WildrLog

Bryan February 25th, 2007

Today’s hike took me out west of Columbia, Tennessee to the western Highland Rim. The decade old Devil’s Backbone State Natural Area sits on the western edge of the Natchez Trace Parkway near Gordonsburg. The natural area gets its name from the old nickname for the Natchez Trace. The 450 mile trip from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee was frequently a difficult one involving murderers and thieves, Indians and floods. Travelers often attributed their troubles to the work of the Devil. And if that weren’t enough, it’s not the easiest 450 mile walk to take. For more information on the history of the Trace, click HERE.

Distance: 3.1 miles round trip
Time: 1.5 hours
Elevation change: approximately 100 feet total upclimb
Trail
type: dirt, some rock. Surprisingly not muddy after the rains yesterday.
Temperature: lower 50s, cold and overcast.
Significant
features: Forest and views of adjacent ridges during the winter.

The trail has a 1/2 mile spur to the loop. The trail runs mostly along a 100 foot tall series of adjoining ridges. The loop starts a slight decent in Spring Hollow finally reaching Falls Branch (no bridge for the crossing). There’s another branch to cross (this one with a bridge), and then back up you go rather rapidly. The return side of the loop runs along another ridge and then rejoins the spur trail.

The trail is in the interior of the property, so its a nice quiet and undisturbed place. Also, chances are you’ll have your solitude on the trail as it isn’t heavily used.

Not much wildlife activity today. I did enjoy the ride to the trailhead with my parents and the hike with my dog Hannibal. I did enjoy the hike and will definitely be back for the spring wildflowers.

Download the Google Earth track

Pictures are HERE.

• Hike Log , Nature
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Bryan February 24th, 2007

The 2006 Film Winners at the Bannf Mountain Festivals are coming to the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, thanks to Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. The awards were given last fall at the Canadian Rockies city of Banff. Check out the trailers HERE. Films categories include Best Short Mountain Film, Best Film on Mountain Environment, Best Film on Mountain Sports and Best Film on Climbing. If you love being outside, take a break, come inside for one night and check this out!

The show is on Tuesday, March 27, 7pm, at the Belcourt Theater in the Hillsboro Village area of Nashville. Tickets will be on sale at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports over in Belle Meade for $10 starting around March 5 (might want to call them first 615-356-2300). If there are any left, you can buy them at the door for $12.

And, if any of you aren’t in the Nashville area, check HERE to find out if the tour is coming to a location near you!

Thanks to the March 2007 newsletter from Tennessee Trails for the heads up.

• Film , Nature
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Bryan February 21st, 2007

Since November, I have just been hooked on the latest round of survival shows from the Discovery Channel. The first one I started watching was Man Vs. Wild. For each episode Bear Grylls, a former member of the British Special Forces, ends up being dropped from a plane in the middle of a different nowhere. His objective? Survive in the wilderness until he can find civilization. And survive he does, with nothing but a flint and a water bottle. And I’m simply hooked!

Now for a dose of reality… he has a camera crew following him around. So I wonder, how hungry is he really? And did he really squeeze the water from that elephant dung because he was thirsty, or was it merely for shock value? On the other hand, the editing process I’m sure compresses the timing of everything. It’s easy for me to critique a 3 day expedition from a one hour edit.

It is entertaining and while I’m not certain I would do everything he does, it does get me to thinking about survival. And I suppose that’s better than nothing.

Have you seen any of these survival shows? Leave a comment and let me know what you think of them!

• Survival , Television
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Bryan February 18th, 2007

Bowie Nature Park is one of Middle Tennessee’s best kept nature secrets. Evangeline Bowie bought the 722 acre tract in the 1950’s when about 30 tons of topsoil was washing away every year. She had terraces and 6 lakes built and planted 500,000 Loblolly Pine Trees to help stop the erosion. Prior to her death in 1992, she deeded the property to the City Of Fairview to be built into a nature park. And build it they did. The park has a nature center, outdoor classroom, and 17 miles of trails. Most of the trails are shared by hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers. The trail etiquette is well displayed at the restroom kiosk.

