{"id":7388,"date":"2021-04-29T23:44:05","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T23:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/?p=7388"},"modified":"2021-06-03T23:15:54","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T23:15:54","slug":"day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Content” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

\"A
Today was the big day: hiking to the Natchez Trace northern terminus. The rain forecast kept changing, but before we turned in for the night it said the rain would arrive<\/a> around 10 a.m. So the plan was that I’d get up at 4 a.m. so I could start hiking at 5:45 a.m. If my leg (and luck) held up, I’d finish right as the rain was arriving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amy decided to sleep in a little more, then meet me somewhere up the trail to help with car shuttles<\/a> and, hopefully, hike the last few miles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Striking Out for the Natchez Trace Northern Terminus<\/h2>\n

I was fine getting up early. I’d set up my tent under the restroom overhang in case it rained overnight. It didn’t, but this light right over my tent started blinking on and off all night, preceded by some clicks. Why haven’t I learned there are outdoor lights at these restrooms?!<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, I headed out in the dark, driving my car to the next pull-out, then doing a 3-mile (4.8 km) out-and-back southbound, picking up those last few miles I had planned to do yesterday. From there, it was northbound to the terminus! The weather was cloudy and cool, which is actually great hiking weather.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meeting Up with Amy\"Woman<\/h2>\n

Shortly after I was heading northbound, Amy drove up. She wanted to take photos at the famous Double Arch Bridge<\/a>, just south of Nashville, but she’d confused it with another bridge. She also had an updated forecast: the rain was moving in sooner than 10 a.m. We drove to the Double Arch Bridge which, sadly, is a spot where a lot of people commit suicide. There are warning signs posted on the bridge, plus a call box for help. So tragic! After I took pix of this iconic bridge, we struck out together, northbound. But when it started to sprinkle, she turned around back toward her car. I trudged on toward the northern terminus. And then, a huge gift.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Gift from the Natchez Trace<\/h2>\n

So, the Natchez Trace is billed as a 444-mile parkway. I knew from our 2013 thru-bike<\/a> that the mile posts end at 442. There is no northern terminus marker, either. Just when the rain started to get heavy, and I thought I had another 4 miles (6.4 km) to go, I reached the terminus. Or what I assume is the terminus. I saw a twin structure to the one at the southern end, proclaiming the start of the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was at mile post 440. This is the only thing akin to a northern terminus sign, and since there is no mile post 444, I figured this is the end. So I snapped some photos in the rain and checked off another National Scenic Trail. Woot, woot!<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t Miss The Loveless Cafe<\/h2>\n

P.S. To celebrate our accomplishment, Amy and I headed to The\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Loveless Cafe<\/a>, which sits just off the parkway. It’s <\/span>the<\/em> place to go when you start or finish the Trace. Why? Well, they have incredible fried chicken and biscuits, for one thing. But after\u00a0<\/span>doing\u00a0some digging, I learned that\u00a0nearby business Trace Bikes used to have a storefront at The Loveless, which is likely where the cyclist traffic began. As more and more cyclists noshed at the Loveless while their bikes were being fixed or after shopping there, it became a tradition. A mighty tasty one, I might add!<\/span><\/p>\n

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (among regular links) to products I own and like, or which I think you might like. This means that, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Snowshoe<\/span><\/p>\n

Natchez Trace Miles Today: =8 (12.9 km)
<\/span>NT Miles Overall: 446.2 (718.1 km)*
<\/span>NT Miles To Go: 0 (0 km)<\/span><\/p>\n

*Why is this number\u00a0<\/span>different? The sections of National\u00a0Scenic Trail are longer than the parkway. Plus, the parkway’s northern terminus marker is actually at mile post 444. Don’t even try to figure this out!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A good book on the Natchez Trace is\u00a0Nashville to New Orleans Road Trip<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>a Moon guide by Meg Littman that includes info on the Trace.<\/span><\/p>\n

I really love my Vivobarefoot water shoes, which double as camp shoes. Get yours here!<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today was the big day: hiking to the Natchez Trace northern terminus. The rain forecast kept changing, but before we turned in for the night it said the rain would arrive around 10 a.m. So the plan was that I’d get up at 4 a.m. so I could start hiking at 5:45 a.m. If my leg (and luck) held up, I’d finish right as the rain was arriving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4568,32,2],"tags":[4580,4570,2745],"yoast_head":"\nDay 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Thousand Miler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-29T23:44:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-03T23:15:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie McManus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie McManus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/\",\"name\":\"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-29T23:44:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-03T23:15:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40a02f1d7ef2f7200b83dc75cdacc1ea\"},\"description\":\"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Thousand Miler\",\"description\":\"Traveling The Country, One Trail at a Time\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40a02f1d7ef2f7200b83dc75cdacc1ea\",\"name\":\"Melanie McManus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcc48e1d27ce775f9a299714a461a9c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcc48e1d27ce775f9a299714a461a9c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melanie McManus\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/author\/melanie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler","description":"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler","og_description":"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.","og_url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/","og_site_name":"The Thousand Miler","article_published_time":"2021-04-29T23:44:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-03T23:15:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg"}],"author":"Melanie McManus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melanie McManus","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/","url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/","name":"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus - The Thousand Miler","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-04-29T23:44:05+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-03T23:15:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40a02f1d7ef2f7200b83dc75cdacc1ea"},"description":"Read this journal to see what it's like to hike north of Highland Rim on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail to the Natchez Trace's northern terminus.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_8055-225x300.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-24-north-of-highland-rim-to-natchez-trace-northern-terminus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Day 24: North of Highland Rim to Natchez Trace Northern Terminus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/","name":"The Thousand Miler","description":"Traveling The Country, One Trail at a Time","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/40a02f1d7ef2f7200b83dc75cdacc1ea","name":"Melanie McManus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcc48e1d27ce775f9a299714a461a9c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcc48e1d27ce775f9a299714a461a9c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melanie McManus"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com"],"url":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/author\/melanie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}