Cumberland Trail Hall Road Trailhead

Jennifer and I met at the trailhead on Hall Road. The parking lot is good but the dirt road getting to it, not so good. There is no sign anywhere on the main road or this dirt road about the CT. We took our time, me nursing a sore back. But that helped us enjoy all the blooms and fungi.  Flame azalea, Mountain laurel, and Rhododendren were all blooming along with Magnolias. There was a magnolia that had fallen in the forest and we got a close up look at the blooms. These trees grow so tall that you usually don't see the blooms unless you are looking up.

This is from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy: In the upper watershed, the hike from the Hall Road access point to Barker Camp Road consists of 10 miles of trail that runs along North Chickamauga Creek above the Cain Creek Confluence. This section passes the legendary Helican Blue Hole.

Pictures:

Savage Gulf

Today Lora and I hiked at Savage Gulf. We hiked the Day Loop trail and three miles on the South Rim trail. Yesterday when we were at my parents home in Maryville we heard the Cicada's and today the woods were full of them. Made for a loud hike. We saw lots of flowers and the water was up for the waterfall. When we left you could see the Cicada's in the road that had been hit.

Pictures:

Lexington Virginia

Day 20

We drove to Natural Bridge SP and hiked the Natural Bridge trail including cascades, cave, and waterfall. We saw a couple of water snakes on the rock walls. Then we drove to the visitor center in Historic Lexington. From there we walked the town seeing the historic buildings, Washington Lee University, and Virginia Military Institute. We walked to the cemetery where Stonewall Jackson was buried. When we got back we did a little river time and later enjoyed a campfire. 

Day 21

We drove back to Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol VA for our last night of camping. 

Day 22 

We arrived back at our house after a wonderful trip!

Pictures:

New Market Virginia

Day 19

With time on our hands we took the scenic drive across the mountains between West Virginia and Virginia. We ended up at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. They were having an reinactment which was really cool. We visited with Surgen, cooks, blacksmith, fired cannons, troops shooting, and the museum. We made it to the Swedish Lilac campground in Vesuvius for the night. It's a really beautiful campground along the river. After visiting with the owners we went down to the river for a swim. 

Pictures:

Winchester Virginia

Day 17

Drove to Winchester Virginia and camped at Candy Hill campground. Relaxed at the pool, walked campground, and read at campground. Nice to relax

Day 18

Drove to Luray to find Lora's history. We found the house, the monument, and the old meeting house that her great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was involved in. The rock house is now a B@B thats on the James River. After that we went downtown to the visitor center, Singing tower, Little white house, and the Shenandoah Heritage Village. Then we drove back to Winchester. We saw Confederate Statue, Blues Brothers at the Historic Taylor Hotel, Fort Louden where we just missed an reinactment event but a guy showed us all the stuff he found in a dig on the fort property. We saw Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters, Library and had icecream at Red fox Creamery. 

Pictures:

Washing DC day two

Day 16

We had trouble with the Metro machine. Took VFE which did not stop at the Arlington cemetery so went to L'Enfant station. We went to the Archive building to see the paperwork. Declaration, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and more. Then we went to the Smithsonian of Natural History followed by the Smithsonian of US History which had the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry. After that we did the tour of the Ford Theater which included the house where Lincoln died. Really cool tour. Our last stop was Arlington Cemetery. We got there late and visited JFK Memorial and tomb. Finally we made it to the tomb of the unknown soldier where we watched the sentinel march. He stopped and faced us yelling THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER IS NOW CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC! RETURN TO THE VISITOR'S CENTER NOW! So away we went sadly.

Pictures: 

Washington DC

Day 14 and 15

It rained during the night and still sprinkling as we packed up to head West. We drove in the rain to Pohick Bay Regional Park just South of DC. It was too rainy to tour Mt. Vernon and they were doing work on the inside of his home. We got laundry done with short walks in between rain.

