I decided to get outside yesterday for a healthy day of sunshine & fitness, and picked Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee for some FUN exercise & exploring!
This ^ was my starting point, and is the main Fall Creek Falls overlook. Well, it’s just below the main overlook when you jump the fence. 🙂
In a moment you’ll see where I ditched the trail and hiked all the way around to the very top of that waterfall!
Fall Creek Falls is a very well-traveled hiking area, so it’s a great spot to go if you want to get out and hike alone – or just want to get out for a hike on a beautiful day and don’t have anyone to go with that day.
There were lots of other solo hikers out yesterday too, plus fun interesting groups, so it made for a nice social trail between my off-trail exploring. 🙂
My goal was to hike to Cane Creek Falls inside the Fall Creek Falls State Park, and have dinner there. I downloaded a trail map to my phone to have with me, because it’s a HUGE natural area. This is the path I ended up taking (in red):
I started out on the trail that headed to Cane Creek, but veered left off trail when I spotted a big rock overlook. I decided to take a break and enjoy the private Fall Creek waterfall overlook and the breeze for a minute… when I heard a beautiful flute tune coming from way down below. 🙂
He stopped just as I got there, so I shouted down “More please!” and he treated us all to another beautiful tune. 🙂
In the most interesting twist, I got to MEET this flute player and his wife much later in my hike, right at the Cane Creek swinging bridge (on the map above, that’s the bridge in red right under “CASCADE”).
After I enjoyed a break on the bluff and he finished his song, I decided to continue off trail to see if I could hike over to the top of the Fall Creek Falls waterfall – the state parks main attraction.
I didn’t realize until later this was a “Restricted Area” lol. Oops!
I did make it to the top of Fall Creek Falls! 🙂
This is the waterfall you saw on the opposite bluff in the first photo. The water was way down as we haven’t had ANY rain here in Tennessee, so I was able to climb down to the VERY top of the waterfall and watch it tumble over the bluff…
I have this insatiable curiosity about what’s at the TOP of all the beautiful waterfalls I visit, lol.
Fall Creek Falls, at 256 feet, is one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern United States. –source
I was going to hike upriver to get back on the main trail and continue on to Cane Creek Falls, but I decided to hike around to the other side of Fall Creek Falls first to see if I could get a better view. 🙂
This was a bit more adventurous hiking, navigating big rocks and scaling the bluff…
That’s the Fall Creek Falls waterfall behind me.
Mission accomplished! I found my perfect view. 🙂
I sat up there on the bluffs for a bit. I startled a flock of beautiful white birds off the bluff when I first arrived, and they put on an amazing air show for me!
It was a breathtaking view of every angle…
And way down below, those colored dots – those are people. 🙂
After that fun break I hiked back up through the woods to find the main trail again, and continued on to Cane Creek Falls. I was on a mission to have dinner there. 🙂
I jogged part of the trail, up and down hills and over rocks, working up a good sweat and a great appetite. I ran into several cool people along the way – families, other solo hikers, and ultimately the flute player when I reached the swinging bridge at the Cane Creek Cascades.
After our fun visit I crossed the bridge… and got lost, lol.
I intended to hike down to the bottom of Cane Creek Falls and have a swim in the pool below the falls, but somehow ended up at the TOP of the waterfall instead.
Because of our drought here in Tennessee, I was able to hike all the way to the very edge of Cane Creek Falls as well – for another beautiful view!
It’s an 85 foot drop, which is hard to tell from the photos – they don’t really capture “depth” like you see and FEEL standing on the edge. 🙂
This is where I decided to have dinner. I packed light, but brought calorie-dense low carb foods for an easy filling meal to fuel my hike back out.
I had a pack of Blue Diamond almonds, Braaitime Biltong Seasoned Dried Beef, and Foods Alive Onion Ring Clusters.
I mixed the dried beef and dried onions together in a baggie, and the flavors mixed nicely as they warmed up on my hike! That was delicious. 🙂
I got the Biltong beef and onion clusters in my recent Keto Krate boxes.
I also carried two 24 ounce bottled waters with me on the hike, which made for nice hand weights while I was hiking and jogging. 🙂
Speaking of, I had to jog all the way back out because it was getting late and I had to be back home (almost an hour drive!) in time to work at 7pm lol.
I managed to hike/run out (mostly uphill) in record time: 27 minutes!
My favorite part of the trip back? The swinging bridge over Cane Creek Cascades – which has to be the longest swinging bridge I’ve ever done, with A LOT of swing lol. Eek!
