Day Hike

This a Wednesday evening hike. Let’s go see the synchronous fireflies! The Poplar Creek Trail in west Oak Ridge is usually a reliable viewing location. The trail is a flat former roadbed, approximately 2 miles long, 4 miles total for the in/out hike. You’ll need to bring a flashlight with a red light- white light causes the fireflies to quit blinking.

There is limited parking so we will meet at 8 pm at Books a Million/ Salsaritas parking lot on S Illinois Ave at Tuskegee Dr. in Oak Ridge to carpool. Also note the trailhead parking can only be accessed from the east due to the divided highway. Entire adventure will take approximately 2.5 hours. Sign up with Jan (janlyons.fun@gmail.com) or Rosie at 865.985.9144

Coytee Loop Branch and Glendale Branch Loop Trail – East Lakeshore Trail in Greenback, TN on Tellico Lake. 5.4 miles. This hike is rated easy.

The hike will start at the Coytee Loop Branch trailhead parking lot off Axley Chapel Rd., and connects with the Glendale Branch Trail. The trail follows the shoreline and is relatively flat with a few hills. We will park at the Glendale Trailhead and shuttle to the Coytee Trailhead. Wear appropriate clothing, and bring snacks and drinks.

Directions to Glendale Trailhead: Take Hwy 321 to Hwy 95 near the Ft. London Dam close to Lenoir City. Go South on Hwy 95 to the first right at Glendale Community Rd, which is a long narrow road to the trailhead. The parking lot is up a hill on the right. Let’s meet at 10:00 am.
Call, text, or email: Karen Towle, (865) 254-2044, delicadeze@aol.com

Hike Emory Gap, Panther Creek, Judge Branch, Frozen Head State Park. Join us on a flower hike in the Cumberland Mountains. We will park at the end of Flat Fork Road, hike a portion of the Panther Creek trail and the entire Emory Gap trail to the falls. On the Panther Creek trail we will go about 2.3 miles and gain about 250 feet, turn around and go back to the Emory Gap trail, losing about 200 feet. The Emory Gap trail to the falls is about 1.0 mile and gains about 300 feet. At the falls we will turn around and go back to the parking area, losing about 350 feet. The total distance for this hike is about 4.1 miles. If time and energy allow we will relocate and take a second hike on the Old Mack and Judge Branch trails. This second hike is about 2.6 miles and gains about 300 feet by the turn around point. All of the elevation changes are estimates based on a topo map. If we take both hikes the total distance is about 6.7 miles which is about average of most of our hikes. The hike difficulty is rated as moderate. We recommend shoes to wear to and from the hike plus sturdy hiking shoes, other weather appropriate clothing, a snack, a drink and a camera.

We will meet in Oak Ridge at Books-A-Million, 310 South Illinois Ave, meeting in the parking lot nearest Illinois Ave. We will leave at 9:00 am. Round trip distance from Books-A-Million is 43 miles.
After the hike plan on stopping on the way back for a meal and refreshments. For specific information about the hike please call Tom before the 20th at 865-588-5622, leave a message or send an email to cressler@retiree.utk.edu.