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Eleven members and guests of the Northwest Chapter and the Ballenger family from the Nashville Chapter took part in our first "Newcomers and Beginner's Hike" at Fort Donelson National Military Park on Martin Luther King day, Jan. 21. The weather was beautiful as the skies were clear and the temperature climbed into the low fifties. The trail had a few more hills than the organizer remembered it having, but this being West Tennessee, there are no real "climbs." We met around 11:00 am at the visitor's center. The trail is a long loop that begins across the road and comes around toward the rear of the visitor's center. People who arrived early, and those who took the shorter hike, were able to learn much about the battle here from the helpful and knowledgeable National Park Service employees. After the "de rigeur" beginning photograph, we walked across the rolling hillside paralleling the road. The trail is a little hard to follow when covered with dry leaves as it is in the winter, but eventually, we hit an especially nice stretch winding up and down through woods and across some streams as we approached the Cumberland River. We had agreed that all would wait for the group at the river, believing that it would take about an hour to get there (Can you say lunch time?), and that was indeed the case. Those who wandered off trail into a sort of grassy meadow were treated to seeing 5 deer. After lingering at the river, we continued on our loop, up some pretty good hills, until the majority of the group broke off to extend the trip by going to the National Cemetery. Either way, there was a long climb up from the bottom land of the river to the high position by the visitor's center. This turned out so well, that it has the makings of annual event. Perhaps next year we can do a portion of the Fort Henry trail! Participants included: Jenny Biggs, Catherine Grove, Amanda Lambert, Vivian Norwood, Anna Clark, Sandy Davis, Robert Davis (photographer and historian extraordinaire), Nancy Warren, Hal Miller, Jan Wainscott, Al Ballenger, LInda Ballenger, Jill Otto, and Jim Clark Photos of the entire group at the beginning of the hike, cannons, the bridge, and the walk to the National Cemetery taken by Robert Davis. Thank you. |
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