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Jan. 20, 2003 The hiking deities were smiling on us Jan. 20, as the bitter cold and snow of the previous Thursday and Friday had abated, and we were greeted with an anticipated high in the mid 50s. Thirteen members and friends of the Northwest Chapter went on this hike. The number would have been even greater had not the Weakley County Schools been in session this Martin Luther King day due to an effort to make up for snow days. The day was gorgeous as we hit the trailhead at the North Welcome Center at about 10:20. We had left one vehicle 6 miles down the trail to set up a shuttle. The skies were clear, and the sun was warm--which meant a very serious snow melt. Yet in the deeper parts of the woods 3-4 inches were quite common still. The trail is beautiful this time of year as it provides vistas of the lake which are more difficult to come by when summer foliage is on the trees. The trail gently climbs up and down over rolling hills, never too steep, but always interesting. Occassionally the hiking was a little treacherous as mud was our own worst enemy. Johnny Henderson, our local expert on LBL was our leader. He led us off trail a couple times--once to have lunch on the shores of Kentucky Lake in Hillman-Ferry Campground and again to relocate the North-South Trail. Folks from Clarksville's chapter of TTA were also on the trail that day, hiking from South to North. It was during the time that we were having lunch in the campground that we missed meeting them on their northward trek. Continuing after lunch, we were at our original drop-off point disappointingly early. The majority of the group was game for an additional 2.7 miles on this beautiful day. Three of us sacrificed for the benefit of the group and drove the car to the next road crossing, where the main group emerged from the woods about an hour and twenty minutes later. Using the backpacking stove one of our members had provided, we enjoyed "apres hike" hot cider and chocolate while the others went to get the cars. This segment was popular with the group, and some of us thought we should endeavor to do the whole 60 miles a segment of 8-10 miles at a time. Once we complete it from North to South, we can reverse the procedure as new hikers join us for our events. Participants: Mike Fultz, Heather Harned, Sandy Davis, Jim Clark, Anna Clark, Nancy Warren, Amy Kaiser, Vachik Lazarian, Jeff Trim, Anthony Jones, Johnny Henderson, Robert Rowlett, and Matthew Davis. Photographs by Mike (Tigger) Fultz. Posted Feb. 10, 2003 -- jc |
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