Tag: Tennessee
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Mount Cammerer: It’s Time to Climb
Ascending Mount Cammerer is one of my very favorite hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s also one of the hardest. My first ascent was in 2010 with Bill and my brother, Jack, along. I’ve gone back at least four more times prior to this year. In 2012, Bill, Jack and I were part…
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Fair Enough
If you grew up in Tennessee and, certainly if you grew up with Tennessee 4H, you more than likely have been to a county fair more than once. I don’t know exactly how many times I have been to a county fair, but the number would have been at least 12 or so by the…
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The Party With Purpose
Over the 15 months since we moved to Chattanooga, Bill and I have steadily discovered more and more of what makes this area so highly acclaimed for its outdoor offerings. Mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers—calm and wild, it’s all here if you want to do it. And there are a whole lot of do-ers, like us.…
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Last of a Long Goodbye
Mary Arthur Anderson would have turned 91 years old on August 31, had she not passed away this year on Easter Sunday. She was the first of five siblings that include Bill, of which he is second-to-last born. His younger sister, Hazel, and he are the two surviving siblings. Mary was a faithful wife of…
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Call It Work
“That’s why they call it work.” You’ve probably heard that expression, often used as a verbal shrug after summarizing something done not by choice but by job requirement. I have to plenty to do by job that’s not by choice, but every once in a while, my job offers a really choice assignment. A recent…
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Stump Jumpin’: A Lesson in Limits
Some hikers have no trouble deciding, from the trail, that it’s not the day or the time or the right conditions to finish. I’m not one of those hikers. I tend to press ahead under almost any circumstances. I’m there, I can do it. I’ll push myself, if that’s what it takes. Last Saturday, I…
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The Cable Trail: A Humbling Tale
I grew up about 45 minutes away from the most-visited of Tennessee’s 56 state parks, but I never got to experience it until a couple of days ago. We didn’t go to state parks except for the occasional family reunion when I was growing up. On Saturday, I went to Fall Creek Falls State Park–only…
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Face to Face with the Fiery Gizzard
The name is colorful, the reputation is intimidating, and the location is way off the beaten path. And, as of Saturday, I can say I hiked the Fiery Gizzard Trail–and lived to tell the tale. The Fiery Gizzard is a 12.6-mile gash down the middle of the South Cumberland State Park. The park is made…
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Kicked by the North Chick
North Chickamauga Creek State Natural Area is a wild patch of public land surrounding a deep gorge that dives down and across the boundary between Sequatchie and Hamilton counties. It features a rugged hike over about a 10-mile section of the Cumberland Trail, so named becuse it runs along the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. The trail–a…
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Fire(works) on the Water
Last week, we put our hiking boots aside and climbed into kayaks. Since I recently began offering short, 10-minute or so pieces on getting outside in Chattanooga via the local NPR station, WUTC-FM, I’ve had reason to look even more than I naturally would for fun, accessible outdoor activities here. In Chattanooga, there are almost…
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Looking Back at 25
Bill and I met in 1993, when we both worked at the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He in circulation, me in the newsroom. About 18 months later, we were married. I don’t know if–in the swirl of finding and buying a house, planning a wedding and a honeymoon–lots of marrying people imagine a future when that marriage…
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Tennessee: The State of UT
My relationship with the University of Tennessee began when I was 9 years old. UT’s White County Extension agent, Linda Koger, walked into my 4th grade classroom for the first time and enrolled me in the 4-H club, along with the 20 or so other kids in my class. I can’t speak for the rest…
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