DigiTravel Log: Hatfield Knob

One of my fellow students in a photography course at the University of Tennessee told me about a place just about 35 miles north of my home.  Outisde the town of La Follette, TN, and up a mountain, and down a rutted, gravel road, you can visit the Elk Viewing Station at Hatfield Knob.

In 2001, the state of Tennessee released a small number of Canadian elk into these mountains in an effort to reintroduce the animal.  Elk live in the Great Smoky Mountains, but at one time roamed extensively throughout the Southeast.  The numbers dwindled but Tennessee did not lose hope of reversing that course.

Hatfield Knob is quite large and planted with the delicacies that elk love:  clover, barley, rye grass, etc.  Protected from hunters, and with plentiful food, they have done well in this are and the herd has grown in size.

Unfortunately, at the time I visited, all I could see were two cows at a distace and a lone bull in the treeline.  A larger rgoup was on a distant knoll.  And, alas, they did not wander close enough for my 300mm lens to get a close shot.  However, I was amused listening to the "bugling" of the male - his mating call, as now was the rutting season.  It's sort of hard to describe what it sounds like.  If you didn't know better, walking up the trail to the viewing tower could be a frightening experience when suddenly this surreal whinnying is heard in the forest around you.

Well, anytime you go to view nature in its natural habitat, you are not guaranteed a show.  I will make more trips to Hatfield Knob, especially when there is some snow atop the mountain so I can get a shot of the beasts in the snow. 

When you visit a place like Tennessee, get off the beaten path - otherwise, you might miss something you're just not going to see anywhere else.