Hiking on the 6th day of Christmas-- a new location to me

Yesterday I got to hike a new location to me, Sitton's Gulch Trail. Though I have been to Cloudland Canyon quite a bit, I hadn't heard of this portion at the bottom that takes you to Hemlock Waterfall (without having to descend and ascend all those steps).

It's between 4 and 5 miles in and out. All Trails put it at 4.8 and other sources (see above link) put it a 4.2.  I didn't use my technology, so I couldn't say for sure. All Trails also mentioned a 1,007 elevation, whereas the above link mentioned less. Here is the All Trails link.

One of my cohort colleagues from the spiritual direction program at Columbia Theological Seminary and his wife came up from Decatur, GA because they also have some long time friends in Chattanooga, that we also know. So the six of us, plus a hiking dog, trekked this cool trail that the Chattanooga couple had just hiked the day before.

When you enter the parking lot, it looks like there are bathrooms. They are not bathrooms. They are bat boxes. Interesting. I am not sure why they couldn't put up a bathroom additionally.  There is also a $5 parking fee because it is a State Park.

The trail parallels a creek bed the entire way. At the beginning, the creek bed was dry, so it could have been a run off. But, as the trail continues, you see and hear the water. 

There is a Wildflower Trail that goes off the trail and comes back in and the Case Trail. Neither were explored yesterday, but I understand from a Camp Director that I met on the trail that there is a cave on the Case Trail. Cool! I plan to check out the Wildflower Trail in the Spring to see the wildflowers.

The rocks, the trees, the water, the ice, the icicles, the waterfall. It was a beautiful hike, both visually and aurally. Being able to be near water and to hear the sound of water flowing and sometimes roaring while on a hike is always a gift for me. 

It was also a good time to catch up with people.

In three days, I put in about 10 miles of hiking in the woods. What a great way to end 2022 (it's raining today).

I didn't take lots of pictures along the trail, but I took some. 

Enjoy the photos. 

Taking one step at a time on this adventurous journey called life, 

Deb :)

Here are the photos I took: