Chattanooga National Cemetery 10.29.2024

 Nineteen Scenic City History lovers gathered at the Chattanooga National Cemetery for a history Walk to honor those veterans who served and to learn more of the complex role this area served in the Civil War.  We looked over the Chattanooga from the spot General Grant watched the Battle of Lookout Mountain. We visited grave sites of the first Medal of Honor winners who were involved in Andrews Raiders great locomotive chase as well as other heroic soldiers who died more recently.  

If you would like to see a couple more pictures taken this day, click here.  

John's Mountain 10.22.2024

Beautiful day, beautiful hikers!  Fourteen of us trekked up and around Johns Mountain in North Georgia.  No one turned back at the stone steps climbing u[ the side of the mountain, but there was a lot of huffing and puffing.  The snack at the top and the views made up for the effort.  Unfortunately, the hike on the northeast side of the mountain was quite the ascent too.  Finally, we arrived at the second observation deck and some of the hikers found out that they could have driven to this overlook!  Not a problem for these hardy hikers, as we picked our way through some boulders walking down the mountain.  Next stop, Keown Falls, which dripped into the nice rock house.  Another mile or so and we completed our double loop trail.  We hiked about 5.5 miles with 1000 foot elevation gain.  

If you would like to see some great photos taken during this hike, click here.  

What disease did cured ham actually have?  

Raccoon Mountain 10.19.2024

How did Raccoon Mountain get its name? Apparently from the many raccoons living on the top of the mountain. We didn’t see any raccoons but were greeted by a deer family and an owl gliding through the forest. The hikers started at Laurel Point. We traveled up and down the River Gorge section to the base of the rocky dam. Next the Megawatt trail wandered through the woods to the Visitor Center The center was closed but we enjoyed the beautiful lookout of the river valley while munching on our lunch. On the return trip we finished the hike by walking the Electric Ave trail, which was easy, flat & pine-needle covered. The moderate trail was 8.75 miles with an elevation gain of 1.168 feet.

If you would like to see some great pictures including a great picture of a Barred Owl, click here.  

 If you see this vehicle driving in an unsafe way, please don't call us, It increases our insurance.

Signal Mountain 10.12.2024

  It appears the fall schedule of hiking has arrived. We had all donned jackets at the  beginning of the hike. I believe it was in the 40's when we departed the trailhead. It felt like fall had truly arrived. Most of this hike I had not been on previously. I did pre-hike  the first half of this hike on Friday because I could not find a trailhead on the Signal  Mountain trails map. Betsy was nice enough to accompany me on the pre-hike. It  turned out the trailhead is unmarked just north of Middle Creek on Edwards Point road.  Just about all of this hike is in Pentice Cooper Park, which explains the fact that it is  poorly blazed. You really need Alltrails on your phone or a GPS to know where you are  on the first mile or so of the trails leading to the Orange/Yellow Trail. One plus which  helps, is the first mile or so of the trail follows Middle Creek. So if you think you have  wandered too far off trail, if you make your way over to the creek, you probably will run into the trail that leads up to the Orange Trail or the Orange/Yellow Trail. From this  point on, the trails are sort of blazed well enough to make your way up to the Blue Loop  Trail. As I said, the first mile or so of the hike, follows Middle Creek and is rocky and  cris-crosses other trails that rock climbers have established as they made their way to  climb the nearby bluffs.

 So about a mile of following Middle Creek, we got on the Orange Trail and headed  north until we got on the Orange/Yellow Trail where we continued hiking north toward  the Blue Loop Trail. We crossed Edwards Point Road and reached the Blue Loop Trail.  We hiked counter clockwise on the Blue Loop Trail and made our way to where we had  staged vehicles at Shackleford Ridge Park. Three of the four hikers decided at this point that 6+ miles of this hike was enough for the day. So we called it a day and Betsy went  on to hike some more.

 I would rate this a moderately difficult hike. It was a great fall hike and would make  a greater hike when done when the forests have reached their peak colors later in the  fall. 

If you would like to see some photos taken during this hike, click here.  

An ELECTION is a process of choosing who will spend your money.  

Sewanee, 10.8.2024

 15 hikers ventured out on a crisp autumn morning for a hike through the woods in the always-beautiful Sewanee area. We started at the Memorial Cross & made our way out to Bridal Veil Falls, and we had perfect weather for it. In fact, the chill of fall was in the air with a starting temperature just around 50-degrees. But, it didn’t take long for us to warm up on the trail & quickly start shedding our jackets. Before we reached Bridal Veil

Falls, we experienced another small but beautiful unnamed waterfall. When we reached the main attraction of the hike, we found Bridal Veil Falls a little light on water flow but still so pretty with water dripping down a top cascade into a pit below creating a second cascade. After taking time to eat a snack & talk a bit, we made our way back to the Perimeter Trail from the falls. That’s easier said than done! When you’re walking to the falls, you aren’t paying attention to the fact that most of the spur trail is downhill. But, oh boy, do you notice it on the way out! There are several long uphill stretches to tackle. Some hikers decided to call it a day here & headed back on the Perimeter Trail to the Memorial Cross & their cars. For them, the hike was 4.6 miles with 672 ft. of elevation gain.

Six hikers decided to push on & add another loop to the hike… this time making their way out to the picturesque Lake Cheston. The trail to & from the lake is rated easy and makes for a great walk through the woods. The lake is so pretty & peaceful. After taking a lap around the lake, we made our way back to the Perimeter Trail & back to the Memorial Cross & our cars. The hikers who chose the longer route completed 7.3 miles with 1,000 ft. of elevation gain.

After the hike, several of us went to the Mountain Goat Market for a tasty meal. That place is always busy & for a reason… the food never disappoints!

Hikers included: Jennifer Davis (hike leader), Sandra Wenden, Gerry Honeck, Marti Owensby, Roy Owensby, Tammy Hendrick, Ginny Kidd, Lucy Cahill, Bonnie Norton, Dorothy Hill, Tom McNally, Earl Helmer, Linda Keown, Tom McElhone, & Walter Harrison. 

If you would like to see some photos taken during this hike, click here or on the group picture above.