Wednesday was our first Washington DC day. We drove to VRE and missed tram. We took a bus to Springfield and caught tram there. We did a monument day seeing all the monuments by walking too far. The Washington monument was closed of course but after a little excitment we got a tour of the capital building. We had of course removed pocket knives, but we got busted for a pair of sissors in the first aid kit. Lora was trying to tell the security where the sissors were and he kept telling her DO NOT TOUCH THE BAG everytime she pointed. She was then excorted out of the building to the trash can to throw them away. While she was gone, someone walked by smelling like pot and all the agents got excited. I got accused of having pot in the backpack. He told me twice to go outside and throw the pot away. I kept telling them that I didn't have any. Anyway we finally got our tour in! 

Pictures:

Delaware- Magnolia and Dover

Day 13

We drove to Magnolia where I used to live to find our old house. We found the house and then went into town. After that we drove to Dover AFB to see the aviation museum which was closed. One gate was open so we walked through the desplayed aircraft. A guy drove up and let us know that we were not supposed to be there. My bad! We drove on to Dover and visited the First State National Historical Park also known as the Green. We walked to see all of the historic buildings and then toured the Capitol Building. Then we went to see the John Dickinson Plantation which was closed. We walked the grounds here as well. Then we went to St. Jones Reserve and hiked the boardwalk trail.

Pictures:

Delaware

Day 12

Drove up the coast of Delaware. We stopped to see Fenwick Island Lighhouse and buildings on Finwick Island. Then we stopped to see Discoversea Shipwreck Museum upstairs of Sea Shell City. It has an amazing collection of shipwreak items. We next stopped at Indian River Life Saving Station Museum in Delaware Seashore SP. After that we headed to Killens Pond SP for the first of two nights. Had pizza at Poliseno's.

Pictures:

Assateague Island National Seashore

Day 11

We drove to Snow Hill and over to Furnace Town to check it out. They were having a Furnace Fairies and Gnomes Festival. Had a lot of old buildings and it was the sight of an Iron Furnance. From there we headed back to Snow Hill and had lunch at Byrd City Park. They have an island there that they keep goats on. It's a beautiful park. Then we headed to Assateague Island National Seashore to see the wild horses and deer. We hiked the trails and boardwalks.

Pictures:

Chesapeake Bay

Day 10

We got up and drove across the 17 mile two tunnel Chesapeake Bay bridge. We stopped at the visitor center and walked to the Big Gun and overlook. We then drove to Eastville and toured the historic courthouse, court building, and debtors prison. After that we drove to Machipongo and visited the Barrier Island Center, an old poor house that is now  museum. They had a gas powered iron and a twisted chimney. We drove on to Pocomoke River SP to stay the next two nights. We hiked the trails and river area.

Pictures:

Kittyhawk

 

Day 9

We got up and headed to Kittyhawk. We toured the Wright Brothers Museum and ground including the monuments. Really cool! Then we went to the beach to check it out. Afterwards we headed back to Virginia Beach and checked out the Military Aviation Museum. We got to watch them deploy an old Mililtary plane, unfolding the wings and flying for us. An amazing amount of aircraft in one place. We made it back to the beach for sunset.

Pictures:

Norfolk Virginia

Day 8

We relaxed on the beach after our morning walk. After lunch we headed to the Norfolk waterfront. We toured the USS Wisconsin and then the Maritime Discovery Center. Afterwards we walked down to the Waterside District to see the ships. We saw the American Rover sailing ship, an aircraft carrier, a paddle boat, a tug, and another navy ship. This was our ship day. After supper we went back to the beach for the sunset when they started doing helicopter training over our heads.We saw the Blackhawk, the Chinook, and the Iroquois. 

Pictures:

Historic Williamsburg Virginia

Day 7

Lynelle took Melanie and family to airport while Lora and I headed out for Historic Williamsburg Virginia. We spent the day walking the streets, looking in musuems, and enjoying the history. After we wore ourselves out, we drove to First Landing SP in Virginia Beach for the first of three nights. We walked the beach and then headed back to the beach after dinner for the sunset. There were kayaks, barges, and cargo ships going by.

Pictures:

Historic Yorktown VA

Day Six:

Today we loaded up and headed to Historic Yorktown Virginia. We enjoyed the musuem at the welcome center, which had the original George Washington Tent used in battle. We then walked downtown Yorktown and along the river seeing history. We saw the Yorktown Victory Monument, Cornwallis Cave, and Watermen's musuem. We had lunch at the Yorktown Pub and icecream at the parlor on the river. We walked the Historic Main St on the way back. Mom and dad came over for dinner and then we headed over to their house and hung the chandelier.

