Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023 - 32

JOE MORRIS'S 3 FAVORITE HIKING TRAILS
IN NORTHEAST TENNESSEE
" I really am energized
by pathways that lead
to waterfalls, overlooks,
things that families
use, " says Joe Morris,
Southern projects coordinator
for Tennessee
Eastman Hiking &
Canoeing Club, which
maintains part of the
Appalachian Trail. Here
are his three favorites:
Margarette Falls Trail,
Greeneville.This 2.7mile
out-and-back trail
features a 60-foot-tall
" beautiful waterfall and
it's not a long walk, "
Morris says. " It's used
mostly by families. So
when we work on that,
we see grandparents
with 6-year-old kids in
flipflops or Crocs. That
does it for me, that I
can make that treadway
safe for those kids
and their grandparents
to make memories
with each other. "
Whitehouse Cliffs
Trail, Rocky Fork State
Park, Flag Pond. Built
by all-volunteer labor,
Morris's group was
given artistic license to
create the steep trail
as they saw fit. " So we
built this magnificent
2-mile-out-and-back to
a 360-degree overlook,
which is absolutely
stunning. And it also
started at the beginning
of the pandemic.
It's amazing. "
Kingswood Treadway,
Bean Station. After
his mother's death five
years ago, Morris, who's
adopted, launched the
J.C. Morris Family Foundation
to help foster
kids. In 2020-21, volunteers
and students
from Kingswood Home
For Children constructed
the family-friendly
loop on the north
shore of Cherokee
Lake near Morristown.
" It's used by the kids at
the foster home, but
it's also open to the
public, " Morris says. " It's
1.6 miles right now, but
we're actually going to
start extending that
this year and make it
larger because it's become
rather popular. "
-NH
bring to remove it. "
The need is much more than cosmetic,
Morris points out. Heavy rain and winds
topple trees throughout the spring season,
blocking trails and forcing hikers to
climb over or find a way around. Delicate
soil and sensitive vegetation are easily
damaged by muddy boots.
" If you don't maintain those really
high-use areas, people begin to wander all
over the mountain, " he says. " Were it not
for the dedication of a very, very small
group of people, trail systems as we know
them would simply go back to the earth
very quickly. "
Trail work, difficult and challenging, is in
many respects its own reward, but Morris
was especially pleased to be named the
Appalachian Trail Conference's Southern
Region 2022 Volunteer of the Year.
Many trail maintainers initially join
because they love the outdoors and the
chance to connect with like-minded hiking
enthusiasts. What they don't expect,
Morris says, is the sense of belonging it
gives them.
" For many of them, they don't have
any family left so we take care of one
another. We reach out to one another.
There's a guy named Bob Peoples, an Appalachian
Trail Hall of Famer who lives
in Hampton, Tennessee. I call him every
week. Since my parents have died, he's
32 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
like my surrogate big brother/father. I
check on him without fail, and likewise. "
To Morris's delight, the hands-on skills
he learned as a boy have transferred perfectly
to his volunteer work for the AT.
His grandfather, who built his own rock
walls and homes in southeastern Kentucky,
taught him how to replace chair
bottoms, shape wood with a drawknife,
and use other traditional tools.
" For me, a deep connection to the
mountains and specifically the land and
anything I could do manually associated
with that is paramount for me, " Morris
says. " It was an easy step over a specific
line, not hard at all. As it turns out, it appealed
to my sense of spatial acuity as
well. "
Ultimately, his newfound mission has
done so much more.
" The Appalachian Trail saved my life, "
he says. " It gave me purpose. It gave me
a reason to get up in the morning. I owe
that community my very best effort every
day. ... I loved my jobs and I loved my
career, but I'm a trail maintainer. That's
what I was born to do and that's who I
am. "
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Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023

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