Kayaking - Fancher Falls

Fancher Falls                                                                        8 miles                  689 Total Miles
Average Speed 2.5 mph, Maximum Speed 7.4 mph (Really?)

This is a really cool paddle!!  We had done this once before in the spring when the water was too cold to get in.  We started off at Johnson Chapel Boat Launch at 9:30.  We paddled southeast past the marina and then up north.  Along the way we saw a bald eagle soaring above us - wow!!!  We realized that we may have gone too far north.  The thing about paddling is you can't pull over to ask for directions.  I pulled out my iphone and we figured out that we had missed the inlet so we turned around and went back.  We paddled as far as we could up this rocky, clear, beautiful stream.  It is lined with short cliffs and then some muddy, flat banks.  There comes a point where you can't paddle any more.  So we tied our boats to some rocks and waded up the rest of the way.  Fancher Falls is an absolutely beautiful falls.  What's so amazing is that there is a house directly above the falls.  We could also see a gazebo on one of the cliffs above.  I would love to know who is the lucky person that lives there!!!

Tying down the yaks so they wouldn't float away.

We see it!

Hiking - Cummins Falls & Burgess Falls, Tennessee

We hiked down to Cummins Falls about a mile one way.  The trail leads downhill until you get to the stream.  This is tricky hiking as the rocks and trail are very slippery.  We only passed a couple of people walking.   We got to the falls which are beautiful.  We managed to climb up the falls and walked at the top of the rocks for awhile.  Scotty dove into the water, but I hiked back down.  The water was very cold!

We went to Burgess Falls to hike.  We only went about half a mile on this trail as it was closed.  Over the summer, some big rains had damaged the steel steps leading down to the falls.    We met a very nice young park ranger that told us about the repairs.  He was very apologetic about us not being able to continue.   It's so great to see young people that have such a love of the national parks and nature.  Along this hike we saw 3 snakes, one small green snake, one small black snake and one large brown snake with diamonds on his back.  I didn't like the looks of the last snake!

Edgar Evan State Park