Feb 9. 10, and 13, 2025.
The last segment of this Scenic Trail is in TN; the other four are in MS (see previous posts).
The 23-mile Highland Rim segment is fairly well maintained, which came as a relief after some of the MS segments. The trail ambled through woods, directly along the Parkway, and over streams. Lots of horse apples to avoid since this segment is open to equestrians.
I broke this section up into three days, parking my car, biking the Parkway to the start of the day’s hike, then hiking the trail back toward the car. Hiking mileage is longer than the first sign declares, by the way. It’s 23-miles, not 20.
I’m now finished with the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.* Most of the time, I felt a sense of awe and keen reverence knowing I was following the footsteps of so many different peoples of so many different historical time periods. I’ll write more about the profound significance of this trail when I post about the Parkway tomorrow. I finished that today too.
*I did not hike the Parkway to connect segments as the NPS has no such rules. You are allowed to drive between trail segments, so I did. Since most of my USA life is about hiking now, I felt no qualms about doing this. Life’s too short to hike a parkway if the rules don’t require you to do so.
