a table. Once we escaped the Cracker
Barrel we headed west out of Chattanooga.
We drove to the Alabama trailhead for The Walls of Jericho, which is
located south of the Tennessee trailhead but north of the horseback riders’
trailhead. At least this time we drove
down the correct road – unlike our previous attempt back in December.
It was a sunny, cool morning, and there were only
a couple of other cars in the parking area.
We noticed that there are some primitive campsites a short distance from
the trailhead. That is worth remembering
if we decide to do this hike again.
The
first 3 miles of the hike are rather ho hum.
A long, gradual descent brought us to a bridge over Hurricane
Creek. Along the way we passed entrances
to several caves. The first two didn’t
look inviting, but the third begged to be explored. The entrance is fairly large, so I donned my
headlamp and descended into the darkness.
The initial descent was steep and slippery. By the time I reached the bottom, I was
concerned about whether I would be able to climb back out! The cave was basically one large room with a
few modest formations. The highlight was
spotting a cool cave critter – I think it was an orange salamander with an
incredibly long tail.
From
there we continued the long, gradual descent on switchbacks to Hurricane
Creek. We crossed it on a sturdy bridge,
passed through a clearing, and continued to Turkey Creek. On the far side we found a large camping
area, which was one of several campsites we passed on our hike. The Clark Cemetery is adjacent to the camping
area. It features some old gravestones,
and, on our visit, quite a few wildflowers.
Boone decided that it would be a good place to roll around on his
back. I’ve heard of rolling in your
grave, but rolling on a grave? I decided
that this was either bad manners or bad mojo and ran Boone out of there.
We
passed a junction here with a trail that climbs to the top of the cliffs above
the canyon. I mis-read
the trail map at the parking area, thinking that this trail made a loop with
the trail through the canyon. Apparently
it doesn’t. We continued upstream along
Turkey Creek, towards the mouth of the canyon.
We
passed many more wildflowers and a couple of campsites before the canyon
narrowed and the walls steepened. Before
long a 100’ rock wall towered above us.
After a couple of steep ups and downs we descended back down to Turkey
Creek. We followed it a bit farther to
the edge of a large pool. It is bordered
by cliffs on both sides, and is fed by a small, cascading waterfall. Just upstream around a bend is a second
waterfall. I was eager to explore it,
but I wanted to take my time at the lower falls.
It
was a sunny day and the light was poor for photography, but that didn’t stop me
from trying. I waded out into the pool
and took some shots from underneath the overhanging cliff. Meanwhile, Christy was fascinated by dozens
of Yellow Swallowtail Butterflies fluttering about.
She
eventually hiked ahead of me to the upper falls. By the time I followed, she was scrambling up
a dry pouroff farther up the canyon. That part of Turkey Creek was dry. The water that tumbles over the two waterfalls
erupts from a cave in the side of the cliff.
As soon as I saw that, I just knew that I would have to explore up into
that cave as far as I possibly could.
It
turns out that isn’t very far at all. I
climbed to the top of the upper waterfall and approached the entrance to the
cave. I was at the brink of the falls,
so I was extremely careful with my footing as I peered inside. The water was roaring out of a fairly large
tunnel, but only a few feet upstream it constricted. It may be possible to crawl up in there if it
is dry, but I doubt you’d make it very far.
I contented myself with taking photos from the mouth of the cave.
We
lounged around a bit before beginning the hike out. The climb back to the car was a steady
ascent, but it wasn’t steep. I thought
it was actually pretty easy. It’s
considered a strenuous hike though, so don’t take my word for it!
That
evening we finally drove to DeSoto State Park. We bought 3 nights in the primitive
campground. By primitive, they mean “no
RV’s”. It’s a pretty nice place, with
spacious sites. There is only a pit
toilet, but we had full access to the showers and bathrooms in the RV
campground a short drive away. The campsites
really vary there though. Our site
featured a fire pit and one and a half picnic tables. Some of the other sites had no amenities at
all. Best of all, we were right next to
a picnic shelter. That would come in
handy if it rained later in the week.
The
campground has around 20 sites and was about half full. While we were setting up we were constantly
entertained by the screams of the neighborhood children. Eventually Christy remarked about one
particularly enthusiastic bellow. I
said, “actually, that wasn’t a child. It
was a full-grown adult. That’s why they
call this the ‘primitive’ campground”.
Alcohol
is prohibited in the campground, but I was suffering from a severe case of
selective illiteracy, so I was completely incapable of reading the sign with
that prohibition. We enjoyed a nice campfire
before heading to the tent. The next day
I planned a short morning hike while Christy was mountain biking. Then we would hike together to DeSoto Falls that afternoon.
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