Cumberland Trail - Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee

Spent the last two days (Fri & Sat) volunteering with a work crew rebuilding and rehabilitating old 1930s CCC-built trail on the north side of Frozen Head State Park near Petros, Tennessee. Somehow, our leader found just where the old trail went and flagged it. We came behind and re-dug it with mattocks and fire rakes. I estimate we did a little less than a mile the two days I was there, but made it all the way down the mountain, with numerous switchbacks.

We had a base camp on top of a mountain at the end of an old 5 or 6-mile rough gravel coal mining road. I hung in my hammock and one young guy did too. The rest of the crew (many of them anyway) are out for seven days total. I only had two days.

Was hard work, but a lot of fun too. I plan to do it again some time. Here's a link to a photo album. All pics have captions, which are my trip report.
Cumberland Trail -Frozen Head State Park trail building.

Rain Man

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RainMan! Awesome!!! With efforts like yours this trail will be completed.
I spent a few days in Soddy Daisy gorge (first meeting Neo there) a few years back.
I wonder what percentage of the trail is complete now? Did you here any numbers thrown out? Also, wonder what is the longest section one can do now that is complete.

Good stuff! Hard, but much appreciated, work there. I never knew how much effort it really was to create a trail until I did some trail work myself. Whole new appreciation. Thanks for getting out and spending some of your time doing this. Our future generations will benefit and appreciate it very much!

thanks for the neat pics, rain man. More importantly, thanks for the trail work. trail maintainers/builders deserve all the appreciation we can give 'em! did a day hike up in Frozen Head a few years ago--I'll have to get back up that way.

For those who are curious the CTC folks say on their site that currently about 130 miles are opened thanks to efforts from folks like Rain Man. Plenty of work yet to do but well on the way to having another fine footpath here in east Tennessee.

Sounds like ya had fun. Anytime you feel like doing more trail work head up here to NH! :)

Good for you, Rainman! Thanks for sharing.

Wasn't actually fishing for compliments, but you are all very welcome for the few hours fun-work I did. I posted pics in part hoping to stir up interest in my Nashville Backpacker group. Just thought some here would like them too and am glad y'all did.

Would have stayed out part of another day (Sunday), but had chores to do at home and needed a little recouperation time before a long drive alone to Saint Louis, where I sit now. Have to drive right back to Nashville today (transporting a friend via a rented wheelchair van).

But I look forward to another volunteer day on a trail soon and really look forward to hiking that section of the Cumberland Trail some day and thinking "I built this" (twenty feet, and that ten feet, and this fifteen feet! LOL).

Rain Man

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A great report and great efforts on your part Rain Man.

.....and why not a future group hang/section hike on the tCT (Tennessee's Cumberland Trail)....maybe a 3 day event kinda like we're doing in the BSF...and speaking of, RainMan can you not manipulate your schedule and come with us?