Above: asters blooming at the trailhead for Stinging Fork Falls
Stinging Fork Falls Autumn Hike and Luminary Fire Tower
Saturday Oct. 21, 2023
Kenny & Dana Koogler
Tessa Lindsey-granddaughter
Olivia Icenhower-Tessa's best buddy and our friend and church family member.
Hike Distance 3.5 miles round trip for the day
***Edited to Add: The Luminary Fire Tower was manufactured by Braden Aermotor Co. It is stamped on each piece of the tower in plain view if you pay attention. Braden Corp. Is currently celebrating their centennial anniversary in business. That means 1923 to 2023! Quite a legacy. With the renewed interest in wind power as an energy source they remain relevant as ever.
Our ten year old granddaughter Tessa has had a rough start to her school year. She has NONE of her friends in her classroom this year. They moved back in March meaning she went from living in a subdivision next door to numerous good friends to out in the country with no friends nearby. It has made for a depressing combination and a strain on her emotions. We decided we needed to take an active part in helping break this cycle of isolation and sadness. We invited her to come hiking with us on Saturday and bring a friend of her choosing. She took us up on it. She invited Olivia Icenhower who is a friend of ours as well. We love their whole family. They are part of our church family we treasure.
I had already made up my mind I wanted to try visiting Stinging Fork Falls and perhaps some other area attractions. I had never visited Stinging Fork in Autumn. I knew the colors should be pretty. I also knew the water levels were going to be low thanks to the dry weather. I wasn't concerned. I figured we'd take the girls to get some lunch and to the Good Will in Rockwood. They have loved it in the past for the bin of goodies to rifle through. We all liked it! It had been a year or more since we got to try our luck in the treasure trove.
We all had lunch at Cracker Barrel. Tessa has loads of food allergies which is another source of difficulty and stress for her. Cracker Barrel has lots of choices of things she can have that are nutritious and good tasting. We swung by the Rockwood Good Will store. It turned out to be a great disappointment. They have taken to bagging up all their little trinkets into ziplock baggies. You buy a baggie for $1.99 and it might have one item in it you truly like. We did not tarry long there. It was a quick stop. We headed on down the road to start hiking.
We did not have any trouble locating the trailhead today even though it had been a long time between visits. It is worth mentioning that the fields along Shutin Gap Road have nice views, but the scenery is disturbed also. Lots of clear cutting of timber has taken place. The area around the trailhead parking is the same. Ample parking. Good info kiosk, but torn up by equipment. I did notice a few late wildflowers. White asters, goldenrod, thistles, and a lobelia now and then.
We grabbed our gear and set off down the trail.
Below: photo of some of the cars at the trailhead parking for Stinging Fork Falls.
The shoulders have been cut out along Shutin Gap Road in many spots.
I knew the trail had undergone some changes between my visits so I was expecting it.
It is well marked now with white blazes along the Cumberland Trail portion. It is also well signed at important intersections or double blazed. The side trails such as to Indian Head Point overlook are blazed with yellow. Lots of other hikers today and dogs!
The forest was very pretty on our hike in. Loads of Autumn colors and the sun filtering down through them was a delight for the eyes.
Below: Tessa and Olivia getting ready to go
Below: a view of the Cumberland Plateau through the colorful trees
Below: an example of the view and the clear cutting
Below: goldenrod is sunny and colorful today 
Below: Kenny, Tessa and Olivia down the trail in the colorful leaves
Below: a nice level, shady stretch of trail on the way to the falls
Below: Olivia going down the steps
We hiked along the dusty trail in the direction of the falls. The girls were full of energy and ran up ahead. It was no time until we arrived at the sets of stairs that take you down the slope. We could not hear any water at this point. I could see a little water in the stream. Down below us we saw a few people already at the base of the falls. We couldn't see the falls at this point. The CT keeps going. There were a couple dudes ahead of us who were working their way down from that first slide area above the brink of the falls. It was sketchy as all get out. I did not feel good about this with the girls especially. It looked confusing to me. I remembered being able to go down the bank here, but not like this. I also did not recall having to go on past the falls very far. We went out the CT to see if it circled down to the falls. It wasn't long until we came to a side trail blazed yellow. I was relieved we did not have to use that hiker made short cut to the base.
