Sunday Hike - South Soddy Creek Gorge of the Cumberland Trail

 Driving the the serpentine Mowbray Pike, climbing the 880 feet above Soddy-Daisy to the trailhead my excitement was in high gear. A scan of the topo map promised epic views of the valley below since the trail looked to contour along the face of the escarpment. Waiting at the trailhead it became evident I was going to do the hike solo, perhaps due to the overcast skies or change from daylight savings time.

 

 

Being a reverse, this is not my favorite type of hike. I find coming uphill on the return when excitement has ebbed and muscles tired a bit dispiriting. Encouraged by the radiant fall colors and perfect temperature, however, I set off.

 

 

The myriad of interesting rock formations have made this area a favorite for technical rock climbers practicing at lower heights. They carry portable pads placed at the bottom of sheer faces for when they fall ... and they DO fall.

 

Early on it became evident that any hopes of solitude, mental prayer or The Rosary would be drowned out by the ever present road noise, bellowing train horns and wailing sirens. My interest waned after 45 minutes and 1 1/2 miles. The face of the mountain as it turns out, is steep but not sheer with any vistas being totally obscured by foliage. Winter, when leaves are absent, may lend more drama to this trail. The only view to that point was just a quarter mile from the parking lot!

 

 

The melancholy atmosphere combined with gymnastics required to go over, under or around frequent trail obstacles I elected to abandon the hike and return to the car. 

That's the thing with exploratory hikes; often one encounters memory making gems but sometimes it's just beer-thirty. Perhaps I should have taken this gentleman's hint right at the trailhead!