Barfield Park

Lynn Rosser led 6 hikers on the Marshall Loop trail at Barfield Crescent Park. Two of the hikers had recently moved here and one has been living in Murfreesboro for less than a year. We started behind the Wilderness Station, and we followed the West Fork Stones River along the trail and stopped for a break before heading back on the paved section. There was very little water in the river and Tammy was able to identify some wildflowers for us. Hikers were Karen Bailey, Jay Brain, Tammy Gross, Guizho Hollandsworth, Connie Matthles, Sara Pollard and Lynn Rosser. 

Tims Ford Lake Camping and Kayaking

We had 6 campers to kayak for camping on Little Island at Tims Ford Park Lake. This joint adventure with the Highland Rim chapter started out Friday evening. After dinner we paddled around the neighboring Big Island twice at sunset. Friday night there was a storm with lightning, thunder and heavy rain. Saturday morning, we had to wait until the afternoon to paddle because of the constant rain. We had dinner at the Twin Creeks Marina and enjoyed the nighttime paddle back to our campsite and were able to have a campfire.  Sunday morning three of us paddled to the Tims Ford State Park Marina and enjoyed eating ice cream. Campers/kayakers were Jim Barritt, Jean Breuer, Wendy Fish, Sara Pollard, Georganne Ross and Amy Sutton. 

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Woods Reservoir Paddle

We had 15 kayakers and one person on a sailboat at Woods Reservoir located at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) near Tullahoma. This was a joint event with the Highland Rim chapter, and we had members from the Scenic City and Sumner Trails chapters as well.  It was a beautiful day, and we put in on Brumlow Creek and paddled the shoreline of Elder Island.  We enjoyed lunch under a nice picnic, and also passed the UT Space Institute, officers' club and beach area.  Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Cathy Conley, Chuck Deen, Patty Deen, Wayne Drown, Ron Dunn, Joan Hartvigsen, Scott Jordan, Sarah Lovett, Sara Pollard, Julie Roberts, Georganne Ross, Lynn Rosser, Todd Stanley, Suzanne Thigpen, and Michel Travers on his sailboat.

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Walls of Jericho

We had a small group of hikers today but we enjoyed the 8 mile round trip to the Walls of Jericho. We started on the Tennessee side, hiked to the "walls",  had lunch and returned on the shorter trail to the Alabama trailhead. We encountered several downed trees over the trail but managed to get over and under them. Water levels were low and only one of us (Jim) went to the second waterfall which he said was dry. This trail was designed by the late Jim Schroeder of our chapter. Hikers were Jim Barritt, John Earthman, Sara Pollard, and Cynthia Skidmore.

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Flat Rock Cedar Glades SNA

We had 20 hikers on this joint hike with the Columbia/Franklin chapter. Chris Hoffman organized the hike and made lunch reservations at Jefferson's on Main Street in Murfreesboro. Sara Pollard was co leader. We had hikers from several areas of Tennessee. We saw lots of beautiful wildflowers and passed a massive sinkhole. Directional signs were lacking and there were several side trails that could be confusing. Hikers were Jessica Andrews, John Beckman, Anna Lina Buckley, Maureen Byrd, Joe Campbell, Cindy Charest, Marlene Cobos, Debra Dodd, Katy Ginanni, John Gizelar, Anne Harper, Chris Hoffman, Karen Jones, Sandy Lewis, Gary Patterson, Sara Pollard, Carol Rolfes, Sean Spidle, Vera Spidle, and Brian Tormey. 

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Barren Fork and Collins River Paddle

There were 14 kayakers from 4 different chapters who kayaked the Barren Fork & Collins River in McMinnville. We dropped off our kayaks at the put in at Pepper Branch Park and took our vehicles to the takeout. The takeout was in the old VFW parking lot, but the building is no longer there. The parking lot is huge and there's no charge to park there. We had some fun ripples on the Barren Fork and got out a couple of times to enjoy the cool water. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Cathy Conley, Wendy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Tony Jones, Nancy Juodenas, Kerri Meeks, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, Julie Roberts, Georganne Ross, John Ruth, Suzanne Thigpen,  and Michel Travers. 

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Elk River Paddle - Sara

We had 12 kayakers to paddle the Elk River with the Highland Rim chapter on a hot day in July. We put in downstream from Tims Ford Dam and paddled 8 miles to Ferris Creek Bridge. The water was very cold but felt great in the 90-degree weather. There was a mist on the water which gave the river an eerie look. We saw folks fly fishing, turtles, cows, and geese. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Joe Campbell, Cathy Conley, Windy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Tom Hartvigsen, Marcia Medford, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, Georganne Ross, Lynn Rosser and John Ruth.

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