Leaving the area of Rock Island State Park and driving another hour or so north, I head for my next stop and primary for the day. I'll be joining Cumberland Kayaking to paddle to Fancher Falls on a branch of the dammed rivers and creeks that form Center Hill Lake. I arrived a little early and so take time to explore the facilities around the Cookeville Boat Dock, which includes a gift shop and restaurant. I consider getting some food, but I don't have that much time and decide to head back to my car and put some sunscreen on in anticipation of a couple of hours on the water. I own a kayak, but I find it's sometimes easier just to rent one from local outfitters on this trips, depending on the price. That's what I'll be doing today.
Just as I leave the main office of the marina, I see a truck pull into the parking area pulling a trailer of yellow and orange sit-on-top kayaks. This appears to be my crew. I finish my preparation, grab my personal gear, and then head down to meet the gentleman driving the truck. Two couples approach as I introduce myself to the guide. With all five of us here, our guide begins explaining the plan and we start unloading some boats.
Before long, we're on the water. It's a hot and sunny day, but the water is a bit cooler and it's really nice to be paddling. All of us do attempt to do some shade hopping though when it's available. From the dock, we paddle east as the river narrows and tall cliffs rise on either side of us. In the distance, I see a long-legged heron or crane find a perch on a tree branch high above the water, and then a short time later dive majestically to find its next meal.
Soon, we reach Fancher Falls. With the water level down a bit, we pull our kayaks into the river bank and traverse the final few yards on foot. It's not far, but does require a little scrambling. I expect many of these rocks are mostly submerged in the springtime. The waterfall itself is pretty impressive with its single stream plummeting about 110 feet into the cold pool below. The top of this waterfall is private property and the owner has placed their home near the edge. It's visible from below from some angles.
Three of the other folks on this trip decide to take a dip in the cold waters of the pool, but not being much of a swimmer, I'm content to just sit here and take it all in while the mists of the falling waters cool me off. We stay at the waterfall for around 45 minutes before heading back the way we came.
The return trip is uneventful and a few passing motorboats provide us with some entertaining wakes to paddle through. After pulling into the dock, I lift my boat out of the water and thank our guide for such a great trip. I say my goodbyes to the other guests and head to my car. Our paddle distance was about 5.3 miles round trip and very easy on these flat waters.
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