The Nickajack Naturalist

New Nature Hike Series Launches June 1 at Little Cedar Mountain

View from one of the overlooks on Little Cedar Mountain.             Photo: Bob Butters

  The Nickajack Coalition is partnering with Outdoor Chattanooga to present the first in a series of regularly scheduled nature hikes at TVA's Little Cedar Mountain (see map) near Nickajack Dam.  The inaugural hike is planned for National Trails Day, June 1st.  This will be a slower paced hike to allow opportunity for observing Little Cedar Mountain's unique natural environment and wide variety of plant and animal life.  The 3.5 mile trail is considered of moderate difficulty, with two hill climbs totaling approximately 250 ft. in elevation gain.  There are three overlooks with great views of Nickajack Lake and the surrounding mountains.  This hike may be limited to 20 or so participants.

  The free outings in this nature hike series will be planned as bi-monthly events (or perhaps monthly, depending to an extent on response), and will be hosted by the Nickajack Coalition in partnership with Outdoor Chattanooga or other organizations.  Future outings in the series are planned to visit other nature trails and sites in or near the Nickajack Recreational Corridor, either alternating with, or as an additional option following, the Little Cedar Mountain hike.  

 For more information, including directions and time, and to register, contact hike leader Bob Butters at [email protected] or (423) 942-2889.

 Be sure to check back here before the event for notification of any changes or cancellation, as well as to see future outings scheduled.

Little Cedar Mountain Trail.

 

Exploring Grundy Forest

Looking up at the 500 year old hemlock tree by the Cave Spring Rockhouse.

  The 234 acre Grundy Forest State Natural Area is located on the outskirts of Tracy City, TN, at the upper end of the Fiery Gizzard.  It was formerly managed as a State Forest, was the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930s, and eventually became a unit of the South Cumberland State Recreation Area.  It's the northern trailhead of the popular Fiery Gizzard Trail, which connects to Foster Falls 12.5 miles to the south.

Little Fiery Gizzard Creek.

  On Memorial Day weekend, I participated in a 3.4 mile hike led by the very knowledgeable Ranger Jason to explore the nature of Grundy Forest.  We hiked the Fiery Gizzard Trail to Sycamore Falls, then completed the Grundy Forest Day Loop Trail on the return.

Blue Hole Falls on the Little Fiery Gizzard Creek.

  I learned much about the flora and fauna of the area from Ranger Jason, such as how to tell the difference between big leaf magnolia and umbrella magnolia, ate wild plants I normally wouldn't have the nerve to try, and confirmed that armadillos now inhabit South Cumberland State Park.

We spotted several pink lady's slippers in bloom along the trail.

  To learn about more staff led hikes scheduled in the South Cumberland State Park, go to www.friendsofscsra.org or visit the South Cumberland State Park website.  Click here for a pdf map of the Fiery Gizzard trails.

Bob Butters                                                                         All photos: Bob Butters

Black Canyon Falls on the Big Fiery Gizzard Creek.

Sycamore Falls.

Mountain Laurel in bloom along the Grundy Forest Day Loop. 

The Kimball Park Project--2013__May 21

  With considerably less change than between the March and April visits, the park environment is gradually morphing from spring into summer.  Click here to view the January introductory post.  Compare the April 20 issue here.  

The Pond.  More vegetation has greened up in and around the pond, including these mats of small-leafed plants which now cover much of the water.  I've been unable to identify them yet, as I don't have a wetland plant field guide, and online research hasn't turned up anything, either.  If anyone knows what it is, feel free to comment.  Meanwhile, I'll continue to research and will update if and when I determine an identification.  

  The plant in the left foreground is common rush (Juncus effusus), and grows quite prolifically around the edges of the ponds.

The Tree.  Under the bright light of the noonday sun, the big red oak is looking a lot like summer.

The Field.  While the wheat field next door slowly matures, the field in the park has yet to be tilled or planted, making me wonder if it's going to remain dormant this year, or pehaps simply be cut as hay.

The Mountain.  The green forested slopes of the plateau are also taking on more of a summer hue. The oak-hickory forest, typical of much of the South Cumberland region, has most likely been logged over several times in the last 150 years or so.  Still, it provides more bio-diversity and better wildlife habitat than the plateau top, much of which has been planted in pine plantations or has been strip mined, and tends to have poorer soils.  Most mountainsides like this in the South Cumberlands are vulnerable to residential development.  The more such slopes that can be preserved for recreational use or watershed protection, the better it will be for the quality of life in the Sequatchie Valley and the South Cumberland region.        

The River.  The river was swollen and muddy as a result of the recent heavy rains.

Random Shot--Clover.  White clover (Trifolium repens) overspreads much of the mowed areas of the park.  Clover is cultivated extensively as a fodder crop.  Besides being food for livestock, it makes a good cover crop, adding nitrogen to the soil, thus reducing the need for fertilizer. 

In spite of it being mid-day, I saw blue herons, red-winged blackbirds, and killdeer while there, none of which I was able to get a decent photo of.

Be sure to check back next month for the June installment of the Kimball Park Project--2013.

Bob Butters                                                                              All photos: Bob Butters 

Scenes at Foster Falls and May 10 Hike

In early March, I hiked out to the Little Gizzard Creek Small Wild Area at Foster Falls and crossed the Laurel Branch Gorge, something I hadn't done in awhile, then followed the Climber's Loop trail on the return.  Here are a few photos I took on the hike.

The footbridge across Laurel Branch.  A bit of trivia: Upstream a short distance from this spot in the Laurel Branch Gorge is where I proposed to Kim this weekend in May of 1991.

A view of Laurel Branch Gorge in the immediate foreground, Robinson Cove (with Little Gizzard Creek) beyond, and the main Fiery Gizzard Cove in the distance.

Little Gizzard Creek as it flows downstream from Foster Falls.

Little Gizzard Creek again.

And more of little Gizzard Creek.  This Friday afternoon, May 10, the South Cumberland State Park will host a short but strenuous off-trail hike along the Little Gizzard Creek below Foster Falls.  If you've never done this and are up to some rock hopping and off-trail scrambling, I highly recommend going on one of these.  There is some great scenery along the creek as it rapidly drops downhill to eventually join the Big Fiery Gizzard Creek.  For more information, visit friendsofscsra.org/activities.  

 Bob Butters                                                                     All photos: Bob Butters