In 2003 Eric, Dave, and I decided to ride part of the Natchez Trace Trail. The Natchez Trace Trail is 440 miles long and follows the route of the “Old Trace” which extends from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi. It was actually first formed by prehistoric animals following the dry ground of the Trace to the distant grazing grounds in what is now Middle Tennessee. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians later cleared the Trace and used it for trade until it became an established trail. And even before that, indigenous peoples occupied the area 2,000 years ago leaving proof of their civilization in their burial mounds found in several parts of the area. The Trail was later used by European and American explorers in the 18th and early 19th centuries, including the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.
In mid-October Eric and I hauled our bikes to Michigan, met Dave, then loaded the bikes into his van and headed to Nashville, Tennessee. As we had no way to get back after the end of the ride we had to support ourselves, using the van (a luxury to which we were not accostumed), rotating the driving duties each day. This is not our preferred way of doing a bike trip, but we have always said it’s not just about the riding, it’s about the sites along the way. So we decided to take our time on the ride itself and see the countryside and the historic sites, just riding a portion of the Trace. The Trail is used by motor vehicles and bicycles but, at least in most places, is not terribly busy. The surface is smooth, easy to ride, and traverses beautiful countryside.
The first day was memorable for some steep descents out of the mountains and for a hollow just off the Trace where three waterfalls (actually one falls coming down in three different places) tumbled over the surrounding cliffs appropriately named Fall Hollow, although I think the falls were named Jackson Falls. We also crossed the beautiful (and long) Natchez Trace Bridge, which, as it is two lane, kept us on our toes, so to speak, watching for traffic behind us. Once we had made it across we all agreed it was a great experience (even the van driver).
We camped that evening in Meriwether Lewis campground and, the next morning, walked around the park and monument to Lewis (best known as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with William Clark from 1804-1806), taking in some interesting history. Lewis either committed suicide (as most historians believe) or was murdered (as others claim) on this site in 1809.
After the time spent in the park we continued our trip (you can see why our progress is sometimes less than speedy).
There are places along the route where one can see The Old Trace, which is interesting and makes you wonder how it could ever have been kept from becoming overgrown in the 18th century.
We rode all day this time with few stops and none of any length. We crossed into Alabama and noticed a reduction in hills and in the size of them. It was another good day of riding and a bit easier. The scenery continued to be great and the road smooth. We crossed the Tennessee River and spent the night in a motel, as the forecast called for rain, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The forecast had been right so we were glad we had decided on the motel. We knew that the Shiloh National Military Park was not far from Muscle Shoals so, as it was still raining, we decided to use the van to drove over and see it. Shiloh is the site of a famous and important Civil War battle that marked the ascendency of General Grant as a leader with whom to be reckoned and, as President Lincoln later pointed out, a man who could hold his liquor. As Dave and I are history buffs and Eric interested in everything, we spent the better part of the day there, then drove to where we would have ridden that day, if, that is, we had ridden. Riding would not have been pleasant and we all agree that, while we CAN ride in most any weather if need be, we’d just as soon not if it is not necessary. We have all ridden in our share of nasty weather, and we were glad we had brought the van.
The weather had cleared the next day and we continued our southbound route and rode through Tupelo, MS and traffic on the Trace route was pretty heavy so we took some back streets trying to keep the main route in sight or at least close. We have ridden through towns smaller than Tupelo using back streets and have gotten somewhat lost, but that adds to the fun. We stopped at the visitor center for the boyhood home of Elvis Presley but did not make the short trip to the actual house as we were a bit behind schedule and, frankly, not all that interested. That night we camped in a campground alongside numerous RV’s. We had some nice conversations, with our new neighbors and they even made us some drinks (RV’ers are a nice, fun bunch of folks) as we sat outside enjoying the sunset around a campfire until it got too cold. Inside our sleeping bags inside the tents we spent a pleasant, warm night of sleep.
Earlier on our ride we had gone past Mangum Mound, ancient burial mounds made by a prehistoric civilization. Many were built in the shapes of animals and, while exploring the mounds, historians found numerous bodies that suggested when a chieftain was buried all his courtiers were killed and buried with him. I supposed this really kept the servants on the alert for assassination threats and health hazards. We had passed the site with just a cursory inspection, so we were happy when we came upon Emerald Mound and had more time to peruse.
We made a 35-foot climb to the top of the 8 acre mound (yes, they are really large mounds) and back, then, as it was getting dark, jumped back on the bikes and started the short ride to Natchez. The sun was setting as we neared Natchez and we were fortunate the traffic was light.
We finished the ride into Natchez, found a motel, cleaned up, and took the van into the city for our usual celebratory dinner. We found a nice restaurant called “Cock of the Walk” and relaxed over a very nice Southern dinner served by a very friendly waiter. It was another good ending to another great trip with great friends.
