I haven’t made the hike to the blue hole in a while, but I took my five- month old lab to swim a week ago and was furious. The Blue Hole, which is part of the North Chickamauga Creek, has been destroyed by rednecks.
The short hike is completely littered with beer cans, baby diapers, coolers, mullet gel and anything else these rednecks are too lazy to carry out. Most of the people I saw drinking looked about 15, and why not? There is no fear from the police taking the 10-minute walk out there to enforce littering and underage drinking laws. The broken glass is so bad, I had to pick up my lab and carry her through the worst of it.
I hiked past the crowd of meth heads and mullets at the main blue hole quietly, though I wanted to explode.
The fear of a drunken redneck shooting me for going off about their laziness luckily kept my head cool. I hiked another mile up the trail to a different hole I knew of - one that thankfully was free of beer bottles and Jeff Gordon haters upset about his latest win.
It was like I walked into another world. I was able to take my dog off her leash and not worry about a shard of glass from a High Life bottle going through her foot. There were only a couple people at this hole - people, who, like me, were disgusted by what they saw a mile before.
Why isn’t the law enforced out there? Is this like the International Water Boundary where anything goes? It would only take a 10-minute walk by a county police or TWRA officer every Saturday and Sunday during the summer to end this. If they issue enough littering tickets or bring the paddywagon to haul off violators, the place would stay clean and safe for people to enjoy.
If I have offended anyone with the term redneck, I’m not sorry. That is the definition of a redneck - someone to lazy or selfish to care what his or her actions do to their surroundings. It’s not a knock on someone’s income, education or intelligence level. It’s a knock on their personal character, and someone that litters with complete disregard to others or God’s creation is a redneck!
John Hollingsworth
jhollingsworth@winesett-hill.com
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I read the story of the Blue Hole and realized that the person that wrote this is mad at poor people. He says he is not but he is so outraged that his dog didn't come first at a part of the waterways that he finds it OK to run anyone down that liked NASCAR, beer, etc.
I don’t believe in littering in the woods and waterways. I do believe however that you could have written your letter different. People that have less money than you do shouldn't be hauled off in a paddy wagon. Just because they littered these so called rednecks are someone’s parents or children.
You need to call the police and have them come out and make a report. I hope you realize that your dog comes second to anyone that is human.
Quenton Bowman
bowmanrbdad@aol.com
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John,
I have to agree with you 100% on your observation concerning the Montlake area pocket wilderness, or “Blue Hole” as it is known by locals. I have visited that area off an on for all of my life and hate to admit that it is a well known haven for lawless rednecks. I also dislike the use of “r” word, but in this case it is absolutely justified.
On a positive note I can state that one of the most breathtakingly beautiful experiences of my life occurred there many years ago. My wife and I used to see how far we could hike up the stream on any given day to soak up the sounds, sights and fresh air that can only exist in a shady mountain stream. One day I was hopping from rock to rock just to see how far I could go without actually touching ground. I eventually made my way to a really big rock in the middle of a calm area half way up the mountain. When I hopped up on top of that big rock I came face to face with a great big bald eagle eating his daily catch. We were both surprised, scared, and in shock by the event. Apparently bald eagles have really great eyes, but can’t hear too well as I was bouncing earlier from rock to rock. After about five seconds of staring at each other the eagle figured that he had enough of me and flew straight up over the top of my head and down the creek to another resting area away from nosy people.
I will never forget the sound that that thing made as it took off…didn’t make a sound like I would have though a bird could make. When that bird took off it instantly seemed to transform from a four-foot tall awkward eating machine to a 10-foot angel with immeasurable power. As mentioned before…it was one of the most impressive and beautiful things I will ever see during my lifetime.
