Lookout Mountain

12.30.10  4.9 miles  Nancy Jo and Earl.  It was rather cool and blustery when we started out from the parking lot at Craven's House.  Since we haven't been on these trails we asked a local Ranger for some information on which trail was which.  We started in a Southerly direction on the Mtn. Beauty Trail and connected to the Bluff Train and finally returned to the parking lot on the Craven's House Trail.  After returning to the Craven's House we walked down the drive to the Hardy Trail and walked it for about a mile.  We didn't get any rain, but we did get some sleet, but not enough to dampen our spirits.  I would rate the trails as moderate except for the Hardy Trail which is easy.  For pictures click on the Lookout Mountain Tab. 

Stringers Ridge

12.23.10  2.5 miles  Nance Jo, Caroline & Earl explored more of Stringer's Ridge.  It was a cold beautiful day for this hike.  Stringer's Ridge has many many interconnecting trails so we decided to explore some of them.  After wandering around for a couple of hours we had pretty well explored the SW corner of the Ridge.  We found the foundations and remains of two old homes, one of which was made mostly out of logs. Next time we will explore further into the Ridge.  After hiking we went to Tubby's and had a good lunch.  Caroline and Nance Jo went on to explore the Blue Blazes train at Moccasin Bend.  For pictures click on the Stringer's Ridge tab above.

Enterprize South

12.21.10  Caroline W.  Nance Jo O.  Earl H.  It was a dark and rainy day when we set forth on our first visit to Enterprize South and their new trail system.  It is going to be interesting to see if they can achieve there goal of keeping walkers, runners and cyclists separate from each other and from cars.  If they catch a runner on the road, they pick him up and bring him back to the trailhead!  The trails are very good and wide.  They are designed for two across walking.  Although damp and rainy we had a good time on the trail.  Following the hike we had the opportunity to discuss the trails with Lee Greenwood, manager of the Visitor Center.  Of course we offered our suggestions.  The trails we took went 4.3 miles and I would rate as easy.  Two view pictures click of the tab above or here.

Retro Hughes

12.15.10  Nance Joe, George & Earl hiked toward the fiberglass bridge off of Retro Hughes Rd.  The temp was about 25F and overcast.  Due to a slight mixup, George hiked in first to the bridge.  Nance Joe and Earl later met him as he was coming back.  At this point we had lunch and started back.  It was a good hike that I would rate as moderate.  Distance was 5miles.  Mary, if you happen to read this, it's too bad you didn't make this hike as it would have given you a good workout. 

Cloudland Canyon Post

12.11.10  Nance Joe, Mary and Earl had a very nice hike at Cloudland Canyon.  We followed the west loop which was clearly marked in yellow.  It would be very difficult to get lost on this trail as it seemed that every other tree was marked in yellow.  The weather was cool and overcast, but not hazy.  This allowed for some great views from the overlooks.  We did not see any deer until we were driving out of the park when a lone deer was seen quite close to the road.  The distance was approximately four miles and I would rate this trail as easy.

Rock Creek Loop

12.4.10  Mary C. Nancy Jo O. George B. & Earl H.  We enjoyed a visit from Mary from Nashville.  Unfortunately, we couldn't show her a very nice day as it was cool and rainy.  We did enjoy the hike as all were prepared for the weather.  Unfortunately this same weather precluded any picture taking.  We clearly saw where fire had scarred the lower portion of the loop.  You could still smell the fire.  Rock Creek was flowing nicely and Mary enjoyed seeing the rapids. 

Chick Battlefield

12.01.10  Nance Jo, Bob M. & Earl hiked a clearly marked set of trails within Chickamauga Battlefield Park.  The original hike was to be about five miles, but due to rain the previous couple of days, a couple of the planned trails led us directly to what would be normally easily crossable creeks, but now were overflowing.  This resulted in our back tracking and taking some unplanned trails.  The resulting distance was 7.7miles.  It was a beautiful day and even with the delays, it was a throughly enjoyable hike.  We even saw a lot of deer.  I would rate the hike as easy.  For pictures, see tab "Chickamauga Battlefield" above.

