Benton Falls & Slick Rock 9.24.2024

 This Tuesday morning, 14 hikers met on Chilhowee Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest in Benton, TN.  It was a good morning for a hike with mostly overcast skies, keeping the temperature around 70 degrees and the enjoyment of occasional breezes, especially as we started the hike.  The group started with a 1.5 mile trek down to the falls.  While the falls were nice to see, the water flow was scarce (see picture).  Making our way back to the main trail, we continued hiking parts of the Clemmer & Laurel Loop Trail, which was mostly easy to moderate.  We then veered off, proceeded further west, on the northern part of the Slick Rock Loop trail. Here we got the cardio going & enjoyed some elevation gains.  The westward end of this trail is more like a logging road that intersects with Oswald Road, which is the main road up to the Chilhowee Rec Area.  We walked along the road to the Gazebo Overlook, enjoying a break and snack, while taking in the awesome views.  The final journey was a .7-mile hike on the Gazebo trail, which took us around the campground, McCamy Lake & back to the parking lot/trailhead. Total hike was about 6.1 miles with 550’ elevation gain. Hikers included TTA Scenic City members: Tim Booth (hike leader), Lee Prichard, Tom McNally, Earl Helmer, Walter Harrison, Dave Graham, Lucy Cahill, Bonnie Norton, Ginny Kidd, Bob Anderson, Tom McElhone, Betsy Darken and Sue Christensen.  One visitor – Lynn Clark (Lee Prichard’s mother).  Afterwards, many on the hike enjoyed a late lunch at either El Maguey or Thai Chili Asian in Ooltewah, TN.

The total distance for this hike was 6.1 miles with a time of 3:38 minutes.  If you would like to see some photos taken during this hike click here.  

 Don't burn bridges, just loosen the bolts a little every day.

 

Frozen State Park 9.21.2024

 Three hikers enjoyed a warm but beautiful Saturday on the trails in Frozen Head State Park. We tackled a tough hike by taking it nice & slow with plenty of breaks. The trek is a 9-mile out-and-back hike with approximately 2,000 feet of elevation gain & rated moderate in difficulty. Sometimes, you wonder who rates these trails?! This one sure feels difficult at times as you climb the mountain!

Our path began at the Panther Branch Trailhead. From there, we made our way to Debord & Emory Gap Falls. With the lack of recent rain, both waterfalls were dry. We will need to repeat this hike again in the winter or early spring when these waterfalls are flowing beautifully. After exploring the falls, we made our way up Panther Branch Trail until it intersected with the North Old Mac Trail. We took that to the W. Lookout Tower Trail. We stopped for lunch at the Tub Springs Campsite.

At lunch, we discussed some history about our hike site… how a notorious prisoner & jail break inspired an ultramarathon in the mountains of Frozen Head State Park. James Earl Ray, the man convicted of killing Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary located at the foot of the mountains inside Frozen Head State Park. In 1985, he & a few other prisoners managed a very daring escape. However, authorities found Ray in the Frozen Head mountains. He had managed to only get 8 miles away in almost 60 hours of escape. This inspired a very eccentric man to start an ultramarathon in the mountains of Frozen Head. Elite runners from all over the world compete each spring to try to complete 5 grueling loops of 20+ miles each… 100 miles total in under 60 hours. They aren’t running on real trails either. They must make their way through brush & overgrowth & are often bruised & bloodied by the time they finish. If you would like to know more about this grueling race, be sure to watch the documentary The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.

Finally, we made our way up the final steep section to reach the Lookout Tower. There, we were met with gorgeous sweeping views of the valley below. We could also see the huge wind turbines located on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County at Wind Rock Park. 18 turbines there produce enough power for approximately 3,800 homes in the area. Some of these turbines stand 260 ft. tall with blades that span a whopping 135 ft!

We made our way back down the mountain & had a lovely dinner at a good Italian restaurant in downtown Wartburg. It was a beautiful day for a great hike, great conversation, & a good meal with hiking friends!

If you would like to see some really nice pictures taken during this hike, click here.  

Never trust a train.  They have Loco Motives.