To start it out, we walked beside an old railroad bed. Eventually the trail crossed the old tracks and went under what looked to be an old bridge. What do you do when you see something you can climb? You climb. Once we made it up, thousands of feet of scenic railway was in front of us, giving us a breathtaking view of the area around us. Continuing on the path, we then got our first take of a lightly traveled and poorly maintained trail through overgrown grass, weeds, and briars. After making it through these unscathed, we started our ascent up to the ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, which we stayed on the majority of the trip. The whole time we were either walking up or down a mountain; the idea of level ground was non-existent. Every time we would climb another mountain, we'd be rewarded with another amazing view and be able to track our progress through the 3 towns.
Once we had climbed one of the mountains, the trail markings were nowhere to be found and there was no path where the trail continued. There was, however, a well-worn 4wheeler trail that lead off down the hill. Thinking that the Cumberland Trail may be combined with the 4wheeler trail for a while, we followed it. Down, down, down the hill we went until it became pretty obvious that we were off the path we needed to be on. Instead of backtracking, I decided we should follow the trail we were on since it was heading in the general direction of where we needed to be. We walked and walked until we hit an unmarked gravel road deep in the heart of a 4wheeling and Wildlife Management Area called Royal Blue. I knew exactly where we were and where we needed to be, but the part of getting from point A to point B was what worried me. I kept all of my concern to myself so I wouldn't worry my friend who didn't realize how bad our predicament was. To my relief, a small 4wheeler path broke off from our gravel road and headed up the mountain. It was exactly the direction we needed to go, so we followed it back up the mountain. I've done the Navy Seal Extreme Off Road Challenge in the Smoky Mountains 3 times, and this trek up this hill put that race to shame. Once we made it to the top of that gruesome mountain, I looked from side to side and wanted to jump for joy. We had made our way back onto the Cumberland Trail!!! In just a few hundred feet, we saw the white trail marking, letting us know that we were definitely where we needed to be. That's when I told my friend just what had happened. We kept on going, making an effort to stay on the trail this time! We came out into a cool little area where the power lines crossed the mountain, so of course it had another incredible view!
Eventually we were getting close to the most anticipated part of the trip, the overlook at the Devil's Racetracks! From a distance, we caught a glimpse of a huge American flag swaying in the wind, which meant that was the tallest peak! We took off running up the rest of the mountain because we were just so excited to see the view. Let's just say that all of the reviews about it definitely didn't leave us disappointed. That had to be one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen!!! We took a few minutes to really enjoy the view, then continued on the trail to get back to Bruce Gap trailhead, where one of us was parked.
As soon as we were heading down the mountain to what we thought was the trailhead right below, the trail was definitely well taken care of and even had steps!!! We even passed by two beautiful waterfalls on the way down. The craziness started up again near the bottom though. The trail took a turn back up the mountain into the rocks that prevented erosion from I-75. This part turned out to be pretty fun since we both were wearing great hiking shoes with good grips. Around 7:30p.m. we started getting concerned that we weren't going to make it out by dark.
Then came the only part of the trip that wasn't the least bit fun and probably one of the stupidest things I've done in a long time. The trail continued through this overgrown marshy area with who knows what all snakes, bugs, and other bad things in it. I have to say that we are both extremely lucky to have made it through that mess without any injuries! As soon as we could, we scaled the side of a bluff to avoid wading through the marsh the rest of the way. Then, up ahead, one of the most beautiful sights I'd seen in a long time appeared... a road! Who cared where it went or that it was just dirt, we were just happy to at least be able to walk on ANY road to get back to our car. The trail obviously wasn't an option after seeing what it took us through. It turned out that this road was exactly what we needed, and it took us out to the paved road where we were parked! I've always heard of the feeling of wanting to kiss the ground once you get off of a boat or plane, but I think we both felt it after this!
Since this trail was supposed to be about 11.5 miles one way, we decided that one of us should park at the beginning and one at the end. As my friend opened up her backpack to get her keys, she realized that they were back in my car at the trailhead. While this situation might cause some people to go into a panic, after the day we had just had it wasn't a big deal at all. I started making phone calls to my friends at home to see if any of them were free. Our rescuer ended up being my neighbor, who was only about 15 minutes away from us when I called!
This was one of the best and most unique experiences I've ever had! I did a ton of things I'd never done before, and got to know someone much better. What more could I ask for?
