Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 13

contain an especially strong form of
the plant's toxin.
As I came onto a bottomland
marsh, orange-dotted yellow jewelweed blossoms crowded the boardwalk. Folk medicine has long held
that the juice from the plant's succulent stem will help relieve the itch of
poison ivy. I've never used jewelweed for poison ivy, but have often
found it to relieve the persistent itch
produced by accidentally brushing
against stinging nettle.
The small stream that gives the
trail system its name was barely running, so it was just a trickle of water
that disappeared into a narrow sinkhole, reminding me that much of the
Blue Ridge is composed of easily-dissolved limestone, creating the
region's many caverns and sinkholes.
On the climb to the ridgeline, a
small, obviously young box turtle
was crossing the pathway. Was I the
first human it had ever seen? Was
this why it seemed to have no fear of
me, as it never "boxed" itself in,
allowing me to get within inches of
it for a close-up photo?
A bench placed below the spreading branches of a cedar tree invited a
break and, it was then that I
thought, all too often, we hikers get
caught up in the movement of the
hike and fail to really see what we
are walking through. I was amazed
at how many things were located
just at eye level in this small portion
of the forest. There were the angular
twists and turns of a dogwood
branch. The distinctive peeling bark
on the trunk of the cedar tree. The
individual hairs of the poison ivy vine
growing onto another nearby tree
trunk. The serrated edges of the
beech leaves and how they alternated along their stem. The furiously

The little box turtle on Leonard Adkins' walk showed no fear of him, perhaps an
indication that it was the turtle's first human encounter.

flapping tiny wings of the hummingbird that buzzed my head (presumably
attracted by my red hat). The large
catalpa tree leaves that had become
transparent due to insects eating the
leaves' meat, but leaving the vascular
structure intact. The luxurious growth
of mosses that flourished despite the
recent lack of rain. All of these, and
more, crowded my sight, almost
demanding that I focus on them, that I
take in their various textures, shapes
and hues, so that this special little spot
in the world would be with me long
after I left the woods.
I felt refreshed as I drove back onto
I-81. Even the convoys of speeding
tractor-trailers could no longer rankle
my nerves.
Every interstate exit should have a
state park located nearby. 

when you go

The Hike: A moderate 3-mile loop hike of
the little-used Sinking Waters Trail System
with a steep, but short, switchbacked ascent
to a ridgeline at Warriors' Path State Park in
Kingsport, Tennessee.
Getting There: Take I-81 Exit 36 near
Kingsport, drive 1.5 miles on Fort Henry Drive
(Tenn. 36), turn right onto Hemlock Road
and, in another 1.6 miles, turn left onto Fall
Creek Road. Continue another 1.8 miles and
make a left turn onto Cedar Branch Road.
The trailhead parking is on the left in an
additional .7 mile.
Trail Information: A map of the park's trails
is available in the park office or at tnstateparks.
com/assets/pdf/additional-content/warriorspath_hiking-trails-map.pdf.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 | 13

http://www.tnstateparks.com/assets/pdf/additional-content/warriors-path_hiking-trails-map.pdf http://www.tnstateparks.com/assets/pdf/additional-content/warriors-path_hiking-trails-map.pdf http://www.tnstateparks.com/assets/pdf/additional-content/warriors-path_hiking-trails-map.pdf

Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014

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