Knock'n on Stone Door (Part 1)

       On the day before New Year's Eve my dad and I decided to take our annual holiday backpacking trip at the South Cumberland State Park.  Our trip was focused specifically on seeing one of the awesome natural features the park has to offer, the Stone Door.

       We started our hike around mid-day at the Stone Door trail head.  One of the first sights to greet us was the Laural Gulf Overlook.  This view offered a sweeping profile of the rest of Savage Gulf which makes up a portion of the park.

Me, looking out dramatically into the horizon.

       A short distance from the Overlook is the Great Stone Door.  This massive rock-outcropping is a marvel to behold.  At the top of the cliff you get another fantastic view of the gulf.

       But one of the best features of the Stone Door is the rocky stairwell that runs in the large crevice between the two parts of the "Door."

To quote my dad, "This looks like
something straight out of Lord of the Rings."

       After climbing down the Great Stone Stairwell, we headed off on the Big Creek Gulf Trail which quickly led us to a large boulder-field at the bottom of Stone Door.

Soon the trail led us to the creek, which we traveled next to for the majority of the trail.

The creek, still partially frozen on the surface.

After following the creek for about a mile or so, we came to a crossing that led to Ranger Falls.  With plenty of daylight left, we opted to see the falls.

      Eventually the spur trail led us to Ranger Falls.  At first we thought there would be no falls, since the creek we were following was bone-dry.  But when we got to it, it turned out to be in full force.  The falls and surrounding area were amazing.  Green moss draped everywhere on the rocks and trees.  The falls cast a huge mist, which gave the place a nice cool and moist climate.

Ah, refreshing coke.

We returned to the main trail.

Along the way we discovered a really cool swimming hole.  We would totally have gone swimming, except it was January, so that might not have been such a great idea.

After a steep, long climb out of the valley we reached our campsite at Alum Gap.

Our makeshift bear bags.

A nearby stream.