On Saturday, Sept 1st,  eight hikers went to Buggytop Cave just south of Sewanee in Carter State natural Area.  Rain threatened all day, but it never materialized.  We had plenty of cloud cover though, which made for cooler hiking on a humid Tennessee day.  After a short, fairly level, but rocky trek through typical upper cumberland forest, we made a somewhat challenging descent to the cave entrance.  The cave entrance was refreshingly cool to sit by and have a snack and watch the water coming out of the cave. After a nice rest we ascended to the top of the trail again and took another spur trial to the Peter Cave entrance at the other end of the cave.  There were really two entrances/exits, and we could not decide which one was actually Peter Cave.  We did see a bat flying around one of the openings.  We did not enter the cave due to the ban on caving.  They are trying to prevent the spread of white nose syndrome that is affecting the survival of bats in TN.  We saw plenty of strange mushrooms and late summer wildflowers on the trail.  Then we hit one of the finer eating establishments in Sewanee for lunch. 

 On Saturday, August 18, 2012, Randy Hedgepath, our TN State Naturalist, led 10 hikers from the Nashville, Memphis, and Upper Cumberland  chapters of Tennessee Trails on an amazing adventure.  To say this hike was off the beaten path is an understatement.  We began our trek at historic Glasscock Cemetery then journeyed on horse trails full of mud, sadly neglected trails on Cooper Mt., Standing Stone State Forest, and the State Park.  Don't even think about going on this hike without Randy to guide you!  We saw huge trees in the remote area that have not been logged, many wildflowers, table rocks, rock shelters, waterfalls, dripping springs, a huge variety of mushrooms, and trees with two, three and even four trunks.  We played "stump the ranger" with Randy as we would point out flora and fauna for him to identify.  He did not let us down and we learned so many new plants, mushrooms, and trees.  Just don't ever believe the advertised number of miles on one of Randy's hikes and don't ask him to get you to the Park Office the fastest way on the Lake Trail!!!  We were tired but happy after a very challenging and informative hike.

Saturday, August 11, 2012: Beaman Park.  Nancy Juodenas: I had three hikers besides myself.  It was a nice leisurely hike.  No one was in a hurry.  We hiked to the Nature Center and there was a lot going on there, (geo-cacheing, co-housing seminar, hummingbirds).  They will be catching and banding hummingbirds next Saturday (August 18).  Then we hiked down the creek to get back to the parking lot.  Saw quite a few interesting mushrooms and a few summer wildflowers.

August Hike Poster in Cumberland Transit entrance!

Saturday, July 28, 2012.  Doug Burroughs led a group of 8 hikers to the loop trail at Colditz Cove (between Allardt and Rugby).  There was good water in Rutledge Falls, which some of us took advantage of to cool off a little.  Then, we drove over to Rugby and hiked the Meeting of the Waters Trail and ended up at the Gentlemen's Swimming Hole.  Several of us got in for a short swim.  We had lunch afterward at the Harrow Road Cafe in Rugby before walking around to a couple of the sights in town.  Of course, we had to stop by Highland Manor Winery to stock up on the way home to Nashville.

 

Saturday, July 14, 2012.  Tom Vickstrom led a group of four hikers to Burgess Falls and Rock Island State Parks.  There was some rain, but it added to the waterfall majesty.  A good time was had by all.  All of the photos below are from Burgess Falls.

Upper Falls

Middle Falls

 Lower Falls

Coneflower with bees

Butterfly Weed

On Saturday, June 23, 2012, Karl Dupre led a Nashville TTA hike to Pinson Mounds State Park near Lexington TN.  The Pinson Mounds is the largest group of Middle Woodland (AD 1-500) mounds in the United States.  Sauls' Mound, at 72 feet, is the second highest surviving mound in the US.  The park is an interesting area to walk around - the mounds are spread over a large area and many are aligned with the astronomical seasons.  Because they are all covered with trees, though, they're not very photogenic.  We had a good orientation to the area at the museum.  After the hike, we had a nice lunch at Bell's Drive In in Lexington.