The heat waves are already dancing on the asphalt as I ride down Highway 70 N toward Monterey. Tennessee’s newest state park, Cummins Falls, is on the other side of Cookeville and I’m going to check it out. It is a 211 acre park on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. A waterfall and swimming hole are a fitting destination on a day like today. Rolling down the highway at 60 mph feels like riding in a hair dryer.
One of the reasons I enjoy motorcycle riding is that I am exposed to nature at its best or worst, and I have to be able to adapt to it or not ride. So, I adapt, hot or cold, and I ride. Today it’s hot as blue blazes. The scent of hot pine trees fills the air as I ride through a stand of them. All around, the fields are parched brown from lack of rain and 100 degree temperatures. The gardens that are still hanging on are stunted and wilted for want of water.
I’m riding along minding my own business when a kamikaze bug comes at me just over the windshield and smacks the side of my face at the edge of my helmet. I frantically dig him out with one hand while trying to keep the bike upright and between the ditches with the other. I’m glad it wasn’t a bee. That could have been disastrous!
The zig-zagging road snaking down the side of the mountain just outside of Monterey is one of my favorites. I lean hard into the turns, almost scrapping the floorboards, and twist the throttle to power out of them. I barely get upright before another turn is on me in the opposite direction and I do it again. It’s exhilarating flying along with the mountain on one side and a shear drop off on the other. One wrong move and I’m over the edge.
I go through the heart of Cookeville where it seems I get stopped by every traffic light. I feel like I’m being baked in an oven. Finally, I get back to the open road where at least I have a breeze. The BBQ pit beside the road is breathing out hickory smoke and it makes me hungry. I meet a funeral procession, and as the good southern tradition dictates, everyone pulls over out of respect.
I turn right onto Highway 56 for 5 miles and then go right again on highway 290 for a mile. A left turn onto Cummins Mills Road for 2 miles takes me to the park entrance. Along this stretch the trees form a leafy canopy over the road giving a brief but welcome respite from the blazing sun.
I reach the park entrance and carefully navigate the quarter mile long gravel road leading to the parking lot. As soon as I park the bike I take a long drink of cold water, strap on a couple more bottles and take off down the half mile trail to the falls overlook. It’s a beautiful view of the falls from above with more water than I expected since there hasn’t been any resent rain. Cummins Falls is the 8th largest waterfall in Tennessee measured by volume of water, and has a 75 foot drop from top to bottom. The trail to the bottom of the falls is a little over one mile through the woods away from the falls and then back up the river. It’s a fairly easy path meandering through the hardwood forest and then down a series of switchbacks on the side of the canyon to the river below. The gravel along the river path is full of fossils of crinoid stems and shells.
Taking in the scenery from the bottom of the falls it’s easy to see why it was named one of the top 10 swimming holes in the United States by an article in Travel and Leisure magazine. The water falls onto several large rock shelves before splashing into the cool, clear swimming hole below. In spite of the heat and the hike there are quite a few people here splashing in the water and picnicking. I find a shady spot under an overhanging rock with water dripping off its lip and take a rest and a long drink. The water looks cool and inviting. I dive in.
A little way back down the river trail I find a shortcut that goes straight up the cliff wall. By scrambling and climbing up this I cut out a mile of trail, but it is extremely strenuous and it wears me out. Back out in the open under the full sun it has to be over 100 degrees. At least on the bike there will be a breeze, although a hot one. Hopefully it will be a little cooler back up on the plateau.
