Appalachian Trail: Laurel Fork Falls from Dennis Cove Road

Today Noelle, Sierra, and I met my friend Burke and his family in Johnson City for lunch and then drove to Dennis Cove to hike a short section of the Appalachian Trail to Laurel Fork Falls. We could not have asked for better weather.

Due to the exceedingly pleasant weather, we shared the trail with lots of other hikes. The trail started out as an easy walk on an old railroad bed. We quickly crossed into the Pond Mountain Wilderness

and then passed through an impressively deep railroad cut.

The trail detoured down

and then back up a section where the railroad had once passed over a trestle. Then we were on mostly level ground for a bit. Eventually the AT left the railroad bed and made a fairly steep descent down to the Laurel Fork and the impressive Laurel Fork Falls.

I had been here before, nearly 14 years ago when I thru-hiked. However, time has served to fade my memories of this place as it looked a bit different than I had recalled. We had Burke take a family photo for us

and Sierra threw a few rocks into the water. Then we headed back up the steep stone steps to the old Railroad bed.

At the railroad bed we stopped to take a short break

and then it was a quick, easy walk back to the vehicles. We bid farewell to our friends and then made the drive back to Greeneville. It was a great day of hiking though, even if it was a short hike.