Day Hike: Mousetail Landing State Park

Originally penciled in on the calendar for backpacking, this weekend's outdoor excursion was switched to a day hike due to teenage behavioral issues at home (imagine that!) and unseasonably high temperatures that reached the upper 80s. In considering potential destinations, I remembered hiking Mousetail Landing's overnight trail and it's short, scenic loop trail a few years ago by myself and with no camera in tow. And I knew that without any corroborating testimony or photographic evidence, no jury of my peers or blog reader would ever believe I had been there, right? So I packed my camera and grabbed my wife (who is also my kidney donor) and took a drive to Linden, TN for an 8-mile walking tour.

Trailhead at Mousetail Landing

 

The trail begins at the playground near the Ranger Station, but within just a few minutes you're beyond earshot of those cacophonous sounds emanating from it - the laughing, the shouting, and, of course, the crying. Now it's just you and the woods . . . and the gnats, and the spider webs, and the occasional downed tree blocking the trail. I'm starting to remember why I don't hike very much in the summer. And after about the third spider web-to-the-face I'm asking myself why I left my hiking stick in the car. For all the spider webs, one would think the gnat population would be more suppressed!

 

One of the few webs that didn't catch my face

 

The trail winds through the woods, into a small clearing, and back into the woods on the other side. Here a short bridge takes you across a little creek before climbing to the top of the bluff. It was in this creek we saw a dead fawn laying on its side. An unfortunate sight to be sure, but maybe 15 minutes later, while following the trail up the side of the hill, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a buck peering down on us from above. This is also the section of trail where my wife said she knew she was in trouble, physically speaking. She was already struggling with the terrain, and we weren't even a quarter of the way through the hike. I blame myself, though, as I haven't been posting regularly. Maybe I should begin writing a kidney donor fitness blog.

 

Wishing we were heading downhill

 

After the ascension, we quickly descend the hill on the other side. Before long we're at the loop junction. There are two campsites on this loop section. Hiking the loop clockwise takes you to the campsite overlooking the Tennessee River first. This is where I envisioned us eating lunch and because we were hungry, this is the direction we went. 

 

Upon arrival to the camp, we noticed it was occupied. That seemed strange at one o'clock in the afternoon. This is, after all, a backpacking campsite on a short trail inside a state park. Typically these sites do not become occupied until later in the afternoon. There was nobody at the camp and yet there were three tents (at least one of which was family-size), a couple of lanterns, a cooler, and enough food for Thanksgiving dinner. More closely resembling what you'd see in a developed campground where you park the family truckster five feet from your tent, anyone could tell these supplies were not carried over the trail. It was plainly obvious the people who laid claim to this site had transported their supplies by boat and were, in fact, illegally camping.

 

We ate on a rock near the site, still with a view of the river. After lunch we trekked right through the rebels' camp to get our rightful close-up of the river. This is the highlight of the hike, and we would not be refused. We had our look and took our pictures. And sure enough, as we were turning to head back to the trail, here comes a boat pulling up to shore directly beneath us. Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe the enemy was sending in the goon squad to dispatch us.

 

 

The Tennessee River, as viewed from the enemy base

 





Lunch complete, it was back to the trail where we wound down near the water's edge. We stayed close to the river for a good while, though there aren't really any good views of this in the summer months. Being so low, we knew we were in a fool's paradise, as what goes down must come up. Or something to that effect. And so it was up for a while, then down for a while, up and down, and up again. Meanwhile my wife is back 100 feet or so throwing up lunch, an alarming little tidbit I didn't learn about until the drive home. We passed the other campsite before making it back to the loop junction. From here it's two miles to the trailhead and one more decent climb.

 

Traversing the slopes

 

When we passed the dead fawn in the creek, we knew we were getting close. And once I heard those delightful playground shrieks, my day's fun - and my wife's agony - was nearly over. As my wife arrived at the trailhead, I welcomed her with a downright putrid rendition of Barry Manilow's, "Looks Like We Made It." Left unacknowledged, I can only assume she was in no mood for any of my tomfoolery.  

 

Though the scenic three-mile day loop was out of the question this time, I hope to get back before too much time passes to document that trail, as well. The overnight trail at Mousetail Landing makes for an invigorating day hike. Full of rocks and roots, be sure to wear your good hiking boots for this one. My boots are worn out, and, believe me, my feet paid the price. Including our lunch break, this trail took us slightly more than four hours to complete. I believe it can be hiked comfortably in 3.5 hours, less if you don't stop for a meal. Following are a few more pictures from the trail. Happy hiking!

 

 

 

 

 

This rock has more hair than me