We worked our way up through the boulders and forest to the falls. I know this is not the way we arrived at the falls in the past with 100% certainty. The first glimpse of the falls is the typical fan shape of Stinging Fork Falls. There is no view of it whatsoever when you go the way it is now.
We arrived at the falls to find it just a damp rock with a few trickles of water coming over.
It was very disappointing especially since Olivia and Tessa had never been to it before. They were good sports about it despite the lack of water. They threw rocks and walked around the plunge pool.
The pool was tannin stained brown water with leaves. The forest around it was bright with colors helping make up for the pitiful waterfall.
Below: plunge pool at least has water
Above: Kenny, and Olivia throw rocks
Above: Tootsa Rootsa is happy and that's what I like to see!
Above: you can see the splash from a rock in the bottom right of the image. Sunbeams on the water take the place of the actual falling water.
We sat and rested and got a drink. We enjoyed the antics of the dogs who were on this hike. They were funny and entertaining. There was a little border collie pup who was being restrained from herding every hiker present! We were her flock as far as she was concerned.
We watched some ladies come down the unofficial path to the base. We decided going up it would not be too bad so we'd try that as a short cut on the return trip. The girls made it look like no problem. It was not great, but it was doable going uphill. It certainly shortened up the hike which had turned out lackluster so far.
Below is a photo of the lovely colors at Stinging Fork Falls. At least that was good.
above: A view of the rock formations and colors looking downstream from the falls.
Below is a video of Stinging Fork Falls such as it was.
We made our return hike easily. The guys ahead of us had stopped to rest and one was vaping. I had a thought about vaping vs. cigarette smoking that never occurred to me before. Vaping is very bad for the lungs. Probably as bad if not worse, but the one thing vaping has going for it as opposed to smoking is the fire hazard is far less! No matches or lighters. No smoldering cigarette butts to toss out. I have noticed a significant drop in the amount of cigarette butts I see on trails and other places. Times of drought like now when the fire hazard is great this is one positive.
Back at the vehicle we got in and discussed what was next? The girls were not ready to quit yet nor were we. I had long wanted to see the Luminary Fire Tower. I had a phone signal so I looked it up on Tennessee Landforms. It turned out to be the nearest one to us. We all wanted to give it a try.
Luminary Fire Tower Hike
We drove way out Shutin Gap Road and continued across the plateau winding way into the boonies. We drove through a community named Luminary on our way. It was a pretty community with some nice homes. Some not so nice homes and some abandoned ones. The Autumn colors were glorious the entire way. We had a bluebird day for weather. I came out of my long sleeve shirt replacing it with a short sleeve tee. I hoped we'd be able to access the tower. The database said nothing about it being private property. We turned right onto Luminary Fire Tower Road. Interestingly Google maps said we had to drive an additional 0.20 miles before we turned so watch out. It isn't always correct!
We followed the road which the maps claimed was a "state highway". It was a bumpy gravel track. Up and up we climbed until we arrived at a forest service gate and a dead end. We had a mere 1/4 mile one way hike to our destination. We headed out toward the tower climbing gradually up the slope. We saw a wildlife pond on our right in a clearing.
We saw a white shed that stood off to itself. Just past that was the tower.
We made it up there and climbed it. Olivia did not care for it and came trucking back down. She was nervous of heights and of the wasps she saw flying. Tessa went up like a little squirrel. No fear! Not one bit of hesitation. I lost count of how many times she went up and down the flights of stairs! The view up top was a grandstand one! I knew this should be good. Being able to read a topo map sure comes in handy. I could see that this tower sat out on the edge of an escarpment with what should be an expansive view in all directions. It was as I had hoped. We could see the Smoky Mountains in the distance! Kenny remarked that we were just over there on that range of mountains looking this way last evening!
Below: one of the brilliant orange trees we saw on the hike to the tower
Below: Olivia and Kenny visible in the shot.. Tessa has run up ahead.
We made it back to the truck and promised the girls who were getting hungry we'd take them to get something to eat. We hit McDonald's on the way home as that is what they wanted. Olivia doesn't like icecream! I remembered having been told that before, but had forgotten it. We made it home and by the time we dropped them off it was seven thirty pm. We had a good day of fresh air, sunshine and exercise and some pretty scenery. We left Tessa in far better spirits so we felt like mission accomplished. We will have many repeats of today hiking with her and her friends so she stays healthy and has an outlet to de-stress.
Below is a video of Luminary Tower
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