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In February, the Northwest Tennessee chapter elected to return to the site of their first hike one year earlier. One year's difference made for a marked contrast between the two days. In February 2000, we were greeted by 65 degree weather and the streams were dry. This year, it had rained hard the day before (one could see where pine straw and leaves had been washed down the trail), and a cold front had come through overnight making for a chilly walk. The folks gathering at the trail head just behind the interpretive center had a magnificent view of the Tennessee River as they started out down a ridge line that is marked by a lot of exposed bedrock. It descends gradually until it reaches the bottom land for the first time. This section is marked by several stream crossings at least in wet years. It was actually quite chilly as the sunlight was so weak in February that it barely penetrated the woods, and the noontime high was around 35 degrees. Sometimes one can see dear and wild turkeys on this trail, but not today. After meandering down towards the Tennessee River, the trail begins a steep incline to the Boy Scout Shelter after 2-3 miles. This is where we stopped for lunch. Now Chris Fox, our hike leader had injured his ankle while hiking at Fiery Gizzard a couple weeks before, so the group, decided to take the shorter route (5 miles) on this day. About 1/2 mile from the shelter, the trail meets up with an old road, that roughly follows the ridge line until it does a sharp descent before climbing once again to the parking lot at the interpretive center. The hike was nicer than I remembered it from the year before. A couple weeks later I decided to return for the longer 8 mile hike in preparation for a backpacking trip I was to take to the Grand Canyon in March. If one takes a right turn where the trail from the shelter meets the road, one wanders along a ridge then descends to the bottom again where one gets some nice views of the Tennessee River. One ascends again along an old road (rather steeply, I might add). This is the part of the trail I don't really care for, as I believe it detracts from the outdoor experience to be hiking along a gravel and asphalt road. Part of the trail is closed as there is some private land close to the park on which there has been a substantial amount of timber cutting, and the park employees judging that this would detract further from the esthetics of a hike, have closed the trails. Unfortunately, it is not clear that one should backtrack a little when returning and not follow the road completely, although I suppose one could. I happened to meet a ranger (The first thing I told him was that I had not spent the night , in case he was curious as to why I was carrying a backpack and had not registered for an overnight stay.) He asked if I had heard or seen any people on four-wheelers, as they had been having some trouble with people violating ordinances against them. Whereas NBF did not provide quite the workout I wanted to prepare for the Hermit Trail in the Grand Canyon, it nevertheless was provided a backwoods experience.that was quite pleasant. The only person I saw on either of the two days at Nathan Bedford Forrest were my companions from TTA and the ranger Participants in the Feb. 17th hike: Sandy Davis, Vivian Norwood, Chris Fox, Jim Clark, and Hao Nguyen
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