Pictures:

Richmond Day 3

Day Five,

We met Nate and Perry for lunch at Bottoms Up Pizza. After lunch we walked along the Hazall and Kanawha canals. We saw the flood walls with gates and the tour boats that go along the canal. We split up after that. Lynelle and Jim took Lora and I to see the Historic Polegreen Church. Dinner at Lynelle's.

Pictures:

Richmond Day 2

Day 4

We took mom and dad to Cold Harbor Battlefield visitor center and walked the loop. After lunch we went to Maymont Park to see the Maymont mansion, buildings, and gardens. That was a must see! From there we walked to the Robins Nature Center to see animals. From there we stopped by Hollywood Cemetery and saw the graves of Jefferson Davis, James Monroe, and John Tyler. We went back to Lynelle's for dinner with mom and dad.

Pictures: 

Richmond

Day Three:

We met Jim down in Richmond on the James River. After lunch we left Jim and walked across both bridges. We did half of the trip around Belle Isle enjoying the view and some rock hopping. Got to see some wildlife as well. When we got  back across the river we toured the American Civil War Museum on Tredegar St. Lot's of local history. That evening we met Nate and Perry at Triple Crossing Brewery for dinner. We ended the day back at their house visiting.

Pictures:

Virginia Coast Trip

We started out with a trip to see my parents in Virginia where my daughter and grandchildren would also be. We planned a six day visit with an open ended trip afterwards. We ended up traveling 22 days going through Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington DC. It was a great trip all the way around and we saw many a thing!

Day One:

We left home and drove to Bristol Virginia where we stayed at Sugar Hollow Park for the night. We had stayed here before. It's a beautiful campground at a good price right off Hwy 81. We got in early enough for a walkabout before dinner and one to follow.

Day Two:

We got up and headed Monticello which I had done as a child and Lora had never been. We toured the house with an impressive guide and then toured the grounds on our own. We caught the Jefferson talk which was very cool. This guy knew his history! We headed out and made it to Mechanicsville in time for dinner which was prepared by mom. We took dad and mom home to see how they decorated and then went back to Lynelle's. Melanie and family flew in with her usual hour late arrival and I picked them up at the airport at 12:30pm. A late night for us, but regular time for them.

Pictures:

Washmorgan Hollow TTA

 Mark led a group of 17 hikers from 6 TTA chapters at Washmorgan Hollow Preserve area. The wildflowers were spectacular. This area is a 73 acre natural area in Jackson County and is owned by the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. The narrow winding ridges are separated by steep slopes that drop between 200 and 300 feet to the bottom of the hollow.  A waterfall is at the end of head of the hollow. It flows out of Washmorgan Hollow into Roaring River just below where the confluence  where Spring Creek enters Roaring River. There are large sycamore trees along the stream. The State Natural site says a large population of Synandra grows here in the spring. We didn't see that but did see so many other wildflowers. It was such a beautiful area and watching everyone find the different wildflowers was so fun. After this hike Mark took us to a privately owned area to hike the family farm. We saw 3 waterfalls and so many more wildflowers. Thanks to Mark for the great day of hiking with so many TTA friends and family. 

Pictures:

Piney River - Cumberland trail

Lora and I went to the Piney River Segment of the Cumberland trail checking out wildflowers. It was a beautiful day to be out. We hiked out to the suspension bridge and back.

 Pictures:

Roaring Creek Segment of the Cumberland Trail

Lora and I headed down to the Roaring Creek segment of the Cumberland Trail. We just hiked along the creek checking out the flowers. We followed the roadbed to the end and headed back before the rain set in.

 Pictures:

Old Stone Fort/Short Springs SNA

Joan and Will led 21 hikers on the trails at Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, Started out cold with everyone bundled up, well a except for one brave hiker wearing shorts, (not Craig) The wildflowers were showing their beauty today, the Virginia Bluebells are aways a treat to see.  The Duck River had flooded the area where the bluebells were and they were a little rough looking. But still beautiful. They grow where the Duck and Little Duck River come together.  

