Weekly Hike: Big Soddy Gulf

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This week’s Wednesday hike took us to Big Soddy Gulf. I’m not sure how it happened, but summer time is almost over and this is our first time to make it to this swimming hole this summer! It was a short hike — 0.5 miles round trip, but it was our 42nd hike for the year (42/52) bringing us to to 124 miles on the trails in 2021! 

Weekly Hike: Big Soddy Gulf

 

I try to make plans for our weekly Wednesday hiking group sometime on Monday. This gives me a chance to decide whether or not I think the weather for our usual time on Wednesday is going to be good for our weekly hike.

 

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain all afternoon, so I decided we should hike on Thursday afternoon since it had rained hard this weekend and I wanted to give the trails a chance to dry out.

 

Today actually ended up being a really gorgeous afternoon with sunshine and highs in the low 70s. So when one of our friends asked a few of the normal hiking crew if we wanted to meet up for an impromptu hike at Big Soddy Gulf, I coudn't say no.

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling: if the weather is nice you can set the books aside and do something fun with no strings attached. We will come back to the book work and make up for it another day, but today, we could enjoy the sunshine, nature and our friends.

 

 

We typically save Big Soddy Gulf for warm days so the kids can hop in the water, but it turned out to be a beautiful hike with the creek swollen from the recent rain. I have never seen it flowing so hard. We got a bonus in finding a waterfall that isn't normally there during dryer seasons.

 

And the kids all still managed to get wet and sandy at the beach as we wrapped up our hike.

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Big Soddy Gulf was hopping with people today. This was the most people I have seen on this trail. I miss the days before everyone knew about Big Soddy Gulf and you had the place to yourself. However, I am happy to see so many people taking advantage of this beautiful spot and getting outside.

We hiked 3 miles this afternoon (20 miles YTD). I am worn out because this was right after my outdoor bootcamp class! This was our 7/52 hike for the year. We will still be hiking on Thursday.

 

Nature Week: Ritchie Hollow, Greenway Farms, and Big Soddy Gulf

Last week, the local schools were out for spring break, including Isaac's preschool and Jack's Y program. So we did a light school week, which included three hikes. Two of which we did as a family.

 

RITCHIE HOLLOW TRAIL
On Easter Sunday, we decided to go on a family hike since we wouldn't be with extended family to celebrate.

The Ritchie Hollow Trail opened earlier this year and I have heard good things about it. I had mentioned it to Daniel a couple of times, but when we looked at a topo map together, he didn't think we could manage it with our boys (it starts next to the river and goes all the way up the side of the mountain to Snooper's Rock).

But then a friend posted that they had explored it with kids of a similar age, so I brought it up again, reasoning that we only have to go as far as we feel we can. And Daniel agreed.

I'm so glad he did! We only did the lower portion, but it really was a pretty hike.

We walked through newly blooming wild flowers, we crossed small waterfalls, the kids waded in the frigid water, and we enjoyed the beauty of the area.

It is about a 20-minute drive from our house, but definitely worth the drive. You can see the Tennessee River for most of the hike and it has lots of great natural features. I can't wait to go back and explore further.

GREENWAY FARMS
On Wednesday, the boys and I went to Greenway Farms for our weekly Nature Day. We saw butterflies, worms, potato bugs, and found a bird’s nest.

The flooding on the trail from a few weeks ago was gone so the boys worked on fixing the teepee made of branches in the woods.

Jack has been on the hunt for his first four-leaf clover. He hasn’t found one yet, but has been impressed by how big some of the clover leafs are.

Isaac was convinced we were going to see a snake. Maybe we will, but we didn’t on this hike.

The weather was a little on the cool side after a storm blew in Tuesday night, but the sunshine made it a perfect day for a hike.

We ended our hike with a little tree climbing. Isaac is really honing his skills and I’m not ready for him to climb high!

BIG SODDY GULF

On Thursday, Daniel was only working a half day, so we arranged to meet in Hixson and drive out to Big Soddy Gulf as a family. We had originally planned on camping, but the cooler weather and threat of rain made us decide to cancel our plans.

Big Soddy Gulf is one of our favorite spots and Daniel had never had the chance to go.

It was too cold to get wet, but the boys still enjoyed rock hopping next to the water (Daniel was the only one to accidentally stick his foot in the water). The kids also enjoyed throwing rocks and sticks into the water.

There were quite a few families out on the trail enjoying the sunshine. The only negative is that we watched a family leave a glass bottle and sprite can next to the creek. There was a trashcan on the trail about 30 feet from their trash. When they left, we threw it away for them. It is so aggravating to watch people blatantly disrespect the earth like that (they didn't even have to pack it out, it was as simple as walking to a trashcan!). Rant over.

Overall, we had a great week exploring nature, basking in the sunshine, and spending time as a family this week.

Camping is still on our radar, we are just waiting for it to warm up a bit.

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Check back on Tuesdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack: 

September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs

October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) ⎮ Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family) ⎮ Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls ⎮ Mushroom Rock (with Mommy and Daddy) ⎮ Raccoon Mountain

December: The Boulders ⎮ Toccoa River (family hike)⎮ Amnicalola Falls (family hike)

January: Green Gorge ⎮ Rainbow Lake
February: Stringers Ridge ⎮ Green Gorge ⎮ Mushroom Rock ⎮ Green Gorge ⎮ Mushroom Rock (family hike) ⎮ Possum Creek (family hike) ⎮Greenway Farms
March: Creative Writing Exercise on the Mushroom Rock ⎮ Vernal Equinox Hike at Green Gorge ⎮ Mabbit Springs