I never got a chance to write about my hike to Virgin Falls to this point, so here we are. This hike was probably, at least to this point in my life, the best hike I've ever done. An elaborate mix of waterfalls, caves and views made for an incredible leg-destroying journey.
Virgin Falls is located out in Sparta, Tennessee, about 90 miles west of Knoxville. It's marked at about 8 miles round-trip.
When I first strolled up to the trail, there was a park ranger sitting on a rocking chair at a small post at the trailhead. Now, several different hiking blogs rated this hike as strenuous, but I feel as if I'm in pretty good hiking shape. It takes a fairly tough hike to beat me down.
The ranger, before I got to talking to him for too long, said the hike was incredibly strenuous. At that point, I was still on my high horse thinking he didn't know I was in shape. I was very humbled. But more on that later.
The trail started off by walking me through a forested trail - pretty standard. There are supposedly three waterfalls, a viewpoint and a cave on this trail.
Eventually, after a mile or so, it led me to Big Branch Falls. I didn't even bother to include a picture of it on this post. It was that underwhelming. It was essentially a spigot dripping over a few rock structures. If you go under the rock structures, you might feel like it's lightly raining. So, not really quite a waterfall.
After Big Branch, I was led on the path for another mile or so alongside structures like the pictures above and to the right. A lot of high rock walls had me walking alongside them until I reached an opening into a steep gorge. The gorge led me to the second of the three waterfalls. This one was called Big Laurel Falls.
And it was cool. Like, really cool. It had a cave-like structure so that I was able to go behind the falls, which was very unique. The falls were also, like, legitimate falls. They weren't overly powerful or anything like that, but it was significant enough for me to be able to refill my water filter and take a cool shower. I chose not to douse myself in the fresh mountain water due to the 7 miles I had ahead of me, but the opportunity was there.
Furthermore, the water from the falls seemed to disappear into nowhere. When it came down, it pooled up into the back of the cave then disappeared under the walls. Supposedly, there are miles and miles of unexplored cave structure.
Anyhow, it was pretty interesting to see the falls and be able to get behind them.
I was already pretty awestruck at this point on the hike, and I was only about two miles in. I've never really explored a "cave" before, and, even though this one only went about 50-100 feet back, it still seemed very adventurous.
That was about the time that things got a little interesting though. To this point, the trail had been relatively easy (and all downhill). And it continued that way for pretty much the entirety of the front half of the hike. As I neared the end, I saw a sign advertising Sheep's Cave only 0.2 miles off the trail. That wasn't really what I was there to see, but I figured I may as well do it because I had a full day of sunlight at my disposal.
At its entry, the cave looks almost identical to a tomb.
I wasn't really sure what to expect, but whatever I did expect, what I got was not it. What I got far exceeded my unknown expectations.
If you've been following along this blog, you'd know I made a "10 Hiking Essentials" list, and No. 4 was a flashlight. And not just a phone flashlight, a legit, real flashlight.
When I ventured into Sheep's Cave, I almost immediately had to whip out my phone flashlight, and I thought it would be enough. I was so wrong. I only made it about 100 yards, if that, before I had to turn around because I honestly got a little scared. I couldn't really see my feet unless I shined the flashlight directly onto them, and there was a pretty significant stream of water I was trying to avoid stepping in - it was about ankle-deep. I'm still not entirely sure how far back the cave goes, so I'll have to go back and try to figure it out when I have some company. I still think I'm too terrified to do it alone. I was already thinking about turning around when I shined the flashlight on the very short ceiling (I, at 5-foot-7, had to crouch down) and saw some rather large spiders. I then shined the light down into the water and saw a translucent shellfish that I believe was a lobster, but didn't wait long enough to find out. I zipped out of the cave after that. But, like I said, I'll be back.
I was just so intrigued by the cave because it was a legitimate cave, not like a ten-foot jut into a giant rock or cliff. No, this thing went back a long way, and I'd love to see the end of it.
Following Sheep's Cave and my walk back into the light, I completed the journey to Virgin Falls. And wow. Spectacular. A 135-foot masterpiece. Pictures do it absolutely no justice. I had to take a few minutes to just survey my layout and take it all in. I plopped down and snacked on some trail mix to really enjoy the scenery. And it didn't just end at the waterfall base. I was able to walk all around it and through it at the top as well. I even walked all the way to the bottom as well and enjoyed the nice mist during a warm June afternoon. It was quite an incredible sight.
Then came the walk back up. Oh. My. Gosh. What a freaking hike. It was almost all uphill, and I was about as beat up as could be by the end. I had to sit down and rest with the park ranger, who allowed me to use his fan to cool off.
He also recommended one last stop for me to go and see before I left. It was a short drive up the road and I had nothing better to do, so I went ahead and checked it out.
Very glad I did, as it was beautiful, and I could see tons of other mountains and streams from my vantage point. Again, my picture does no justice to the beauty that was before me in every part of a 180-degree plane.
Overall great hike. I'd give it a 9/10, only because the hike back was wildly intense. Worth it though. Highly recommend.
And it was cool. Like, really cool. It had a cave-like structure so that I was able to go behind the falls, which was very unique. The falls were also, like, legitimate falls. They weren't overly powerful or anything like that, but it was significant enough for me to be able to refill my water filter and take a cool shower. I chose not to douse myself in the fresh mountain water due to the 7 miles I had ahead of me, but the opportunity was there.
Furthermore, the water from the falls seemed to disappear into nowhere. When it came down, it pooled up into the back of the cave then disappeared under the walls. Supposedly, there are miles and miles of unexplored cave structure.
Following Sheep's Cave and my walk back into the light, I completed the journey to Virgin Falls. And wow. Spectacular. A 135-foot masterpiece. Pictures do it absolutely no justice. I had to take a few minutes to just survey my layout and take it all in. I plopped down and snacked on some trail mix to really enjoy the scenery. And it didn't just end at the waterfall base. I was able to walk all around it and through it at the top as well. I even walked all the way to the bottom as well and enjoyed the nice mist during a warm June afternoon. It was quite an incredible sight.
This was an absolute journey of a hike. Mount LeConte is one of the most popular peaks in all of the Smoky Mountains, as it is the third tallest peak in the mountain range. The summit of the mountain is actually a central point for several different trails, including the Boulevard Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the Alum Cave Trail, the Trillium Gap Trail and a few more beyond just those. Also at the top sits LeConte Lodge, a mega-popular stopping point for hikers who choose to hike the mountain. It's so popular that it books up more than a few months in advance.
This is when the trail really started to take its toll on my legs. For the most part up to this point, the trail had been on a relatively minimal incline. I stopped and took a rest at the cave bluffs because it seemed like a natural stopping point, but I'm glad I did. The next 2.7 miles would have been incredibly difficult if I hadn't. After the first 300 feet or so, I looked up and said to myself, "Oh (expletive)." I believe myself to be in pretty decent hiking shape, but it was a journey from here on out. Plus, the clouds really began to form more impactfully at this point as well. The weather took the views away from me, which was disappointing. But it was still really, really cool. The views may have been gone, but the lack of visibility made the trail itself really serene. It legitimately felt like I was walking around in a lucid dream. It was filled with a light mist, dense fog and passages that made you feel like you were walking through to the other end of a forest.
As you can see in the video below, clouds were everywhere. And it was pretty much at the precise moment I put down my phone, the heavens opened and rained down upon me. I mean I was getting soaked. I eventually made my way down to the lodge to seek some shelter.
