Lake Alice Hike in Pleasant Hill

 

Above: yellow asters of some sort in bloom near Lake Alice

Lake Alice Hike in Pleasant Hill 

Saturday  Oct. 16, 2021

Kenny & Dana Koogler 

Round trip hike distance 1.77 miles for Lake Alice

0.60 miles RT distance for Adshead Trail

Lake Alice Map on Alltrails

Lake Alice Pix 

   I had quite a list of area hikes to complete in the vicinity of Crossville.

It was to be a pretty Autumn Saturday.  I talked Kenny into going to Pleasant Hill to hike with me.  I planned to hike the Lake Alice trail.   It is not a very long hike coming in under two miles round trip.  It is also very easy so I figured I could include the Adshead Trail.  Kenny had seen none of these features and I knew he would like them.   Even with doing two hikes I knew there would be a lot left of our day.  I figured we'd tack on several other small activities to round out the day.

 I knew The Grab thrift store for Pleasant Hill would be open on Saturday.  I also wanted to try one of the area apple houses.   

        Rowell's Apple House

    We began our day by stopping in at the Rowell's Apple House.

It was the first thing we would come to along the road.  It was open so that was the logical choice.   The man who was the owner and running the store was very friendly.  It was a disappointing visit.  They only had two varieties of apples.   Arkansas Black was one and the other I don't remember.  We bought a bag of the Arkansas apples.   The explanation given was that a late frost had struck down the apple crop for the year all across the region.   The place was slim pickin's.   They were having an old car show later in the day. They had convenient, clean restrooms and pretty grounds.  I would go back and give it another try. 

     Another apple house I'd like to check out perhaps this Fall is a lot bigger and has more selection.  Oren Wooden's Apple House down in Pikeville.  It was a good 45 miles down the road from Pleasant Hill and we just did not feel like making the trip today.    The discouraging apple house visit had us wondering if there was anything else nearby to do?  Kenny had never seen the Deep Draw Bridge.  It was only a couple miles from the apple house.  We would go by there to see it.

Deep Draw Bridge

  The Deep Draw Bridge is part of the old Cumberland Homesteads project and is lovely.   It sits near the end of someone's private drive way, but there is room to pull over and see it safely.   It only took a few minutes to arrive and to check it out.  It was the first time I'd ever seen it in Autumn. 

Above: is a look at the Deep Draw Bridge on a pretty Fall morning

Above: Byrd Creek flows beneath the bridge

Above: Deep Draw Road curves as it crosses the bridge

Above: a little inset on either side of the bridge. Not 100% sure what these were for.  

Pleasant Hill and Lake Alice 

  We wrapped up our bridge visit and headed out Hwy 70 west toward Pleasant Hill.   The drive is about 10 miles from Crossville.  Pleasant Hill is a historic community and still thriving.   I visited and wrote about Pioneer Hall and Pleasant Hill a couple years back.  I read the book Doctor Woman about Dr. May Cravath Wharton which was what piqued my interest in the little community.    We pulled in to the village and went round to the old Van Dyke Sanitorium.   It was a hospital that later became a TB facility.  Alice Adshead, one of the nurses who worked with Dr. May constructed a trail behind it and they constructed an amphitheater.  They used to hold plays there by the students and area residents.   It was used to educate the students as well as community members in a sort of public health outreach program.  

It still sits back there behind the Van Dyke to this day.   

     Below is a photo of the Van Dyke with Autumn leaves scattered on the ground.  It looks pretty in the morning sun. 

Below is an image of the back of the hospital

Below: To hike the Adshead Trail you have to go through the archway. 

Below:  Looking back up at the arch from the trail.  It looks like a fairy tale scene.  

Below:  Adshead Trail starts down the steep hill via a flight or two of stairs with railings. 

Below:  A look at the Adshead Trail once you are past the manmade structures

Below:  a look at the mossy amphitheater set in the forest behind the Van Dyke

  Kenny liked this short easy jaunt.  It was chilly this morning though the sun was out.   We finished this hike and drove a couple miles back to the Dollar General where we purchased a couple inexpensive sweatshirts to warm us up.  Once that was accomplished we went round to the trailhead for Lake Alice.   There are two places you can start, but the one we used today was off Yonside Drive. There is an information kiosk there and room to park three or four vehicles.  The other is down along the side of W. Lake Drive and is situated just past the dam and the out flowing stream from the lake.   

    We hiked the lake trail clockwise.  We found it to be extremely pretty, well maintained, easy to follow and an easy hike with little elevation gain or loss. The scenery around the lake is especially pretty in Fall.  Benches are set around the lake for quiet contemplation.    The colorful red, gold, yellow and bronze leaves were very appealing to the eyes.   We saw only four other hikers all day and they were all in a group hiking counter clockwise.  We were nearly done by the time we encountered them.  If you are tired of crowded trails this place is for you!

     

Above: Fiery red leaves at the trailhead today

Above: Near the beginning of our hike.. a flat trail wide open

Above: One of many such benches to rest and contemplate the view and nature along this trail

Another vantage of the lake

Above: a gilled mushroom of some sort 

Above and below: Lovely Autumn foliage and sunshine! 

We are around on the opposite side of the lake now

Above: A little wooden bridge along the trail on the far side of the lake closing our loop.

Above: a map of the trail system at Uplands Village in Pleasant Hill TN

Above: A view of Lake Alice from the dam. Starting to be some very pretty Fall colors.

Above: The slack waters right at the dam where the outflow is. 

Above: my favorite foliage photo from today.  It looks like confetti. 

Above: A small attractive cascade at the outflow of the lake near the dam.  

 In order to hike a complete loop from one trailhead to the other and back to your vehicle it would be necessary to walk 0.10 miles on the road to your vehicle.  

We did not do this.  We carefully crossed the outflow creek area on some rather slippery rocks and once on the dam walked straight across to the trailhead where we began.   I have visited this trail twice and neither time was the water too high to cross in that spot.  It is still possible that during times of heavy rain it would not be safe.  

    Back at the jeep we climbed in and headed back in the direction of Crossville. 

I noticed The Grab was closed by the time we passed by.  I will have to hit that up another time.   I wanted to see Upper Obed Falls in the area near Cumberland Playhouse.    We drove back in the Holliday Lake community and found it within easy sight of the road.   There was no safe, out of the way place to park where we felt comfortable so we did not attempt it.  It is down over the bank and the water works for the area are nearby.  In the future I will park across Hwy 70 at St. Raphael's Episcopal Church and walk over there to see it.  I will then hike the short Meditation trail behind the church.  

    Another trail I want to check out in the vicinity is Obed River Park trails.

It has two significant spots along the trail system that I am interested in. One is an old dam. The other is where a railroad crossed the Obed.   

  All in all it was a good day.   We had great weather and the sunshine and exercise was good for us.   I had the satisfaction of crossing another bucket list item off . 

My list for the first time in awhile was actually growing shorter!

Below is a nice video of the small waterfall at Lake Alice