Long Hunter Spring Loop

I had been saving some homemade beef jerky sent to me by friends in Kentucky. Finally, the perfect day presented itself to sample the jerky in tandem with a hike, and I headed over to Long Hunter to circle the Day Loop, one of my favorite area trails. The jerky was excellent, and my supply only lasted about a mile. After I scarfed down my Ziplocked portion, I re-filled the plastic bag with cedar bark scrapings from some downed trees around the 1.5 mile mark. The bark scrapings make excellent tinder and are always handy to have in tow. Also notable was the frogsong I heard toward the end of the hike. Near a small pool of stagnant water, the frogs were raising a racket. I wanted to capture the sound with my camera, but I mistakenly got too close, and the frogs went quiet.

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Long Hunter Spring Loop

Long Hunter Short Hikes

Well, C and I were going fishing. But when we pulled up at Nice Mill Recreation area, we were met with a raging Stones River flooded out of its banks. On to Plan B. We made our way back up toward the lake and rendezvoused with V and E at Long Hunter State Park. Together, the four of us made our way around the Inland Trail, which sits beside a scenic picnic area overlooking Percy Priest. Then, C and I stayed at Long Hunter and completed two more nearby short hikes—the Nature Loop Trail and the Deer Trail. Midway through the latter trail, with the lake at winter pool, we combed the shore looking for lost lures. Sure enough, C found a nice, deep-diving plug right where we'd passed a couple of weeks ago.

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Long Hunter Trails (L to R: Deer Trail, Inland Trail, Nature Loop Trail)