Now here is a different story that I can tell about the Blue Hole. On another trip some time after my story above my wife and I decided to go up the river a bit and swim in that cool water. I brought a pack lunch and two sets of snorkeling equipment in my pack. We made it to the same area where I saw that eagle and decided to set up camp. After about 30 minutes out lips started turning blue from the cold water and we decided to sit on a warm rock to recover. Two young men and a lady decided that they would like to share our swimming hole with us and parked themselves right beside us. That really didn’t bother me as they seemed to be nice folks and they were not drinking. It didn’t take one minute to pass before one of those men decided to do a swan dive off of our rock. It looked great until he came up from the dive without his scalp attached to his head. Note to self…don’t do a swan dive into three feet of water! Thankfully he was still conscious and right then I decided that we had better get him back to the parking area F-A-S-T.
There was no place to land a helicopter, there was no cell-phone reception in that valley, it would take several hours for a rescue team to arrive, and this guy was bleeding bad! I know from my lifeguard, first aid, and CPR training that there is a huge risk of aggravating a spinal injury, but this guy was already walking around and might have bled out if we didn’t take action. I had the lady of the group run ahead to get a signal on her phone to call for help and get her car ready in case there was still no signal on her cell phone. Me and the person who hadn’t been scalped decided to start dragging this poor man out of the woods. We got well on our way to safety and moved as fast as we could.
OK now here is where I am going to try and get to the point of this story. We approached “Redneck Rock” - an area with the best swimming hole and where all of the people in question hand out. Being a Saturday morning the rock was crawling with people. We dragged this guy up to the rock and practically begged for someone to assist us in getting this guy. Complete silence followed. “Can someone get us some ice?”
Again…complete silence and I could see no fewer than five coolers on the rock filled with beer and ice. “Can someone help us carry this guy out as he may bleed to death?” He was already starting to be incoherent. Nothing said by at least 30 people. It was painfully obvious that they simply wanted me to go away and quit ruining their swim time. I am not kidding folks…they would have rather let than man die there on that rock right there than pause to give me a helping hand.
I have never been so unimpressed by a group of human beings in my entire life. Every one of them was drunk, they were smoking pot, and I am willing to be half of them were wanted by the law for something or other. Without being rather explicit I simply refer to these people as rednecks. I hope that I do not offend anybody by saying this.
We thus continued to pull this guy along until we approached the parking area where the young lady was waiting in her idling car. I helped load the bleeding man into the car, they sped off, and I never heard or saw from them ever again. I am assuming that he recovered from the incident and is living life as normal.
To wrap this rant up I must convey the following thoughts to my fellow Chattanoogan who ever decide to visit the pocket wilderness. If you get hurt there it will take a long time for you to receive help. I have never seen a park ranger there other than driving through the parking lot to make sure there is nobody illegally parked. Unless there is a new tower there you can not get cell phone reception. There are some very, very shady characters who visit that area who have no concern for anyone other than themselves.
I am 100% willing to bet that if I visit that area next Saturday morning that there will be the same group of people drinking beer, smoking pot, and littering the area that have frequented that area for the past 15 years. While beautiful areas are within a two-mile hike of the pocket wilderness…please note that the above experience has soured me from ever visiting that area ever again. While I still have faith in the goodness of people, that situation has forever left me skeptical of the people living in that community.
Matthew Craigge
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I was a little taken aback by the vitriol in the letters regarding the Montlake Pocket Wilderness. I've been hiking in that area for most of my life and have never had a moment's difficulty with anyone there. It is a heavily used area now that it has signs, trail markings, parking areas and trash cans, so there is some litter here and there. However, the litter is smaller these days and is constituted mostly of general rubbish. It used to consist of tires, furniture, old cars and car parts and worn out appliances, so a few beer bottles is actually an improvement.
I've seen police cars in the parking lot, as well. Overall, I've always felt that it was a safe, well-marked and pleasant trail with differing levels of difficulty, providing an excellent opportunity to spend some time in the woods for any level of hiker or walker.