The day was a Fitness Success with over 10,000 steps logged on my Fitbit and 88 floors! Floors are calculated by every 10 feet of elevation you climb – going up only.
It doesn’t count “down” but my 88 floors equals 880 feet of climbing UP. 🙂
I had my usual healthy “low carb cereal” for breakfast (pecans, cottage cheese & berries), then a Grand Turkey Club from Arby’s (with no bun) for lunch. I had dinner on the bluff at Cane Creek, and drank 72 ounces of water yesterday.
Here’s my MyFitnessPal nutrition diary for yesterday:
I brought my Contigo Travel Mug with a hot coffee for the drive home, because it’s like space age technology (lol) – and after FOUR HOURS of playing in the woods… I had a nice HOT coffee for the drive home. 🙂
I had an amazingly fun, healthy, adventurous day hiking Fall Creek Falls. 🙂
We’re having unseasonably warm weather this week for October in Tennessee, so I’m taking FULL advantage of it!
My next mission? To go back to Machine Falls and hike to the top of it… because as much as I love waterfalls, I really LOVE to discover what’s at the top.:)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. You may wonder how I captured so many great photos “hiking solo.” I discovered that my Samsung S6 mobile phone has Voice Commands for the camera!
All you have to do is turn on the camera and say “cheese” and it will wait a few seconds and then snap your picture. If you have an iPhone, there’s an app to add voice commands to your camera. So yes, I was off in the woods yelling CHEESE at my phone so it could hear me over the waterfalls, lol… 🙂
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Oh my gosh, Lynn! You are fearless, lady! I applaud your adventurous soul. And to do all that on your own…you are amazing. What an adventure!
Thank you, Cindi – it was good for the soul. π Lots of smiles, lots of sweat, lots of sunshine and natural beauty… and a lot of really cool people along the way too!
I met a cancer survivor who shared her story with me, a fun giggly group of older ladies, the flute player and his wife, a college student practicing his photography skills – very ambitious kid! – and many more. π
I needed that day off, day out, and day to myself exploring a little piece of the world…
Beautiful pics Lynn and looked like lots of fun!
Thank you, Tina π It was a blast!!
Say CHEESE Lynn! What a beautiful hike and a beautiful YOU! It’s moving into winter here in Alaska so I’m living vicariously through you!
lol you can also say “shoot” but that didn’t seem to safe in the woods π haha. And cheese is low carb. π
Thank you, Karen! I bet Alaska is GORGEOUS. I would love to visit some day! *cheers*
Thanks for the samsung tip! My husband take selfies on our travels and are always struggling holding the phone and trying to snap the pic! Problem solved. The phone has so many tricks and it is always fun to learn a new one. Now, do you rest the phone on a tripod or rest it on something to pics when you don’t use a selfie stick?
Hi Sue! I just found a rock or something to set the phone up on. I had my shoulder bag with me, so I used that to prop my phone against a few times.
For the shot of me looking over the top of Fall Creek Falls, I used my selfie stick and wedged it between two tree branches behind me (so I didn’t lose it down the 256 foot drop off the falls, lol).
I just discovered this cool voice command feature. It really lets you get so many more shots & angles! Have fun with it. π *cheers*
You are so daring to get that close to the edge of the waterfall. Eeeekkkk!!! I am deathly afraid of heights (and several other things). As I get older it is getting worse..imagine that! When i scrolled down to read your post, those pictures took my breath away, not in a good way, but in the way I feel like I can’t breath, because of my fears. After I relaxed and saw the beauty of the falls etc., I remembered seeing waterfalls from a distance and how beautiful they are. Btw you look happier today than a few days ago. Exercise does a body, soul and mind good. Thanks for sharing with us. Have a beautiful day!!
Thank you JoyAnna π I keep it safe. I would never be able to get that close to the falls if our water levels weren’t so far down right now. While I do love the exhilaration & adventure, and am big on “facing my fears” this year – I have two beautiful children and my beloved Great Dane to make sure I make it out & back for. π
Hi Lynn, Love reading all of your posts. You have taught me so much, as I am on the low-carb wagon as well. I have a hint for your bacon, I cook an entire package in the oven on a sheet pan. Let it cool and put in zip-loc in frig. No more frozen bacon. I also cook an entire # of sausage and bag in frig. Thanks so much, hope you find a friend to share the bacon with soon.
That’s what I do with the bacon as well. I find making it in the oven is much easier! I think it’s time for me to get more creative with my meals at home, or the meal combinations at least. Simple is GOOD (and my favorite!) but eating the same things over and over gets old π lol.