As we loaded our canoes into a swampy stretch of the Ghost River
near Moscow, Tennessee, I asked my guide and canoe-mate, Keith
Kirkland, if we’ll be unloading at the same spot when our four-mile
river tour is over.
“Yep, the Ghost River is the only river in the world that makes a
full circle,” Kirkland said with a mischievous grin.
Needless to say, I’m a little naive when it comes to the river, any
river. Not only did I fail to realize that Kirkland was teasing, I also
had no idea how close Memphis is to such a serene, beautiful body of
water. After just an hour’s drive, 15 Memphis residents (including me)
recently set out in canoes on the marshy area of the Wolf River known
as the Ghost.
Our canoe trip was a precursor to the Wolf River Conservancy’s
upcoming Wolf River Day. On September 12th, Memphians will have a
chance to become familiar with the local stretch of the Wolf with canoe
trips, a nature walk, wildlife displays, a green expo on the V&E
Greenline, and a sneak peek at the future Wolf River Greenway. Events
will take place across the Memphis area.
Stretching for about nine miles, the Ghost portion of the Wolf is so
named because folks have a tendency to get lost among its twists and
turns. Thankfully, the path is marked with blue signs nailed onto the
Cypress trees jutting out of the murky water. And of course, we also
had a couple of able guides — Kirkland and director Steve Fleegal
— from the Wolf River Conservancy.
Throughout our three-hour canoe trip, Kirkland pointed out native
plants, such as spatterdock lily pads. We also saw bright-red cardinal
flowers, which bloom in the late summer and early fall. The beavers and
mink were hiding, but their dams posed a challenge for our canoes in a
few areas.
“Back in 1996, [the land around the Ghost River] was purchased by a
timber company, and they were going to cut down trees on the south and
north side of the river,” Fleegal said. “It’s a long, complicated
story, but eventually, the conservancy got grant money to purchase and
save the property.”
Midway through our journey, Chuck Skypeck, master brewer at Ghost
River Brewing, treated us to ice-cold cups of Ghost River Golden drawn
from a small keg in his canoe. Locally owned Ghost River Brewing
sources its water from the Memphis Sands aquifer, which recharges in an
area near the Ghost River.
As we paddled to the home stretch, it dawned on me that we weren’t
unloading in the same area where we put in. Instead, we pulled our
canoes onto land near Bateman Bridge, four miles from our starting
location near Leatherwood Road. I turned to Kirkland with a quizzical
expression.
“You know what they say about river guides?” Kirkland asked. “If
they’re moving their lips, they’re probably lying.”