Introduction
Life was more enjoyable two days ago! As an introductory sidenote, yesterday, on Friday, May 26, my '06 Frontier and I hauled trash, bought Molly (our ol' puppy) edibles at the Tractor Supply, got gas, and bought groceries at the local store. With groceries in the truck bed, warming in the sun, my ol' truck would not crank! A good Samaritan, in a black Dodge Ram, and I tried to jump start my truck. The battery was fine. The good Samaritan brought the melting groceries and me to the house. Thanks, good Samaritan! A local towing service hauled my ol' truck back to the barn (garage). The repair saga continues next Tuesday. The plan is to have my truck towed to the fix-him-up shop. I think that he needs a new starter. Stay tuned!
Two days ago, this Appalachian Irishman enjoyed about two hours in the woods at Norris Dam State Park! My ol' truck ran fine as always then. The cemetery was calling, and I had to go! This 52nd article in the hiking topic section begins by reflecting back to when I visited the cemetery on 1/17/2015. It then explains Thursday's hike to the cemetery. Finally, I focus on the cemetery and my podcast from there. The conclusion will remind us of 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
Visit to the Cemetery on 1/17/2015
I didn't publish any articles in 2015. Apparently, life, such as it was, withheld my written and glib Irish musings. My thirteenth hike at Norris Dam State Park was on Saturday, 1/17/2015. On that day, eight years ago, I'd visited the same cemetery, as I did on Thursday. I took three photographs. The following is the first photograph from 2015, taken at 3:57 PM:
The image looks northwest. The other two photographs are not included in this article. The notes in my hiking record log for that 2015 hike read simply, “Found grave site. Photos. Warm, sunny. 50’s F.” I recall the hike well enough.
The Hike to the Cemetery on 5/25/2023
The 4/21/2023 article and embedded podcast share my hike at Norris on 4/19/2023. That was a “civilized hike.”
Thursday's hike was a little more interesting than the one last month. For some reason, I have been thinking about my hike and visit to the cemetery in 2015. Memorial Day is approaching. The cemetery was calling, and I had to go visit!
I remembered the trails that lead to the cemetery. Norris Dam State Park has a Park Map that shows trails. There are two ways to get to the cemetery. The quicker route is to turn at the Rice Grist Mill onto Lower Clear Creek Road (a winding dirt road). Turn down the hill at the water plant and drive across the wooden bridge, which crosses the creek. There is a small parking area. Find the Red Hill Trail that leads up and northeast. After a while, you'll reach the cemetery.
The other way is longer. It takes about fifty minutes at a steady pace with no resting. That's the one that I chose. A loop entrance road is near the east side of Norris Dam. It's across from the TVA Visitor Center. Enter and turn up the road that leads to the Tea Room. It's narrow and roughly paved. Drive past the Tea Room to the CCC Cabins. Find parking near the cabin farthest back. The High Point Trail leads up the ridge and east near that last cabin. It's an easy, winding trail that leads up and down hills. Watch out for horse manure! The trail is for hikers, horseback riding, and trail bikes. After hiking under the tree canopy for about a mile or more, Red Hill Trail (with a trail marker) is on the right, leading farther southeast.
Once I reached the Red Hill Trail marker, I met a couple, somewhat older than me, and their two horses. The riders were off and resting their horses. That explained why the last patch of horse manure, which I'd stepped around, was so fresh! We conversed cordially for a minute or two. Until then, no other hikers or riders were on the trail. I was alone in the woods, but God was with me. Well, I saw squirrels, birds, and rabbits. The poison, especially poison oak, is not as abundant as it is on House Mountain this time of year. Of special note, as I started hiking, I saw what looked like a bobcat, running away from me with its tail extended. It could have been a large feral cat, but the markings looked more like a bobcat.
The Red Hill Trail winds mostly down the ridge. After a few minutes, the old cemetery is visible. I took the photograph below at 2:34 PM, after I'd recorded the video farther below.
I was standing at about the same location as I had been, when I took the photograph on 1/17/2015. The image also looks northwest.
Visit & Podcast at the Cemetery
As the podcast explains, there are about forty grave sites. As well as I could read the markers, the birthdates are mostly in the 1800s, and the death dates are mostly in the early 1900s. I could make out grave sites for Civil War veterans and possibly World War I veterans, with American flags on their grave sites. Engravings on several gravestones are not legible.
I took the above photograph at 2:16 PM. It's where I recorded the upcoming audiovisual. I was at the back of the cemetery, with the woods behind me. The image looks southeast. As in 2015, I wondered what the lives of the people buried here were like. Were they ready to go to their heavenly home, when they passed on? A few stones denote the passing of infant children. Those sinless infants, of course, went to heaven. They didn't live long enough to reach the age of accountability.
The audiovisual recording is "Norris Dam State Park Hike 23, 5-25-2023: Visiting the Cemetery (published 5-27-2023; episode 12)," Appalachian Irishman - Podcasts (YouTube). It's about four minutes. The panoramic view follows the introduction. I hope that you enjoy my extemporaneous comments. I hadn't planned the deeper thoughts that came to mind near the end.
Conclusion
My total time in the woods was just over two hours, from 1:14 to 3:20 PM. The hike to the cemetery took exactly 50 minutes. The hike back took 45 minutes. The wide and clear trails are mostly beneath tree canopy. Unfortunately, an open view from a ridgeline or bluff is not available. Near the end of the hike out, I met a younger man, pushing his trail bike up a steep ridge. We talked briefly.
The above photograph, at 3:20 PM, marked the end of the hike. My ol' truck was rested and ready for the about 30-minute drive back to the barn (garage). Neither of us knew that he would not crank, while groceries melted in the truck bed, the next day.
At the cemetery, the inspired words of the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, came to mind. Please read the entire chapter. Also, please read 2 Corinthians 5:1-11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
In the context of Christ's second coming, the apostle wrote, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52, NIV). The comforting conclusion states, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58, NIV).
Grave sites in the cemetery denote lives lived. The Lord knows those, who are absent from the body and present with Him. See 2 Corinthians 5:1-11. He also knows those, who are absent from the body and separated from Him in Hades, awaiting final judgment. See the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31. How many, whose grave sites mark their passing, are present with the Lord or awaiting final judgment? The Lord knows.
This imperfect but saved sinner keeps trying to abound in the Lord's work, such as He seems to be laying out for me. Thanks be to God that my temporal labor will not be in vain! I am ready to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Are you? I hope so. If not, and if you would like to start a conversation with me as to how to be ready, please use the email “Contact Form” on this website. As one former poor beggar, who found the Bread of Life, I'll try to help you find the same saving Bread.
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