My First Sunset Hike With Tennessee Parks and Rec—Why I’ll be Joining Again

I am a little bit of a loner when it comes to adventuring. I love going on a hike in Tennessee with my family and maybe bringing along someone else, but for the most part, it's just us. Even when we go to National Parks, I will rarely go into the visitor center. Not because I am some weird trailblazing hermit who wants to shelter myself from all of civilization, but because it just sort of works for us. That is until I went on my first hike with the Parks and Rec department. It all started when my wife forwarded me an email about a sunset hike. I loved the idea, so we got ready to go. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but once it was done, I walked away with a renewed sense of pride for our community and the lovely Buffalo Mountain.

We drove up the familiar windy roads where the forest canopy closes in thick, and even though the city was only minutes behind us, it felt like we were miles away. There was a group waiting outside, checking their hiking poles and adjusting their backpack straps. It felt a bit awkward at first, not knowing what to do as we made our way up to the multigenerational group. Children ran around the leaves near the dogs, while an older couple laughed while retelling their latest adventure. One of the ladies in the group looked up at us and asked if we were there for the sunset hike with great enthusiasm. I felt sheepish, but her excitement was infectious, so I followed suit with an exuberant greeting. Her name was Connie, and I was already happy to be in her group. 

She quickly addressed the group with the plan for us to see the sunset. It was a short hike, but when a little kid who was running a little later asked her how long the hike was, she jokingly told him it would be a long, treacherous hike and he should make sure he had his headlamp. She joked and laughed the whole way up and took time to talk to each person in the group as we ascended the mountain to our first spot, which was the trail sign. I was curious why she wanted to stop everyone at what seemed like a simple sign, but then I had an interesting tidbit about something hidden on the back of the sign. Each trail marker sign had a number attached to it, so if there was even an emergency, you could find your way to the nearest sign and tell the responders where you were. It was pretty clever and something I never would have noticed if not for her explaining it.

We continued on to a place called Sunset Point, which only seemed fitting to see the sunset. Connie once again stopped to point out this sign. Unlike the familiar blue trail signs, this one was hand carved, and she pointed to the older gentleman with us and told the story of how he made that sign himself. His name is Allen, and he noticed it was a good spot to witness the setting sun, so he named the spot and placed the sign. We continued a few more steps to a bench at the overlook, where Connie then explained how Allen also made the bench. While watching the setting sun, she also told us a story about how Buffalo Mountain caught on fire at one point. Although they have cleared the dangerous dead burnt trees, there is one at the overlook that stands tall and is charred black. She left it as a reminder of that event and how we need to be careful to care for our forest, or we might not have places like this to enjoy.

I loved all the little stories straight from the Parks & Rec department, but my ears tickled when I overheard an older woman talking about the White Mountains in New Hampshire. This is an area I am very familiar with, so it sparked a conversation. She explained to me that she has a goal of hitting the highest points in every state and has quite an accomplished list of hikes already. I rarely get a chance to talk to people who have traveled so much and have been on so many adventures. I asked her to tell me more and more stories about her travels through Colorado, New York, and her local favorite trails. As I listened to her adventurous tales, I noticed my girls talking to one of the other kids and my wife hiking with the little boy. It felt like a real community, and it pulled together in less than an hour.

We finished watching the sunset, but Connie had one more story for us that was my favorite of all. She noted the Noggin Trail and how it has a very different name than all the other trails in the park. She said that was because she named it, and she doesn’t tell the story very often, but she decided to share it with us. I won’t ruin the surprise for you here; you will just have to go on a hike with her and ask her yourself to hear this fun and fascinating story. It is her story to tell, not mine, plus she tells it way better than me.

Finding a community of like-minded people was alot of fun, and I thank the Parks & Rec department for putting on such a great little meet-up. I would gladly be going again and can’t wait till the next time they take off on another adventure if you want to hike in Tennessee like I did, then make sure to check out the Johnson City’s Park & Rec page for more information. 

If you do venture out on your own like I normally do, then make sure to have the AllTrails app where you can pull up maps and help you along the way to not get lost.