The crown jewel of this trip to Eastern Tennessee has always been a chance to paddle to the famous Burgess Falls. I had planned this trip last year, but it was cancelled due to bad weather and with a questionable forecast for this afternoon, I worry that may be my fate once again. I arrived at the group's meeting area about an hour early (or so I thought).
I'm paddling with Cumberland Kayaking again today, and as I pull into the parking area, one of the guides asks my name. I give it and there seems to be some confusion. Just as I'm conversing with him, I receive a text notification that the trip has been cancelled. As it turns out, I got my schedule mixed up because of the time zone difference. There is no 10:00 am paddle, and I'm actually scheduled for the 11:00 am trip, which is being cancelled due to incoming thunderstorms. They are continuing with the 9:30 am trip though, which is getting ready to depart. I ask if there is a spot available and he transfers me to this departure time instead. I guess being early sometimes pays off.
This is a much larger group than yesterday and includes a couple of families. There are roughly twenty of us in total. We load ourselves into the two passenger vans and are ferried down to the boat ramp, which is just down the hill. After unloading the kayaks and hearing a short safety talk, we're quickly on the water. It seems I'm one of the more experienced paddlers and quickly end up at the front of the pack. Our guide calls out for me to wait, which I do. I never intended to get too far ahead, but it just seemed to happen. Once he catches up, he tells me of a couple of turns I'll need to make and tells me to go at my own pace. I do my best to stay mostly with the group.
Soon, we hit some flooded forests. It seems the lake level was lowered some years ago while they did some work on the dam. This lasted a few years and during that time, a young forest group up in higher sections of the lake bottom. Once the water was released back into the lake, those forests flooded and now only the dead and dying trunks of those trees remain. They make for an interesting obstacle course in parts of today's paddle.
After about two miles, we reach the area of Burgess Falls. The remains of an old power plant on the right bank greet us. Apparently, they used to have a power generator station here, but it has long since fallen into disrepair. Just ahead, the impressive Burgess Falls rises into view. This is a somewhat unique waterfall in my experience. It's almost as if a finger of the cliff, probably made of harder stone than the rest, juts out into the canyon and the stream that makes the waterfall follows it. This all gives the appearance of an island in the sky with water coming off of it in every direction. It really is stunning and at 136 feet, is a fairly tall waterfall for this region.
We bank the kayaks and walk the final yards to the pool below the waterfall. I welcome the cold mist fills the air and take advantage of its cool effect. The members of our group fan out and begin swimming in the pool and climbing the lower sections of the waterfall. It all seems like fun, but knowing how slippery these algae-covered waterfalls can be, I'm not willing to risk injury for it. I'm content just basking in the glory of this one.
We hang out for nearly an hour before loading ourselves back into the boats. Just I launch, I get a weather notification that says a moderate rain will be starting in five minutes. Thunder in the distance confirms this. I hate being on the water during a thunderstorm. It's actually pretty dangerous as a lightning strike could electrify large sections of the lake, and those dead tree trunks sure would make good lightning rods. I paddle pretty hard to get back.
About a mile from the boat ramp, the rains begin and get increasingly harder. A few cracks of lightning shock the sky and thunder rolls. I'm soaking wet by now and my boat is beginning to fill with rain water. The raindrops beating on the surface of the lake make it harder to paddle. Almost like trying to kayak through mud, but knowing how dangerous this is, I do my best to keep a steady pace until I make it back to shore. Everyone else soon pulls in behind me and we reload ourselves into the vans, dripping water everywhere. We're soaked.
Since no one was injured, I'll say that the adventure through the storm was actually kind of fun, but I would not recommend doing it to anyone, as it is quite dangerous. Our total paddle for today was about 3.6 miles, but the stunning waterfall lived up to its reputation and made the entire outing worthwhile.
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