Distance: 5.1 miles round trip
Time: 2.5 hours, with 30 minutes of rest
Elevation change: approximately 184 feet total climb
Trail
type: dirt, some rock, muddy but not uncomfortable to hike
Temperature: mid 30s, cold and sunny. No ice crystals in my water bottle
Significant
features: Forest, lake views at beginning and end, wildlife, and one dead raccoon.

Aptly named, the trail runs in the forest very close to the park boundary. There are some roads and homes to be seen. The trail clearing is about 15 feet wide with the worn part being about 3 feet wide. The trail is not well blazed, but the trail itself is usually very clear. I lost it once near a bridge. It was covered with snow for much of my hike. It was in exceptional shape for a horse trail (none of that ankle deep mud I usually find). Kudos to the City of Fairview and/or volunteers who maintain the trails! Horseback riders and mountain bikers must be prepared to pay a $2 trail access fee.

The trail starts under TVA power lines (can’t seem to get away from those) and parallels them for about 3/4 mile (some at the beginning and some at the end). I apparently disturbed 4 deer from grazing. Then I stepped into the forest for about 3 miles. There is one stream crossing without a bridge (I should have brought my gaiters), but I managed just fine with my boots. I saw a lot of ice in standing water and some near the creek banks. The icicles hanging on to the rock face near the creek were spectacular. I ran across a dead raccoon in the trail. Only saw 2 groups out today (I guess everybody else wanted to stay dry and warm). I finished my hike with a short walk around Lake Van and back to the Jeep. The ducks and geese are hanging out in the lake and generally very active.

Today, the trails were closed to mountain bikers and horses due to the wet weather. You can call ahead to see if they are open or not.

Sorry I don’t have any photos for you this trip as my new camera will be arriving tomorrow. But you can download a file for Google Earth that will let you fly over my trek HERE
.

• Hike Log , Nature
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Bryan February 16th, 2007

Last December, the new TVA Board of Directors got it right. They approved a new policy effectively banning the sale of TVA’s 293,000 acres of wilderness lake front property to residential or commercial developers. The property is a portion of the land purchased (read “taken” under threat or use of eminent domain) from our fellow citizens starting about 75 years ago for public purposes. These citizens, and likely legislators and courts, were told these lands would be flooded or otherwise unusable.

Today the property is dry. It is gold to developers, who want to buy it on the cheap and develop exclusive lake front resorts, communities, and shopping centers. They’ve been doing it for years and now needless to say, they are not exactly thrilled.

But they’re not the only ones. City halls and courthouses around the valley are up in arms over the “loss of economic development opportunity.” You can substitute “loss of tax revenue.” You see, as long that property remains in TVA hands, it is not taxable by local entities. In addition, the swank improvements made by developers would exponentially increase that revenue.

And some in Congress aren’t exactly comfortable with it either (see Dectaur Daily News).

But for all the politicians and big money set against it, 92% of the 5,000 comments received by TVA supported the ban (see The Chattanoogan).

I’ve supported the ban for this reason: Developers are ruining the quality of life in Tennessee. I said it. Tennessee’s lakes and wilderness areas are special places supporting diverse wildlife. And at least for this writer, they melt away the stress of traffic jams and long lines. Both are products of developers. But all they see are dollar signs.

Today, some of our most scenic views are threatened by developers. Areas like Millken’s Overlook at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Stone Door Natural Area at South Cumberland State Recreation Area, and all around Radnor Lake could look very different in 2007.

But for now, it won’t happen on TVA land.

If you support the ban on the sale of public property for private development and you are in the Tennessee Valley, let the TVA Board of Directors and Executive Leadership know they made the right decision. Be sure to back them up with a call to your congressmen who are members of the TVA Caucus. And when you do, post a comment and encourage others to do likewise!

And to my computer programming brethren, this applies to real-estate developers, not all you software developers out there.

• Current Affairs
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Bryan February 12th, 2007

I got notice today that WildrLog has won an award from Award-Winning Tennessee Bloggers in the Best Middle Tennessee Blog and Best Sports and Recreation Coverage categories.  Thanks to Lynette and Jim for the award and link.  I’m honored that I would be considered.  Head on over and find some other great Tennessee Blogs.

Obviously, someone with excellent taste must have recognized WildrLog’s value and nominated me…   Oh, alright, so I nominated myself.  But honestly, I didn’t expect to receive an award.  Thanks again!

