Walls of Jericho

We had a small group of hikers today but we enjoyed the 8 mile round trip to the Walls of Jericho. We started on the Tennessee side, hiked to the "walls",  had lunch and returned on the shorter trail to the Alabama trailhead. We encountered several downed trees over the trail but managed to get over and under them. Water levels were low and only one of us (Jim) went to the second waterfall which he said was dry. This trail was designed by the late Jim Schroeder of our chapter. Hikers were Jim Barritt, John Earthman, Sara Pollard, and Cynthia Skidmore.

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Flat Rock Cedar Glades SNA

We had 20 hikers on this joint hike with the Columbia/Franklin chapter. Chris Hoffman organized the hike and made lunch reservations at Jefferson's on Main Street in Murfreesboro. Sara Pollard was co leader. We had hikers from several areas of Tennessee. We saw lots of beautiful wildflowers and passed a massive sinkhole. Directional signs were lacking and there were several side trails that could be confusing. Hikers were Jessica Andrews, John Beckman, Anna Lina Buckley, Maureen Byrd, Joe Campbell, Cindy Charest, Marlene Cobos, Debra Dodd, Katy Ginanni, John Gizelar, Anne Harper, Chris Hoffman, Karen Jones, Sandy Lewis, Gary Patterson, Sara Pollard, Carol Rolfes, Sean Spidle, Vera Spidle, and Brian Tormey. 

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Barren Fork and Collins River Paddle

There were 14 kayakers from 4 different chapters who kayaked the Barren Fork & Collins River in McMinnville. We dropped off our kayaks at the put in at Pepper Branch Park and took our vehicles to the takeout. The takeout was in the old VFW parking lot, but the building is no longer there. The parking lot is huge and there's no charge to park there. We had some fun ripples on the Barren Fork and got out a couple of times to enjoy the cool water. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Cathy Conley, Wendy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Tony Jones, Nancy Juodenas, Kerri Meeks, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, Julie Roberts, Georganne Ross, John Ruth, Suzanne Thigpen,  and Michel Travers. 

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Elk River Paddle - Sara

We had 12 kayakers to paddle the Elk River with the Highland Rim chapter on a hot day in July. We put in downstream from Tims Ford Dam and paddled 8 miles to Ferris Creek Bridge. The water was very cold but felt great in the 90-degree weather. There was a mist on the water which gave the river an eerie look. We saw folks fly fishing, turtles, cows, and geese. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Joe Campbell, Cathy Conley, Windy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Tom Hartvigsen, Marcia Medford, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, Georganne Ross, Lynn Rosser and John Ruth.

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Black Mountian to Ozone Falls - Sara

What was supposed to be a joint hike with the Nashville chapter, ended up being 3 hikers - 2 from Murfreesboro and 1 from the Highland Rim chapter. There was a chance of rain in the forecast, but we only had rain on the drive home.  We left a car at the Ozone Falls parking area and drove to the top of Black Mountain to begin our hike. Since there was a lot of foliage on the trees, we didn't have views on this section. But it's a well-maintained trail, had dry creek beds to rock hop across and beautiful stone steps. There was a newly built bridge over a creek but not much water flowing. There was water at Ozone Falls and several folks were swimming in the pool below. After driving back up Black Mountain to retrieve our other vehicle, we hiked over to the Grassy Cove overlook and saw the new bridge that was recently built there. The hikers were Jim Barritt,  Sara Pollard and J.C. Saunders. 

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Duck River Paddle - Sara

 

There were 9 kayakers on the Duck River paddling trip. This was a joint event with the Murfreesboro and Highland Rim chapters led by Jim Barritt. We put in at the TWRA Boat Launch Access on Sowell Mill Pike (Leftwich Bridge) in Columbia and set up a shuttle for our takeout at Howard Bridge Road. We paddled past high bluffs and could see the entrance to the cave on the Cheek's Bend trail. It rained hard on our way to Columbia, but by the time we got to the put in the rain had stopped. We enjoyed an overcast sky and cool breeze most of the way. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Joe Campbell, Cathy Conley, Wendy Fish, Joan Hartvigsen, Marsha Medford, Sara Pollard, Marietta Poteet, and Jan Safavi.

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Tims Ford Lake Paddle

 

The Highland Rim and Murfreesboro chapters had originally planned an Elk River Float, but TVA was releasing a lot of water from the Tims Ford Dam and the current was too swift. So, it was decided to reschedule it and paddle around Tims Ford Lake instead. We put in at the Anderton Branch boat ramp, paddled over to Ray Branch for a break, then around Big and Little Islands. We got out at Little Island before returning back to the boat ramp. Nice breeze and a beautiful day to be on the lake. Kayakers were Jim Barritt, Chuck Deen, Patty Deen, Michael Glennon, Joan Hartvigsen,  Tony Jones, Sara Pollard, Bob and Laura Qualman. 

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