The blue hole in question is just a few yards away from the parking areas. It's not exactly wilderness, but is an easily accessible source of cool swimming water for those who don't have access to a pool. There is no community pool in Soddy Daisy, so a wide cross section of people in the area have always used that blue hole to cool down in the summer. There is no lifeguard and no supervision, so you get what you get when you swim there.
Of course, you can get on the trail that runs parallel to the creek and find several places to access cool pools of blue water, if you're willing to walk a small fraction of a mile. If you're willing to walk up the steeper trails, you can access the creek at a higher elevation and see a waterfall when there is enough rain to fuel it. The air is even a little cooler up the hill, and the shade keeps it from heating up too much.
In short, I urge those who feel that the most well-known blue hole is too crowded and the people there too unsophisticated to keep walking. There's plenty of space for everybody.
Dana Chadwell
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Mr. Hollingsworth, you are incorrect with your definite of what a redneck is: it is not someone who is lazy or selfish.
The term redneck refers to a person whose neck gets red from hard work.
Unfortunately, many people have misused this once admirable adjective and now apply it to anyone who is, as you say, lazy or selfish.
Sara Wilson
Chickamauga
Sarawilson527@gmail.com
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I have to admit that I somewhat agree with the man’s statement on the trash that congregates at the Blue Hole. I myself used to hang out there on the weekends and sometimes during the week, and I'm sure he would have referred to me as a "redneck", though I'm now a soccer mother of two, college graduate, and have been fairly successful in my life since the days of drunken escapades and teenage rebellion at the Blue Hole.
I seriously don't think he meant anything against "poor" people because Lord knows I've known more than my share of wealthy people who can cause more chaos on any given day than the poorest of poor (anyone read a story of Paris and Lindsey within the past two years?). I do believe that this gentleman had, in his own misguided way, the best of intentions. But I also believe that instead of writing an opinion letter to the Chattanoogan, it would serve better to write one to all the area papers and then contact Soddy Daisy City Hall (or other powers that be) to do something about it. Get together a volunteer group to clean the place up. People get together to clean Soddy Lake up, why not the Blue Hole? Instead of griping about it and spewing hatred and venom, do something about it.
Granted, it may not deter people from drinking or smoking pot or slamming their heads into rocks, but that's just human nature. Take it as it is. But the positive side to that is it could actually make some find another place to hang out, fearing the cleaning crew could bring the law with them at any given time. Not only that, the place will get a new look in the meantime.
I no longer live in Chattanooga, but it is my hometown, I travel back there quite frequently, and have very fond memories of many summer days spent at the Blue Hole in my youth. Try not to spoil it for those that you refer to "rednecks" because while some might just be what you think they are, reckless youth that are up to no good and will never amount to anything. Some might just be average ordinary kids out to have a good time doing what they know best, being teenagers. You never know, one of them might actually grow up to be productive members of society.
Jamie Plunkett
Huntsville, Al.
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Unfortunately, Mr. Hollingsworth is correct. The North Chickamauga Blue Hole has been trashed by ignorant people that don't care much for their community or the beauty that surrounds us.
The only thing that we can do to fix this is every time you go back take some trash bags and fill them up and carry the trash out. You have to lead by example.
There is no agency that comes along behind us and cleans up after us. We have to take control and be responsible stewards of our land. Maybe by our actions, others will learn. We can only hope.
Becky LeVally
Signal Mountain
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The discussion of what constitutes a "redneck" is clearly too confusing for many people, even citizens of the southeastern United States, where the term runs rampant in daily conversation. In response to Mr. Bowman, people with a lower income than Mr. Hollingsworth are not automatically lumped into the redneck society. Look, for example, at Britney Spears - I daresay she has more money than anybody posting on this topic, but she is undeniably a redneck. Her actions, glorified daily in tabloids and reputable newspapers alike, are the same as those taken by the "rednecks" at the Blue Hole.
