If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that Emily and I have set a goal of walking all forty miles of the trails in the South Knoxville Urban Wilderness.  Then we plan to walk the main trail, twelve miles, all in one day.  Rain stopped is from walking this weekend–well, not so much rain as the threat of mud and therefore unsafe walking conditions.  We calculate, though, that it should take about five more weekends to finish all the trails, which we started walking in May.  We’ve skipped around from one area to another to keep things interesting, and last weekend we finally finished all the trails in one section, Ross Marble Quarry.
This was our third visit to the quarry; I wrote about the first two here.  It was such a perfect day for walking.  Even though we hiked almost four miles, plenty of it uphill, we never broke a sweat!
Wildflowers are becoming less plentiful as the weather cools, but fall colors are beginning–not leaves so much, but berries. the bright stems of pokeweed, and other colorful surprises.







We were walking along a ridge part of the time, so there were some pretty views that will be even better later in the fall when they are less obscured by foliage.



The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club is primarily responsible for the maintenance of these trails.  Not only are the trails in good repair, they also have a lot of fun features for those who are biking, not hiking.



For the most part, this trail is a shady one, making it a good choice for hot summer days.  It’s amazing how much cooler it feels when the sun is filtered through the trees.  And even when there are no flowers, the interesting shapes of the trees and the rock formations–much of it rock left over from quarrying days–offers something to look at while you are walking.  If you are riding, you probably only want to be looking where you are going!




For more South Knoxville walks, see below:
Walking in South Knoxville I
Walking in South Knoxville II
Walking in South Knoxville III
Walking in South Knoxville IV
Walking in South Knoxville V
Walking in South Knoxville VI