Sunday, June 6, 2021

Limestone Sinks Trail (Wilson County, Tennessee)

 

Next stop on this road trip home is a short trail in the Cedars of Lebanon State Park. This one caught my attention due to it's name and the geological implications. After driving a short distance into the park, I find the trailhead for the Limestone Sinks Trail. As we pull into the parking area, a gentleman that is just getting ready to leave informs me that the trail is covered with water. In fact, he says that water is actually streaming over the trail just a hundred or so feet from this trailhead. As I'm in some waterproof hiking shoes, I decide to go ahead and check it out, but I warn my mother, who is traveling with me to stay with the jeep. If it's not too dangerous, I'll come back for her.

He wasn't kidding. There is about an inch of water on the trail and it is flowing across it in places. Luckily, my shoes are waterproof to about that depth and I make my way along the left fork of the small loop trail. Beyond the standing water, there are a number of limestone boulders that have been flattened, either by nature or by man, that make up much of the trail's surface. The rain has made these incredibly slick. It's probably best that my mother doesn't attempt to hike this trail.

Being this far, I decide to continue on around the loop before heading back to the jeep. It's only about a half mile in total. Along the way, I find several examples of the sinks for which the trail is named. The largest of which is almost like a small cave, while others appear more like fissures that have opened up in the earth. I don't know the history of the geology of this place, but it certainly makes for a nice diversion from the long drive. After I complete the loop, I head back to the trailhead and depart for my next stop.

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