Middle TN Group November 14, 2024

Topic: Randy Hedgepath's Favorite Spots 

7:00 PM CST
Walter Criley Visitors’ Center at Radnor Lake

Retired State Naturalist and waterfall discoverer Randy Hedgepath led Sierra Club members on a stunning virtual tour of his favorite hikes at the monthly program meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14 at Radnor Lake Visitor Center. MTG members enjoyed Plateau vistas, boulder-strewn coves, original growth tulip poplars, and waterfalls disappearing into sinkholes.
During his 16-year stint on the Cumberland Plateau, Hedgepath’s popular interpretive hikes gained him a reputation as a passionate, intrepid guide of Tennessee’s wild places. On Thursday he highlighted remote destinations unknown to most, sprinkled with local history and geological context—like beautiful Schwoon Springs in Savage Gulf, which drops out of a cave among tumbled limestone then promptly rushes back underground.
Hedgepath told the story of how he unwittingly became the face of Tennessee Brew Works’ State Park Blonde ale (with a portion of the sales donated to the Tennessee State Parks Conservancy). The evening’s door prize was a six-pack of the signature beer, won by attendee Ed Doss (pictured at right with Hedgepath).