Sara Pollard led a hike at the Stones River Battlefield in Murfreesboro. We watched the 9-minute video in the Visitors Center about the Civil War battle in the area before starting our hike. It was a warm day, but we were able to stay in the shade most of the time. After the hike, Evonne Drown, Wayne's wife joined us for lunch at the Red Robin Restaurant. Hikers were Jay Brain, Anna Lina Buckley, Betsy Dozier, Wayne Drown, Sheila Finney and Sara Pollard.
National Trails Day today. I lead a group of hikers on some trails at Tim’s Ford SP. We did the Lost Creek Overlook Trail, Evans Point Trail to Devils Den Cave, had lunch, then hopped on Marble Plains and finished on the paved trail back to the visitor center. Weather was good although it was a warm day. After the hike, I drove to Lynchburg to let Alan and Hannah do shopping and we ate at the Barrelhouse BBQ. I have added photos from Alan and another hiker John Gizelar from TTA Sumner chapter.
It was decided to paddle the 7.5-mile loop to see the partly, submerged graves in Nickajack Lake. We started at the Bennett Lake boat ramp off Highway 27 and paddled along the shore into Mullens Cove to find two graves. Residents were buried here in the 1800s before this part of the Tennessee River was dammed. TVA placed riprap around the graves to prevent waves from knocking the headstones over. It was a warm day and water weeds were thick in places along the lake. Kayakers were Jean Breuer, Sara Pollard and Joan Hartvigsen
We had a cool and windy day to hike Sherwood Forest and a short section of the new Pack Hollow trail led by Sara. Sherwood Forest and Pack Hollow are in the Head of the Crow State Park near Sewanee. The Pack Hollow trail still being built and will eventually end at Buggy Top. We passed the natural bridge and didn't have the views we normally do in winter because of the tree foliage. We enjoyed lunch at the Mountain Goat Market in Monteagle after the hike. Hikers were Jay Brain, Chuck Deen, Patty Deen, Peggy Harris, Joan Hartvigsen, Sara Pollard, Jan Safavi, and Cynithia Skidmore.
We had 12 hikers for our trip to the Blue Heron area of the Big South Fork. The predicted weather report kept some campers away but it only rained for a few minutes Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon. We hiked the Blue Heron loop on Wednesday and celebrated Marietta's birthday at our community meal that evening. Thursday, we drove to Yahoo Falls, hiked the loop and then on to Markers Arch. We also hiked the Natural Arch in the Daniel Boone National Forest. After packing up Friday morning, we visited the Blue Heron Mining Community and Split Bow Arch. We saw lots of wildflowers and an abundance of Mountain Laurel.