Point Park & Incline

11.27.10  Nance Jo O. & Earl H.  This was a combination of exploring and riding.  We first took the Incline Railway to the top of Lookout Mountain and from their walked to Point Park.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  The views from the Incline and from the observation points within Point Park were probably the best I have ever seen.  While in Point Park, we located the beginnings of trails that leave the park and meander around the mountain.  All I can say is "Ya should have been there".

Blue Blazes

11.22.10  George B. & Earl H. hiked this easy 1.6 mile trail.  The day was overcast as can be seen in the pictures.  This trail is one of those where you can just calmly walk and enjoy the surroundings without anyone bothering you.  Very delightful.

Clear Branch Blazing

Bob, George, Earl, Larry, Erin and two volunteers, Amy and Nyssa.  We teamed up with the CCC for this hike.  What a great day!  I was a long hike, about 8.9 miles, but worth it.  The temperature was perfect for a long hike.  We began blazing as the Clear Branch loop cut off and eventually blazed all of Clear Branch.  There is another loop that takes off from Clear Branch which we started to blaze.  Since Clear Branch was blazed in a single blue strip, we decided to blaze the secondary loop in two verticle blue stripes.  We were unable to finish this secondary loop as the day was fading fast.  View pictures by clicking above or here.

Stringers Ridge

The hikers were Nance Jo O., Bob M. and Earl H..  We decided to hike Stringers Ridge and since we had already hiked a portion of it previously, we decided to try a different route.  The weather was overcast and slightly cool.  As the hike progressed we ran across some dog walkers and a group of trail runners.  A note of interest...Stringers Ridge is composed of many interlaced trails.  While it is hard to get truly lost, trying to navigate by map proved nearly impossible.  We decided that we will take a couple more hikes to the area and try some of the other trails and try to put together a GPS map of the ridge. 

Raccoon Mtn. River Gorge and Megawatt Trails

This hike consisted of E. Helmer, Nance Jo O., Bob Mc. Carol & Dave Sheppard and finally the hike leader George B.  The weather was absolutely perfect with the temperatures in the mid 70s and with only scattered high clouds.  Even though the trail was not well marked, George knew exactly where he was going and guided us perfectly.  We saw a dear close up near the beginning of the trail and the views of the river were beautiful.  A couple of offroad bicylists were on the trail but we managed to stay out of each others way.  I would rate the trail as easy with a short moderate hill at the end.  To see pictures click here or on the Raccoon tab above. 

Raccoon Mtn. Laurel Point Trail

On this somewhat chilly day, we joined an event sponsored by the Tennessee River Gorge Land Trust (TRGT).  Nancy Jo O., and Earl H., hiked with members of the TRGT and members of the Chattanooga Hiking Club.  There were approximately 30! people on the hike.  Originally approximately 50 people had signed up, but the cool weather kept some away.  The hike was about 4.1 miles with the option of taking a short cut at the halfway point that would reduce the length of the hike by half.  The hike lasted just over two hours with an average hiking speed of 2.8mph.  We had a couple of brief stops at overlooks but the rest of the hike was at a very quick clip.  At the very beginning we saw a buck with antlers bounding across the trail entrance.  I would rate the hike as easy.

Harrison Bay State Park

Nance Jo O., Bob M. and Earl H. hiked the 4.5 mile Harrison Bay State Park early on the morning of the 3rd of Nov.  The day was chilly and overcast.  Most of the hike was dry except right near the end when a very light drizzle started.  HBSP is always a delightful hike as the views of Harrison Bay are beautiful.  Even with the overcast we still had excellent views as can be seen in the pictures.  The highlight of the hike was seeing White Tail Deer on two occassions.  I would rate this trail as easy. 

