Natchez Trace Trek Hiking Trail Patch

I have been out of town the last mont on Scouting and Work related trips and decided it was best to take a month off.  I am back online and will post as many neat old patches as I can each day.  Let's start out with a goodie close to my youth Scouting career...the Natchez Trace Trek Patch. In the 1960's as the Natchez Trace Parkway system was nearing completion in its route from near Columbia, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi the National Park Service decided to place a number of Hiking Trails or Treks along wth old suken roads of the original Trace.  The treks were popular at first but some were extremley short and others required hiking down the Trace with the traffic.  While traffic was not heavy it was a concern and after about five years the trails were shut down by the NPS that adminsters the Trace.

The above patch is based on the Trace logo which only changed with the word "Trek" taking the place of "Parkway".  It features the old Postal Rider as he makes his way from Nashville to Natchez in the early 1800's.  This patch was thought be be easy to find for Trail collectors.  It has been anything but.  Since so few hikes hit the Trek, the patches were never really distributed.  So to have one is a real treat.  As a side note I received mine from an old Ranger near the Colbert County / Tennessee River stop.  My troop had camped on the Lauderdale County side of the Trace around 1975.  We hiked across the Tennessee River Bridge to the Colbert Park and returned to our campsite.  The day was fairly warm and it was in the winter timeframe.  That night as we slept the temperatures dropped and when we woke up the next morning, there was six inches of snow on the ground and bitterly cold.  The only time this old Alabama Scout ever camped in the snow.  That patch brings back memories of that event.  I have held on to it ever since.

Blue Beaver Trail - Lookout Mountain, TN

Many years ago I hiked this trail as a Scout in the heat of July.  The Trail was founded by my Scoutmaster's father, Mr. Gutav "Gus" Geiger of Signal Mountain, TN.  When we went to hike the trail we camped out at Mr. Geiger's home.  At the time I was the Senior Patrol Leader of our Troop (284 in Florence, AL).  In prepping for the hike we looked at the map and I remember Mr. Geiger (my Scoutmaster and his father) telling me to look carefully at it.  The trail started at the old Nature Center and meandered up the side of Lookout Mountain.  Needless to say no one seemed excited to hike this in the heat.  So I looked at the map carefully and realized there were no questions to answers - only points on the trail to shoot azimuths and go from there.  Quickly realizing I could start at the top of the Mountain and shoot reverse azimuth's I would accomplish the goal of hiking the trail.  So that is what we did much to the delight of the Geiger men.  So fast were we on the hike that we extended it out another 6-7 miles to cover the overlying and longer Nolichucky Jack Trail.

The patch pictured above was designed by Mr. Gus Geiger and shows a Union "Beaver" aiming his Cannon at Lookout Mountain.  Gus had shared this design with Mr. Ken Humphreys of Shiloh Military Trails fame, who commented in a letter to Gus that "this is the best looking trail patch I have ever seen".  The originals were a swiss loom patch, colorful and hard to earn.  To many Scouts of the Deep South the Blue Beaver Trail was a real treat to hike and even greater thrill to complete - especially when you received this beautiful patch.  The trail is still active to this day.  Check it out! 

Shiloh Military Trail Anniversary Hike Patches

Most Scouts in the South are familiar with Shiloh National Military Park.  They have about eight trails that encompass the battlefield that range from 3 miles up to 20 miles.  Scouts can earn a myriad of patches and medals for completing these hikes.  Started in 1960 by Troop 343 Scoutmaster Ken Humphreys of Memphis, TN, the trails have continued to be well hiked and a desitination for many generations of Scouts and Leaders.  This is mainly due to the most well marked National Military Battlefieldl of the Civil War and a great organization handling the Trails.

One of the rarer patches to earn is the Anniversary Hike Patch. This is awarded to Scouts who complete the hike on the actual days of the battle - April 6 or 7.  This usually happens when the the 6 & 7 fall on a weekend date.  To date about 20 variations of the above patch have been issued.  They are hard to get and highly prized.  With the Sesqucentennial of the Civil War and the upcoming anniversary at Shiloh in 2012, these will be highly sough after items.  A great mix of Scouting and American History.