An hour outside the big city, you can step into a pristine wilderness where the sounds of nature erase the sounds of society.
On Saturday, a conservation group will lead a hike through 8 miles of wilderness up Little Frog Mountain near Copperhill, Tenn.
“Within an hour of Chattanooga, a very large city, is this wilderness area where you can leave it all behind,” said Jeffrey Hunter, a field organizer for Tennessee Wild, a branch of the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition. “You can get away from the sound of motorcycles and trucks and get more attuned with the natural sounds.”
The Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition is opposed to the construction of an alternate to U.S. Highway 64 – the so-called Corridor K – if it cuts through the federally protected wilderness.
IF YOU GO* What: Little Frog Hike, 9-mile wilderness hike* When: 9 a.m. Saturday* Where: Near the Ocoee Whitewater Center, Copperhill, Tenn.* How to participate: Call Jeffrey Hunter, 423-322-7866, for specific directions and more information
The current winding riverside route is prone to rock slides but is the primary route from eastern Polk County to Cleveland, Tenn., and points west. Several options for the new highway are being studied by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Though many day trippers are familiar with the highway and the Ocoee River Gorge, not many people venture off the beaten path, organizers say.
“Ninety-eight percent of people who experience wilderness will never get that far into it,” said Mark McNight, spokesman for outdoor retailer Rock/Creek, a sponsor of the hike. “This is an amazing way to experience it.”
The trek is “moderately strenuous,” Hunter said, and isn’t for novice hikers, especially because Saturday’s heat and humidity will push the temperature near 100 degrees again. Hikers will climb gradually for 3 miles and then descend 1 mile into a gorge. The same route is taken back.
If that course is too strenuous, Hunter plans a second hike on Aug. 21. That trek is just a mile long and is on much flatter terrain and would be suitable for families, he said.
So far, about 10 people have signed up for Saturday’s hike. There is no charge, but interested parties should call ahead for directions.
Online: Hear Jeff Hunter discuss the hike.