Day Hike to Pocket, Dayton, TN

One of my favorite escapes from school and life has always been a little known waterfall nicknamed Sanctuary falls. Few know of its existence, fewer still have the skill to find it, and even less have actually made the trip. This beautiful cascade is a mear 15 min from the parking lot of Pocket (Snow Laurel Pocket Wilderness, Dayton TN) off the main path to the right.

Today's adventure begins as soon as you make 1-3 hours of free time. Grab a group of friends, or take a significant other and head our to pocket! Just a short hike in, you come across a beautiful wooden bridge over Richland creek. Are you ready? Thats right, now we explore! I first found these beautiful cascades by chance, just wandering up the creek and looking around. You can either go up on the east(parking lot) side of the creek, and scale some large boulders, or explore up the west side, which has more of a path to the top set of falls. However, most of the pictures you see here are all from the east side. Another thing to keep in mind is that this set of cascades is very temper mental and requires a good amount of rain in order to be flowing strong. The more rain, the better the view. Now, your adventure up here can take many turns. Bring a hammock for a nice afternoon with a cool breeze, take a crash pad to the west side of the creek for some bouldering, hike a climbing rope up to the top on the east side for a sports route 5.11 and 5.12 climb, or pack a lunch and have a picnic at the mouth to the cave where the creek comes out from and under a beautiful waterfall.

Looking for something more peaceful, and away from where everyone else can get? There is a dead or dying tree right in front of the cave that can be climbed to reach the rock ledge above. Carefully navigate your way over the slick rock shelf and creek waters to the outcropping above that looks out on sanctuary falls. Other routes exist, but none are as direct, fast or fun!

Ah, behold sanctuary fall. This was my place of peace and quite all through college. Bringing and ENO hammock, some webbing, and a hydroflask, and this became an awesome campsite, day hike with a nap, or just a place to be still and know that He is God.