Cumberland Trail
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TTA/CTC's Guide to the
Cumberland Trail |
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Experience Tennessee hiking and backpacking at its best! The Cumberland Trail (CT),
a Tennessee State Scenic Hiking Trail, became Tennessee's 53rd state park in 1998. The Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park will contain a core corridor of 300-plus miles of trail beginning in the Cumberland Gap National Park (Ky) and stretching south to Chickamauga Chattanooga National Military Park and Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area just outside Chattanooga. In addition to providing multiple recreational opportunities, this protected greenway will act as a buffer to protect water quality and provide natural habitat for animals.
The Cumberland Trail as a center for recreational activities and conservation on the Cumberland Plateau, will also be a provider and source of environmental education of both the young and the old in the Southeast on our natural world and conservation inherent to a stable planet. |
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SAVE THE CUMBERLAND TRAIL FROM DESTRUCTION
This is 2008, not 1968. This is happening NOW on your, the taxpayer's, precious Cumberland Trail just north of Chattanooga - within the Cumberland Trail State Park. Furthermore, these “rock miners” can just leave after they've stripped and destroyed the publically owned lands, with no Federal or Tennessee laws forcing them to reclaim the land.
It is just not right. And we, the voters; the taxpayers; the real owners of the public lands; must stand up to the unregulated rock mining coorporations that are destroying our beautiful trail and stealing our heritage; stripping the public lands on the Cumberland Plateau; destroying it one monsterous truckload at a time.
Please follow this Rock Mining Alert and Action Plan Link
to read about how unregulated rock mining coorporations are able to do this in Tennessee. Also read about how you can help by contacting your Tennessee State representative and senator.
For the latest news and blogs on the status of Cumberland Trail rock mining, see TTA/CTC Rock Mining News.
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ABOUT US:
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The Cumberland Trail is primarily a hiking trail, designed and built to minimize the potential environmental impact on sensitive wildlife habitat, unique aquatic or terrestrial habitats, or endangered/threatened species. Designed as a single file backcountry-hiking trail, a part of the Great Eastern Trail, the Cumberland Trail's environmentally conscious footprint on the land provides the hiker with picturesque waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and a wilderness experience rare in the eastern US. Due to its location in more remote areas of the Appalachians, the Great Eastern Trail will provide hikers with a more
primitive backcountry experience, an alternative to the relatively crowded Appalachian Trail.
As a non-profit Associate Organization organized under Tennessee Trails Association (TTA), the Cumberland Trail Conference (CTC) assists in protecting, preserving and promoting the Cumberland Trail, and by organizing volunteers and supporters to help build, maintain, and provide activities on the Cumberland Trail. This includes trail maintenance and building outings, trail-building training sessions, providing environmental and cultural education, and organizing periodic hikes on the CT. All programs, backpack and maintenance outings, hikes, and workdays are volunteer activities and are open to the public. TTA/CTC provides the required training, safety equipment, and tools. Except for a few special programs, there is no charge. The TTA/CTC places a high priority on interlacing earth and conservation education within the trailbuilding program format, and in a learning format that provides an enjoyable and rewarding experience for the students and volunteers.
TTA/CTC is principally a volunteer organization, focusing on trail building and trail maintenance. Volunteers are the life-blood of the Cumberland Trail. We could not construct and maintain the trail without the help of these dedicated individuals. Trail-building volunteers enjoy the teamwork and social aspects of trail construction. They enjoy meeting new people who share the same enthusiam for healthy physical activity and the outdoors. They enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from hiking back to camp or the trailhead at the end of the day along trail that they have just constructed.
County Going After Soddy Gorge Cleanup in a BIG Way!
After many Soddy Gorge cleanup days organized by TTA/CTC volunteers, Hamilton County residents have had enough and called in the "big guns" to clean up the illegal dump sites along Hotwater Road in Hamilton County. Trash dumped from Hotwater Road rolls and slides hundreds of feet down the steep slopes onto the Cumberland Trail below. Committed Hamilton County work crews have brought in a crane to more efficiently bring up the hundreds (maybe thousands) of tires, boats, camper tops, and other large debris pushed from the side of the road and down the steep gorge by illegal dumpers. Plans are to work all summer if it takes it, and to construct an 8 foot fence at each pull-off to prevent dumping there.
