With National Trails Day always the first Saturday in June, the 2019 observance is now a memory for those who made their way to a federal, state or local trail or some other property to enjoy or help enhance outdoor recreation.
Various groups from the Chattanooga area took part in many Trails Day events.
For example, several members of the Chattanooga Hiking Club spent time last Saturday doing brush work, removing downed trees and doing tread work on the Benton MacKaye Trail near the Hiwassee River.
The Tennessee Valley Canoe Club held its annual paddle school on the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers. That event included about 300 experienced and novice paddlers learning new canoe and kayak skills.
The Cohutta Wilderness Trail Volunteers headed to the Hickory Creek path to clear some fallen trees and do other types of trail maintenance.
And one local group of seven women decided to observe Trails Day by going backpacking - some for the first time.
They are part of Trail Dames, a national nonprofit organization started in 2007 by Anna Huthmaker of Duluth, Georgia. The Chattanooga chapter began in 2017.
The seven made their trip of just over two miles to the primitive campground in the Laurel-Snow State Natural Area near Dayton.
"This was my first time backpacking and camping. I joined the Trail Dames when I moved here from Baton Rouge at the end of last year," said Lauren O'Neill, a 37-year-old artist.
"We don't have a lot of hiking, camping or backpacking in the Louisiana swamps unless you want to spend a lot of time with mosquitoes and snakes."
O'Neill said her family moved to Chattanooga so they could experience the outdoors.
"I found the Trail Dames to be exactly what I needed to do this. I attended their beginning backpack class and signed up for this past weekend's trip," O'Neill noted after the return home.
When asked if she would ever go backpacking again, her reply was, "Of course! We've got another camping trip planned for the end of the month.
"I enjoyed swimming in one of the blue holes we passed along the way to our campsite. Our campsite was near the water, so really the best part was waking up and listening to the water run over the rocks and the birds in the trees. I wanted to stay in my sleeping bag and just listen to all the sounds."
The trip also was delightful for Ariana Sullivan, a Chattanooga real estate agent.
"I absolutely loved it. Getting out and unplugging with like-minded people is wonderful," Sullivan said.
She chose to sleep in a hammock while the others stayed in tents. It was not her first backpacking trip.
"I was active in the outdoors when I was younger but got caught up in working 50-plus hours a week, having a family and life in general," Sullivan said.
She said she moved to Chattanooga in 2014 and her life became different.
"Change in life goal and my kiddo is a little older. It was time to get back to finding 'me' again," she added, obviously pleased with the weekend trip.
"Good weather, nice trails, babbling and cooling creek and good company, what's not to enjoy?"
The trip had a similar effect for Leslie Davis, 57, a psychotherapist at Blue Ridge Counseling in Chattanooga.
"This was the first time doing a backpacking trip with this group, but not my first time backpacking. I backpacked 35 years ago or so, doing sections of the AT (Appalachian Trail)," Davis said. "I do plan to go again. In fact, I'm already looking at upgrading my equipment. I definitely enjoyed the trip. The leaders and other women are so supportive."
Asked what she particularly liked, "I enjoyed the nature and getting away the most," Davis said. "I sat in the middle of the creek and cooled off! I also enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, as balancing the pack and rock hopping was more challenging than I anticipated."
The trip was largely positive but not entirely, group leader Laura Seeger acknowledged after getting home Sunday.
"Everyone did well, with one exception. One woman did not sleep well at all last night and had a tough hike out this morning," Seeger said.
At 55, Seeger has done about 10 backpacking trips since beginning about four years ago.
As to what she thinks last weekend's group will remember the most, "Gosh, that is a hard one," she said. "There was the swim in the blue hole, the huge frog by Jae's tent, delicious meals, the campfire with our backpacking neighbors, surviving a night in the woods, the beautiful views, witnessing empowered women."
As for what she liked most, Seeger said, "I love seeing other women enjoying what I so love and seeing their strength - not just physical, but that is a part of it."
Contact Gary Petty at sports@timesfreepress.com.