• Blog
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Bryan February 11th, 2007

In the 1960s, the Tennessee Valley Authority began purchasing land (and sometimes took it, using its eminent domain power) for a lake on the Duck River east of Columbia, Tennessee. Its justification was to dam the river to control flooding. Just a few blocks from downtown Columbia, the area known as Riverside frequently flooded during my childhood. My elementary school was among the buildings that filled with water during the heavy spring rains.

My grandfather took me to the dam site many times to watch it being built. In 1977, with construction on the dam nearly complete, federal courts ordered the project stopped under the Endangered Species Act. The project was held up in legal limbo for about 20 years until TVA had either exhausted its legal challenges or lost its desire to fight. The new Columbia dam project was dead.

In 2002, TVA turned the land it had purchased for the lake over to the state of Tennessee. It is now managed as Yanahli Wildlife Management Area. Within the WMA, the state has designated 6 natural areas, known collectively as the Duck River State Natural Area Complex.

Click the links for more information on the history and biology of the Yanahli WMA. A map of the WMA can be found HERE.

My friend Mike joined me for this excursion.

Distance: approx. 2 miles round trip
Time: 1 hour, with plenty of lolly gagging and yapping
Elevation change: maybe 10 feet
Trail
type: mostly dirt and rock.
Temperature: warmer, around 45 degrees
Significant features: Nice water views along the bluffs during this time. The trees will block some of these views once the leaves come out again.

The trail system is very new and other than the mixed use trails (horses, mountain biking and hiking) on the WMA, Cheeks Bend is the only trail designated for hikers. Maps can be found HERE and HERE. Wish I had found these before I left today.

Pictures can be found HERE.

• Hike Log , Nature
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Bryan February 9th, 2007

This story in yesterday’s Tennessean is wonderful news for our state’s wonderful national parks. In the instance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a number of positions have gone unfilled by the National Park Service because of lack of funding. A number of the seasonal interpretive positions are filled by park service employees, but are actually funded through the private Great Smoky Mountains Association. They also fund much needed projects along with the Friends of the Smokies. In short, I think this is great news for our National Parks in Tennessee, if it actually makes it to the final budget.

However, I do have two misgivings:

• If the funding would be used to develop the parks, create resorts, golf courses, or ball field complexes, I think that’s bad. There’s more than enough of that around the Great Smoky Mountains.
• From a taxpayer standpoint, I’m always concerned about how my tax dollars are being spent. But I suppose I shouldn’t worry about this too much. After all, I use the park and think I have a obligation to pay to maintain it, especially since the land was taken from my fellow citizens over 70 years ago to create it.

Despite the additional federal funding (if it makes it to the final budget that is), I would still encourage everyone to join their favorite parks’ friends’ organizations and associations.

Link: Federal Parks in Tennessee Could Get More Funds - Nashville, Tennessee - Thursday, 02/08/07 - Tennessean.com.

• Uncategorized
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Bryan February 4th, 2007

I had heard about some hiking trails at Chickasaw Trace Park near Columbia and decided to go check them out.

Distance: approx. 3 miles (Creek Trail to River Trail to Woodland Trail to Road and back to trail head)
Time: 2 hours, with plenty of lolly gagging
Elevation change: maybe 20 feet
Trail type: mostly dirt and somewhat muddy (but no standing water). Single track trail designed for mountain biking (see warnings below)
Temperature: cold, around 30 degrees
Significant features: Nice water views along Knob Creek and the Duck River.

SO as it turns out, the trails were actually mountain biking trails that hikers are allowed to use. This day, I only saw 2 other people and they were biking. I’m sure on a more mild day the place would be packed. You can check out pictures HERE.

WARNING: These trails are designed specifically for mountain biking, by mountain bikers. Hiking is a secondary use. They are likely to be crowded on mild days. You MUST PAY ATTENTION while hiking them. A mountain bike does not make a tremendous amount of noise and might be right around the corner. You need to be prepared to take evasive action. In addition, there is no posted information on trail etiquette like on the Brentwood Greenways.

• Hike Log
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Bryan February 2nd, 2007

I thought I’d share with you my snowy morning pictures. They were taken on my walk from my house to the road this morning about 8am. For more pictures of snowy Williamson County taken this morning, see Randy’s Morning walk pictures.

• Nature
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