The Return of the Weekend

I cannot remember when we have had a weekend experience like we had today.  There were no interruptions, no phone calls, and no trailer repairs.  It was reminiscent of the years when we worked the week and went hiking on Saturday.

A beautiful fall trail.

Acorns of Black or Bur Oak, I don't know which.

The day started out clear and cool after yesterday’s rain.  We donned hiking clothing, unearthed our packs from basement storage, and struck out for our local city park.  I wish I had kept track of the number of times I have hiked Mossy Ridge at Warner Park.  It must be in the hundreds. The Warner Parks in southwest Nashville are really two parks—Edwin Warner and Percy Warner.  They sit side by side with Old Hickory Blvd as a boundary between them.  For the real hiking enthusiast, a twelve mile figure 8 can be created by using the connector trial between the parks and doing one loop in Edwin Warner and 2 loops in Percy Warner.  This 12 mile trek has been our standard training hike for high Sierra and Appalachian Trail expeditions.  For real training efforts, we have been known to be out here 3 or 4 times a week.  Today we did the 4.5 mile Mossy Ridge loop in Percy Warner.  In peak condition we can do this loop carrying 30 pounds in an hour and 45 minutes.  Today, we strolled along making the trip in just under 4 hours.  We stopped often to take pictures, we had a short banana eating break, and a leisurely lunch (including making coffee).  We ran into fellow hiking club members and spent several minutes visiting with them.  It was wonderful.  I don’t think I’ve ever noticed so much along this trail.  We even stopped to investigate the Vaughn’s Gap Cemetery.

A new cemetery sign

A simple grave marked by an old field stone and an orange tassle

This old cemetery is located just inside the park boundary very close to Hwy 100.  In the early part of the 1900s the railroad was being built into Nashville.  Many of the men working on the rail line were stricken by a fatal disease—yellow fever, scarlet fever, small pox.  I’m not sure which, but deadly, no matter what.  Those men are buried here just across the road from the rail track they were laying.  The graves are marked only by field stones and now the park has added a plastic orange tassel to indicate each grave site.  The remnants of a stone wall can be seen which probably marked the entrance to this place of rest.  In the winter, with a light dusting of snow, you can actually see the indentations of the grave sites from the trail and in spring there are a few scattered tulips which bloom each year.  As we were making our way back to the trail, a train passed, blowing its whistle at the cross street; a mournful tribute to the men who died laying the track into Nashville a hundred years ago.

An old stone wall.

Hearts a burstin'.

This was the first hike we have done since we were in the Adirondacks and we enjoyed being outside, in the woods, and on the trail again.  Tomorrow is supposed to be another pretty fall day.  I’m sure we will find something to do outside.