That said, the question isn't really about what a redneck is, but what a redneck does. Plenty of people in every income bracket love NASCAR, beer, and swimming (and probably marijuana). Unfortunately, several of those people also show no respect for their peers or their environment. This once "admirable adjective" (which would be a noun since it refers to a person, Ms. Wilson) has been transformed into a derogatory term meaning poor and uneducated, a fallacy that I can personally dispel, as I know several wealthy, educated rednecks.
In summary, the easiest thing to do would be to learn to pick up after oneself, which seems to have passed the rednecks by. How about offering a few metal trashcans around the Blue Hole, to be emptied weekly? Give the litterers an option, at the very least. This really concerns the condition and protection of the wilderness, because said "rednecks" will continue to be rednecks wherever they go. A few simple steps, including the garbage pickup and more law enforcement, would make all the difference.
Drew Streip
dstreip@utk.edu
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Unfortunately, this isn’t the only place where this is happening and it’s been happening for years and years. I’ve seen it happening at the Soddy Daisy “Blue Hole” as well as the Suck Creek “Blue Holes” and I’m positive it happens at every blue hole in between.
My question to everyone is how do we resolve the problem? Saying something to the people, rednecks, like me, and the like, causing the problem could get you shot, stabbed, or beaten up; and there is little to no way that one or two people could make much of a dent on the problem without being accosted.
What I would love to see, of course, would be more foot/bike/horseback patrols and people being more responsible with and conscious of their surroundings, but without the patrols there is no one to enforce the problem.
I was a Boy Scout as a youth and know that I worked on a few community projects and it would be awesome to see some of our local troops head out and work on cleaning up the problem, but to be honest who would protect them and their Scoutmasters as they did the work?
People, please put you minds together, rally the troops, and let’s resolve this ongoing problem. There aren’t a plethora of these areas left in the world and we need to work on keeping those that we have safe and clean.
Jackson Daniel
Chattanooga
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Nothing different going on there! People have been going up there getting drunk and hurt ever since I was young. I'm almost 50. Two reasons you can't go to other watering holes we went to when I was that age.
Unfortunatley they could decide to close that one,. There is not enough funding for the parks now. This wasn't a park when I was young. You were on your own.
I know of at least two deaths which happened at other blue holes. They were closed.
I'm just glad they could drive the guy to the hospital instead of calling authorities in there. All that needs to happen is a rash of drunken injuries to start talk of shutting it down. Yeah, I would hate to be with a bunch like that and get hurt. Thank God there was someone who cared to help that guy who hit his head.
One way to get the lawless behavior out is find a local church to send some of the youth up there to witness. Nothing like a Bible to make people run! Something about truth, puts a damper on bad behavior. Who knows, might change one or two. And the next time we see them up there, they are picking up trash.
Then we can all enjoy God's creation the way it's suppose to be enjoyed. Help each other if someone got hurt and wouldn't be too drunk to make a good judgment on what to do. Imagine a park with no pervs lurking around, some drunk staggering up or your car broken into. Sounds like a garden to me.
Cindy Hammontree
balloonafair@comcast.net
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I took my stepson to the Blue Hole a few years back. I had never been there before. He had gone once with his father.
I will not go back myself, nor will I ever take him back there. The ones that were either swimming, smoking or drinking all looked like they were in middle/junior high school. I was around 35 at the time and I was clearly the oldest one there by several years and was triple some of their ages in some cases.
There was definitely pot smoking going on and whatever else some were doing in their little circles. We let him dive off of the rocks for a few minutes and then left.
I was disgusted at myself for going and exposing my eight-year-old stepson to this. The only reason that I went was because he wanted to go and I thought since he had been before it was an OK place. I was definitely wrong.
I sat there and looked around and thought if a child drinking slipped and fell and hit his/her head, how would anyone get them to safety in a reasonable timeframe. That place is so secluded that you can't even get a vehicle within at least 1-2 miles.
The police definitely need to patrol at least 1-2 times a day just for safety reasons. Then they could see what really goes on there.
David Turner
Chattanooga