Feature article
|
 |
|
 |
Hike to Devil’s Bathtub boasts lush foliage, cascading falls
By Jessica Fischer
 |
Editor’s Note: As part of our Hidden Treasures series, which runs each Thursday during the summer months, GoTriCities staff writers highlight places and events right here in our own back yard that many folks don’t know even exist. Got an idea or suggestion? We’d love to hear it. Write to the Kingsport Times-News, c/o Jessica Fischer, at 701 Lynn Garden Drive, Kingsport, Tenn. 37662 or e-mail jfischer@timesnews.net.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That was our mantra after spending a recent Tuesday evening searching unsuccessfully for an out-of-the-way spot called the Devil’s Bathtub, tucked away in the Jefferson National Forest near Fort Blackmore, Va. My husband was certain he remembered how to get there (and since I trusted him, I didn’t bother printing out directions), but after more than an hour of wrong turns and wasted miles on the dusty gravel roads, it became clear to us all that he didn’t.
By the time we found the circular parking area for the Devil’s Fork Loop Trail — and finally figured out where the trail actually begins — the sun was sinking low in the sky and we knew this hidden treasure would have to be discovered another day. After returning the following Saturday morning, I was glad we hadn’t tried to rush to our destination.
This is a place to be savored, to soak up the region’s rich natural beauty and let the stresses of everyday life slip away.
The Devil’s Fork Loop Trail takes hikers through an old-growth hemlock and rhododendron forest filled with towering rock formations, cascading waterfalls and crystal-clear swimming holes to the main attraction, the Devil’s Bathtub, about 1.5 miles from the trailhead.
There’s plenty to see and do along the way, but you’ll want to keep an eye on the trail, which can be pretty rough and rugged in spots, with more than a dozen stream crossings depending on the seasonal water levels. Yellow blazes lead the way along all seven miles of the loop but they’re often few and far between or hidden by the dense underbrush.
Armed with plenty of water and snacks (there are no facilities anywhere near the trail), we set out on the western leg of the loop that follows Devil’s Fork Creek, which we crossed for the first time about a quarter-mile from the trailhead. The rocks are slippery, so good shoes are a must — just pick a pair you won’t mind getting wet. After the crossing, the trail forks; stay left and follow the yellow blazes.
All the ferns and moss-covered stones made it feel as though we had traveled back in time and were hiking through a prehistoric paradise; a rusty old coal car was the only reminder we were actually walking along an old rail bed, where locomotives once hauled coal and logs down from Little Mountain.
The trail got a little tricky to follow after our sixth creek crossing, when we had to walk 50 or 60 yards up the dry, boulder-filled creek bed before spotting the yellow blaze on a tree on the right. We were climbing in elevation now, although the sunlight still struggled to peep through the thick canopy of trees above us.
After about an hour and a half of hiking — and one particularly narrow, steep stretch of trail — we stumbled upon the most beautiful swimming hole I’ve ever seen.
Water cascaded down a small fall into a crystal-clear pool around 12 to 15 feet at its deepest. It was the perfect place to throw down our packs, kick up our feet and gobble down our lunches. My brother-in-law Jeff was the only one of us brave enough to take a dip in the icy cold water, but the rest of us did splash around in it a little — at least until our numb feet sent us scrambling back for our socks and shoes.
We could have spent the rest of the day here — and we did promise ourselves we’d come back and camp some day — but we still had the Devil’s Bathtub to find.
After yet another creek crossing, our 13th, we saw a sign for the Devil’s Bathtub but weren’t quite sure where to go, so we headed up the ridge, where the trail became more narrow and overgrown, and strayed farther from the creek bed. A fellow hiker — the only person we met the entire day — told us about a good-sized waterfall on up the path a ways at the mouth of Corder Hollow, but we decided to save that sight for another day.
Instead, we headed back down the mountain and at the Devil’s Bathtub sign decided to take a chance and walk down the creek bed, back toward the swimming hole, in search of the tub. Sure enough, just around the bend, the stream plummeted down a rock chute and swirled through the tub — a beautiful pool of blue-green water shaped just like a bathtub — before racing downstream.
After stopping for pictures, we headed back toward the parking area the same way we came, being sure to pack our trash out with us. When we finally reached the Jeep, we were exhausted but exhilarated and already looking forward to our next trip back to the tub.
To get to the Devil’s Bathtub, take VA-72N to Fort Blackmore. From the intersection of Route 65 and Route 72, follow Route 619 (Big Stony Creek Road) about five miles to the intersection of Route 619 and Route 657. Go left on Route 619 (High Knob SC) over a small bridge; continue on Route 619 for about another 0.4 miles, then turn left onto a narrow gravel road beside an an old, abandoned white house. Follow this very rutted gravel road for about another half-mile, keeping right when the road forks. The road dead ends at a circular parking area; from there, take the wooden stairs to your right, out of the parking area and onto the Devil’s Fork Loop Trail.
|
|
|
|
|
