Upcoming Events

This is a joint outing for the 53rd Frozen Head Wildflower Pilgrimage with TCWP and the Tennessee Native Plant Society. We will have an excellent opportunity to see spring wildflowers. The first mile is ideal for those with rather limited hiking capabilities; the trail is wide and flat, a loop with a quick return to the parking area (Interpretive Trial). For those continuing, the next two miles are steeper and rougher but still moderate (Judge Branch and South Old Mac Trails). Bring water, lunch, and bug spray.

We’ll meet for carpooling at the Gold’s Gym/Books-A-Million parking lot in Oak Ridge (at the end close to S. Illinois Avenue, near Salsarita’s) at 9 a.m. Eastern; or meet at the Frozen Head State Park Office at 10 a.m. Eastern (9 Central).

For additional information, contact Larry Pounds at (865) 705-8516 or at PoundsL471@aol.com. Reservations are not required but are helpful for planning and to send updates or cancellations.

The Greenway behind Oak Ridge’s Rolling Hills Apartments (formerly known as the Garden Apartments) is one of the best wildflower trails in Ander-son County, but it is threatened by garlic mustard, a very invasive exotic that crowds out native plants. TCWP and Greenways Oak Ridge have been making headway in recent years in ridding the trail of this harmful plant. Volunteers are needed to help with the effort again this year.

We will meet at 10 a.m. at the rear parking lot (near the woods) behind 101-135 West Vanderbilt Drive. Wear sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothes, and bring water, food/snacks, and a digging spike or similar tool if you own one. Naturalist Jamie Herold will be on hand to help with wildflower identification.

This will be our second April joint outing with the Tennessee Native Plant Society. We will caravan from the Exxon station in Spring City to the Lower Piney River Trailhead to start a shuttle, leaving some cars there and carpooling to the Stinging Fork Falls Trailhead. From there we’ll hike back to the Piney River Trailhead. This section of the Cumberland Trail was completed in the fall of 2018. Which spring flowers we will see is hard to predict, but the route is definitely scenic. Total walking distance will be about six miles. The trail is up and down, with many steps.

As an alternative, people are welcome to head back early to the Stinging Falls Fork Trailhead. They will need to have a car there or will have a wait until the afternoon when the shuttle is completed. With this alternative, hikers could drive back from the Stinging Fork Trailhead to the Piney River Trail Head and walk in along the flat trail by Soak Creek to meet the rest of the group as they reach Soak Creek. Bring water, lunch, and bug spray.

We’ll meet for carpooling at the Gold’s Gym/Books-A-Million parking lot in Oak Ridge (at the end close to S. Illinois Avenue, near Salsarita’s) at 9 a.m. Eastern, or meet at the Rocky Top/ Exx-on/McDonald’s on US 27 in Spring City at 10 a.m. Eastern.

For additional information, contact Larry Pounds at (865) 705-8516 or at PoundsL471@aol.com. Reservations are not required but are helpful for planning and to send updates or cancellations.

This will be the fourth in a series of canoe trips sponsored by TCWP and Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation, with the goal of experiencing the Three Bends and nearby Melton Hill Lake/Clinch River (also known as Pellissippi ) Blueway from the water.

We’ll meet at 9 a.m. at Solway Park near the Haw Ridge bicycle trailhead and car shuttle to put in near the Old Edgemoor Road inlet. We’ll paddle downstream along the banks of Haw Ridge and into several shady and quiet inlets and coves looking for wildlife and late-spring wildflowers (and possibly a stray mountain biker). Depending on weather and the group’s preference, we may briefly cross the lake and examine the banks along TVA’s Bull Run Steam Plant, which has been much in the news lately. We can also get a better view of Haw Ridge from this perspective.

Farther around the Haw Ridge Bend, there are more nice coves, and one will make a perfect place to stop for lunch! We’ll then paddle on through the shallows and by the rocky point, then pick up the shuttle vehicles from Solway Park.

Participants can bring their own canoes or kayaks, or we will make arrangements to rent canoes from Blue Ridge Sports for $25 per person with life jackets and paddles provided. Those bringing their own boats are asked to wear life jackets at all times while in the water. Sunscreen, hats and arm and leg coverings are recommended, and water shoes are nice to have.

Pre-registration by Saturday, May 16, is requested. For more information or to pre-register, contact Sandra Goss at (865) 583-3967 or via email at San-dra@sandrakgoss.com, or Tim Bigelow at (865) 607-6781 or via email at Bigelowt2@mindspring.com.

We are also tentatively planning an overnight canoe/kayak trip to explore most of the Three Bends area again in one trip, at different times of the day.

This will be a memorial walk for Gary, a long-time member of TCWP and of the Cumberland Trails Conference board of directors who passed away in late January. We will be walking along a new Cumberland Trail section near Daddy’s Creek. Gary was heavily involved in the design of this section.

Walkers can select their own distance. It would be about three miles round trip to a bridge above a small waterfall.

We’ll meet for carpooling at the Gold’s Gym/Books-A-Million parking lot in Oak Ridge (at the end close to S. Illinois Avenue, near Salsarita’s) at 9 a.m. Eastern, or meet the group at the Marathon station at the I-40 Crab Orchard exit (exit 329) east of Crossville at 9 a.m. Central (10 Eastern). Bring water, lunch, and bug spray.

For additional information, contact Larry Pounds at (865) 705-8516 or at PoundsL471@aol.com. Reservations are not required, but are helpful for planning and to send updates or cancellations.