After this hike, I went to Short Springs SNA to see what was blooming on the Wildflower Loop. There were beauties everywhere! A really vibrant dark pink Spiderwort amongst all the dark purples. The loop was full of blooms, especially the red and white trilliums. Also found Jacobs Ladder. 

Pictures: 

Rock Island SP

We headed over to Rock Island Sate Park for the day. We parked at the Great Falls overlook and hiked up to the Collins River Nature trail. We ate lunch on a bench overlooking the Collins river. After we returned to the car we drove over and hiked the Bluff trail. We checked out the picnic area #2 overlook before we left.

Pictures:

North Chicamauga Creek SP

Today was the first time back at North Chick since they made it a State Park. Basically they put up signs and took away parking that they were already short of. The flowers were out and the weather was hot. 

Pictures:

Prater and Wheeler Farms

 

Lora and I decided to hike when it was too hot. To early in the Spring to be in the 80's. We went to the Wheeler Farm and then hiked Prater Farm. We got to see some turkeys that we didn't get pictures of. I got a quick swim in to cool off.

Pictures:

Wildflower Hike

Today we went to Leggett Road Lower trailhead and hiked in to see how the wildflowers were doing. Beautiful day and lots of butterflies.

Pictures:

Fall Creek Falls Upper Loop trail

Today we headed over to Fall Creek Falls to check out progress on the Upper Loop trail. We started at the bridge on 284 at Cane Creek. There is still some trees down on this section. They have done some work on the backcountry campground including new outhouses which needed to be done. We stopped at the missing swinging bridge over Cane Creek where they are working on putting a new one in. Slow progress, but it is progress.

Pictures:

Hinch Mt. Segment TTA Backpack

 

Murfreesboro TTA led a hike on the Hinch Mt. Segment of the Cumberland trail. We parked at the Head of the Sequatchie and shuttled 10 backpackers to Stinging Fork Falls to start the hike. This was a 16 mile backpack. This is a physically demanding hike through beautiful mountains. There are creeks, waterfalls, and different ecosystems. We got to see a large Great Horned owl which flew down right beside us on the trail and then landed in a tree. We camped along Soak Creek where the weather dropped down into the 20's. 

Hikers were Cynthia Skidmore, Kathy Stutts, Sara Pollard, Wendy Fish, Tammy Hendrick, Curt Thomas, Cindy Strang, Jean Breuer, and Craig and Lora McBride.

Pictures:

Laurel Falls Icicle Hike

What started as a short hike along the creek ended up a hike to Laurel Falls. The icicle were amazing to see on the cool day.

 Pictures:

Fall Creek Falls

Lora and I did some exploring today. Back in October while hiking the Paw paw trail we came across a guy working on clearing trees. He told us that they were clearing the Upper and Lower loop trails and hoped to have it open by December. 

We found the new trailhead for the Lower loop trail across from the old school house. It is blazed but not signed. It goes to the Paw paw trail and is signed to head North where it is signed again, but a closed sign is still there. Lots of trees down in that area. Going back to the School house we found a red blazed trail out back and took it. It connects to the old Upper Loop trail and it is cleared. We hiked it to the Rockhouse Creek where the bridge is out. It is laying just down stream. We are assuming that the trail is most likely cleared all the way through, but we will have do some more investigating. 

Pictures:

Hall Road Section of the North Chickamauga Creek

Today’s hike on the CT. Starting at the Hall Road trailhead which is on Old Anderson road. We hiked 3 miles in on the South end of the N. Chickamauga creek segment. We saw a salamander, a deer, and six hikers. Beautiful day to be out.

Pictures:

Lost Creek to Virgin Falls TTA

Joint hike Murfreesboro and Plateau TTA chapters, led by Sheila and Sara. 15 hikers hiked several uphill climbs to the beautiful Virgin Falls. Rylander Cascades had a great water flow. I saw leaves of hepatica and violets and Little Brown Jug getting excited about the warm weather. All the streams had water from the recent rain. Virgin Falls was beautiful today. Several of us hiked up to the top where the water flows out of a cave, and then climbed down the rocks to the trail heading back. Hikers from Murfreesboro: Joe, Jay, Sara, Tony, Craig, Lora. 

