Brief Description:
We
beautiful hike takes you up a new natural area through a limestone
gorge.
Directions:
Please call Jennifer Schroll
at her cell number: 423-284-1256.
Meet at Home Depot in Cleveland to
carpool at 7:30am or
meet at the TN hiker trailhead at 9:30am ET. I'd
say we will be back by 6pm. I am planning to hike down from the TN
trailhead and back up to the AL trailhead then shuttle cars if
we have
enough cars.
Length:
6 miles,
easy
Difficulty Rating:
moderate to strenuous
Elevation Gain:
Short hike but significant elevation
gain on a rocky trail
Hike Leader:
Leon Bates and Jennifer Schroll,
423-284-1256
Post-Trip Report:
Four
members of the Cherokee Hiking Club and 6 Boys Scouts car-pooled to the
TN trailhead at The Walls of Jericho. While the AL trailhead parking lot
was packed with cars, we were the only ones at the TN parking lot. Just
before heading out 2 hikers from the Chattanooga Hiking Club arrived. We
all started down the trail together. We saw lots of wild flowers but not
any other hikers until we reached the trail junction with the AL
trail
head. Here it was like ju
mping
on the interstate. We navigated 2 stream crossings with tilted log
footbridges. The first one had a handrail and we all successfully made
it across. The second log crossing had a rope tied across. I'm not
really sure if the rope made it easier or harder. We lost 1 scout. From
here we joined the other million hikers headed up Turkey Creek to the
Walls of Jericho. The trail ends in the stream channel and everyone must
rock hop around (or wear water shoes). The Walls of Jericho is a series
of sink holes in the stream channel. At the up stream end the stream
flows over a waterfall and into a sinkhole 15-20 below the streambed.
The water then runs underground for several yards and reemerges from the
side of a large round sinkhole. To me the Walls of Jericho are like
things that you see in a cave, but above ground; very cool! We ate lunch
here and then began our journey back out via the AL trail head. It is a
very steep accent back up to the parking lot (1000 feet in about
2 miles). On the way back we stopped at the Dixie Freeze in South
Pittsburg and had ice cream.
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