Angered by the illegal dumping, County officials also plan increased police patrols along Hotwater Road and more stringent enforcement of dumping laws. So the message to illegal dumpers is
Rock/Creek Supports the CT
On April 3rd, Rock/Creek presented the Cumberland Trail Conference with a check for $1500. The Chattanooga-based outdoor retailer raised the money at the March 29 Rock Creek River Gorge Trail Race. Now in its seventh year, the race was well attended as about 300 athletes showed up despite torrential rains before the race. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to building and maintaining over 300 miles of trails on the Cumberland Plateau. Anthony Hook, General Manager of the Cumberland Trail Conference, shares his gratitude: "This race hosted by Rock/Creek helps support the Cumberland Trail Conference and demonstrates the various recreational pursuits that the Cumberland Trail offers. Races such as the Rock Creek River Gorge Trail Race provide the challenge that trail runners seek and increases awareness of the Cumberland Trail. This money will be used to support our trail building and maintenance programs in Hamilton and Rhea counties. The CTC appreciates Rock/Creek's continuous support and generosity."
Appropriately, the race takes place on the Cumberland Trail, in Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area. The two distance options, 10.2 mile and 6.5 mile, both used parts of the challenging Mullens Cove Loop. Prentice Cooper is located in Marion County, on top of Suck Creek Mountain, overlooking the Tennessee River Gorge.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain greeted about 300 athletes on Saturday morning, making this one of the largest and certainly the wettest turnouts in the history of the race. "Having a successful turnout like this, despite the rain, made for a fantastic start to the spring trail running season," states race director, Jamie Sanders. "We are excited to see how continued growth of this sport encourages people to come out, rain or shine, every year."
Rock/Creek co-owner and president, Dawson Wheeler, from Signal Mountain, TN, expresses his gratitude to the sponsors and volunteers: "Without serious financial and time commitments from our sponsors and volunteers, we never could have raised this much money or had such a successful race." Mr. Wheeler also highlighted the importance of environmental stewardship: "Rock/Creek believes in the work of the Cumberland Trail Conference. By supporting what they do, we hope to encourage others to do their part as well. The future of the activities we love depends on protecting our natural resources through the volunteer work we do now as well as our financial commitments to conservation organizations."
Photo is Mark McKnight and Amanda Leamon.
Also in support of the CT, Rock/Creek was a sponsor of the recent Scenic City Trail Marathon and 1/2 Marathon on May 24th. To see the race results and photos, see
Rock/Creek's Scenic City Trail Marathon & 1/2 Marathon webpage.
The CTC is thankful for the continued support of Rock/Creek. Their much needed donations assist with the construction and maintenance of the Cumberland Trail. The CTC looks forward to working with them and our many other supporters in building and maintaining the Cumberland Trail.
Please check the ACTIVITIES PAGE on this website to see how you can join us. Watch this website for current information on open and under-construction segments, future trail work days, and how you can help make the CT happen.
Photo by volunteer Don Deakins
Photo by volunteer Don Deakins
Rock/Creek Raises $1500 for Trail Work
Hosts over 300 Trail Running Enthusiasts on the Cumberland Trail
Tennessee Trails Association
P.O. Box 41446
Nashville, TN 37204-1446
1-888-HIKE-TTA (1-888-445-3882)
WEBMASTER - Barry Spearman, Trail Volunteer and Volunteer Webmaster since 1996
Unregulated rock mining is taking your trail away, one monsterous truckload at a time. You, the hiker, must dodge the huge boulders and 100-year-old stately oaks that they push down the steep slopes onto the trail, risking serious injury or even death to hike public lands. Unregulated rock miners don't care about your trail, or you. Their monsterous machines don't care. They just care about the money they can make stripping the land away, forever destroying the land and the Cumberland Trail.