Pictures:   

Chickamauga Battlefield TTA

Dave led 21 hikers from Scenic City on a 4.5 mile hike. The east loop from the Visitor Center parking lot was an easy hike, very little elevation change. We hiked across the main road and followed the Yellow Trail south to the site of Jay's Mill at Brotherton Road, passed many war monuments. We made our way to the headquarters of General Bragg, who let the Confederate Army to victory in this battle. Then the Red Trail back to the Visitor Center. It was a beatiful day, visiting with some long time friends. After the hike a group of us enjoyed lunch at Parkway Restaurant. 

Pictures:

Soddy Gorge to Hwy 111

 

Today's hike started at Big Soddy Creek Gorge on Back Valley Road in Soddy. We took the Jim Adams' trail and Board Camp Creek trail to the Cumberland trail and headed North to Hwy 111. We met Jim and Ruth on the way in on Jim Adams' trail. It was a beautiful day for hiking and we only saw four people on the CT. Board Camp Creek Gorge is always beautiful and hiking along the Creek the whole way. There was some ice on the trail which was challenging along the rock walls. On our way back we saw two does crossing the trail.

Pictures:

Mowbray Pike Trailhead CT

Found the new parking lot on Mowbray Mountain Road for this segment of the Soddy Creek Gorge South. Saw huge boulders where the climbers play. Lots of rock walls and small stream crossings. One bridge crossing over the biggest creek. The overlook at Indian Rockhouse was pretty and we went thru the Little Stone Door. Hiked into the area where the coal mining was done. Crossed the strip mine trench, up to Clemmons Point, then back out. On the way out we got to see an armadillo off the side of the trail. The climbers were all around the boulders, as we hiked back thru. 

Hiked about 8 miles.

Pictures:

White Oak Mountain TTA

 

I met up with the Scenic City TTA at the Southern Adventist University in Collegedade. They have a well maintained trrail system. We hiked the Big Red Loop, on the wooded ridge. My GPS led me to the overflow parking, so I drove around a little and found the trailhead but the parking lot was full. There are restrooms at the trailhead. It started out cold and frosty, everyone in hats and gloves. We warmed up climbing the ridge side. 21 hikers. We started to smell the sweet aroma emanating from the Little Debbie factory. We also encountered pretty beech trees and frozen fungi. We got a good workout with approximately five miles of switch backs and ups and downs. At the end of the hike Carl offered us homemade toffee, delicious. 

I stopped to take pictures of the carved stone sculpture of Elijah and Elisha, called Passing the Mantle.

Thank you to Julie for leading the hike.

Pictures:

Chilly Chili Hike

The Marietta Poteet’s 25th annual and last Chilly Chili Hike. There were 44 people who hiked and about 65 people for chili.  We met at the Sewanee Gates at the Shakerag trailhead and hiked Shakerag Hollow on the Sewanee Perimeter trail and returned on the Beckwith Point trail. The hike was about 3.5 miles. After the hike we went to Marietta's home in Clifftops to enjoy chili and all the fixins. We also had a champagne toast for Jim Poteet, Marietta's husband who passed away last summer and organized the first chili hike. There were hikers from several chapters - Highland Rim, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Sumner Trails, Scenic City, and Columbia Franklin. Hikers from our Murfreesboro chapter were Jay Brain, Anna Lina Buckley, Joe Campbell, Lora McBride, Sara Pollard, Georganne Ross, Lynn Rosser, Tim Rosser, Martina Terrazas and her son Eduardo.

Pictures:

Stinging Fork on the Cumberland trail

 

Today's hike started at Stinging Fork and then we headed South on the Cumberland trail. This is a very pretty section of the CT. It was a little chilly this afternoon, but worth it.

Pictures:

Cumberland Mountain State Park

Byrd Trail .5

Pioneer Short Loop 1.8

Pioneer Trail 2.55

Total 4.85

New year's day hike at Cumberland Mountain SP. We hiked from the Ranger Station down around the lake. Lot's of people out today and the weather was great.

 Pictures: