Moderate miles near Memphis
Three weeks ago, The Guy and I started our training for the ultimate goal: an overnight backpacking trip with him this year. I figure it’s best to start small and build my experience up: short hikes with snack breaks, longer day hikes with diaper changes, camping in the house, camping in the yard, car camping, then – dun dun DUN – an overnight backpacking trip.
Continue reading “Trail Review : Woodland Trail”Another Warner Parks gem!
Yes, it’s September. No, it’s not fall – yet. And in Tennessee, early September still means temperatures into the 90s some days. It can be hard to motivate yourself to hike when stepping outside for more than 30 seconds leaves you drenched in sweat. Fortunately for those of us in the Nashville area, we’ve got the Percy Warner Park trail system.
Quick getaway in the heart of East Nashville
A few weeks ago, on one sweltering Saturday, Moka, Minnie, and I ventured into the morning heat to walk the west loop of the Shelby Bottoms Greenway trail. If the weather had been cooler, the pups and I would have gone the entire stretch of both loop trails and back again, but pavement is hot, paws are more sensitive than you think, and dogs can’t sweat as efficiently as humans. Luckily, they are short-haired, but I still had to put their health and safety first.
Continue reading “Trail Review: Shelby Bottoms Nature Park: West Loop (#12)”
Appreciate your own back yard
There’s a wonderful book series called 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles. I bought one years ago for Nashville, and one when I moved to Denver.
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Nashville is a fantastic guide to nearby trails in the middle Tennessee area. Written by Johnny Molloy, it includes a map of where the trails are in middle Tennessee, individual trail maps, mileage, conditions, level of traffic, directions to the trailhead, and more. I’ve used this guide book for years (I have the second edition; the most recent is the fourth edition), and I’ve decided to write reviews for all 60 trails within this book. I’ll also be doing a few trails from other editions.
Stop and smell all the things
I’ll admit – I wasn’t impressed for the first few steps of this trail. It felt kind of vanilla – just another wooded trail in middle Tennessee. By the end, it was one of my absolute favorite trails in a while.
Firestarter's Guide 