Maintenance at Barker Camp

Earl H. and Caroline W., along with members of the Chickamauga Creek Conservancy and other volunteers, placed coconut husk logs at appropriate locations along an old logging road to help prevent silting of the local creeks (Cain Creek).  The logs are designed to allow some water to flow through them but to prevent silt from continuing to flow down the road.  After placing and securing the logs so they would not be washed away, we had a BBQ down by the creek hosted by Larry and Erin of the CCC.  Many thanks to them!

Raccoon Mountain

10-27-2010
David and Carol Sheppard, Nancy Jo, McBob, George B. and Earl H. spent the morning hiking on Raccoon Mountain.  We took both the Laurel Point Trail and the South Rim Trail.  The day started out cool and overcast.  We used the shuttle system so that we would not have to back track.  About 3/4 of the way through the hike it began to sprinkle just enough to require rain ware, but not enough to dampen anyone's spirits.  By the time we finished the hike, the rain had let up.  Following the hike we had a short chapter meeting to determine destinations of some future hikes.  I would rate the trail as easy.

Springer Mountain Hike

10-23-10
Carol Sheppard, George B., Bob M., Nance Jo O., Sarah H. & Earl H. spent a beautiful day first hiking to the Southern terminus of the Applachian Trail and then a portion of the actual Applachian Trail.  The drive to the parking area at Springer Mountain Georgia was long, but worth it.  The Fall colors made the drive through the mountains very beautiful.  We initially hiked from the parking area up Springer Mountain to the Terminus and then returned to the parking area. The view from the Terminus was spectacular.  This distance was 1.8 miles.  After a brief rest in the parking area, we decided to hike a little further on the trail.  The day was beautiful and required nothing but a light shirt once the hiking commenced.  We continued the hiking down the trail to an overnight rest area (see photo) where we took a snack break.  The trail was very active with quite a few other hikers, a couple of runners and a Boy Scout Troup.  Since this part of the trail had been almost all down hill, we decided that we would start our return and be back in time to have an early dinner at one of the local eateries.  The total distance of the hike was 5.5 miles.  As it turned out we had a delightful outside BBQ dinner and a fun drive back home.  I would rate this hike as moderate. 

Mowbray Pike Trailhead Parking

These three pictures show the new Mowbray Trail Head parking lot. TDOT is in the next to last stage before paving. The info. provided is that the parking will be paved early next week and ready for parking shortly thereafter.

Earl

Hike at Booker T. Washington State Park

October 20, 2010

Nance Jo Ogozalek, Bob McGavock, Sara & George Bonneau and Earl Helmer hiked the 5.6 mile nature trail at Booker T. Washington SP.  The day and weather turned out perfect.  It started out a little cloudy in the morning but quickly became sunny and a near perfect temperature for hiking.  This was the first time we had hiked this trail and would rate it as an easy 6 miler.  The trail meandered through a beautiful fall forest then down by Chickamauga Lake for a nice view of fall folige and the beautiful lake.  This trailed is shared with off road bicyclists but there were none to be seen today, only a couple of joggers. 

Black Mountain

HIKE REPORT

For Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Earl Helmer, Robertson (Bob) McGavock, and Nance Jo Ogozalek enjoyed a beautiful fall day with an 11.3 mile hike on the Cumberland Trail (CT) on Wednesday, October 13, 2010.  We hiked to Snow Falls and Buzzard Point on the Laurel – Snow Segment of the CT just west of Dayton, Tennessee.  The fall colors of the trees have begun to turn and the yellows, oranges, and reds were beautiful.  We had lunch under the power lines at Dunn Overlook and thoroughly enjoyed the view of the mountains and the gorge below.  Unfortunately, the dry summer has left Morgan Creek almost dry and as such, water was barely trickling over the falls.  Native wildlife observed were several snails.  Many trees are down over several sections of the trail which will require chain saws to clear.  Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/elhelmer/PocketWildernessBuzzardPoint?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOvuau5kqiT7wE#