This year the Professionalism Committee asked Judge Thomas Phillips, who served as its chair for many years and plans to retire from the judiciary in 2013, to choose a hike that he would enjoy sharing with members of the Bar.   Judge Phillips has chosen a visit to Historic Rugby which provides options for hikers as well as others who may choose a less active endeavor.

The hike will be a combination of the "Gentlemen's Swimming Hole" and "Meeting of the Waters Loop" trails on Historic Rugby public park lands which are now within the Big South Fork River and Recreation Area. The 0.4 mile trail to the swimming hole is an easy to moderate trail which can be taken alone or in combination with the Meeting of the Waters 2.1 mile loop. The loop is rated moderate/strenuous by the Park Service and expected to take up to 2 hours to complete. Historic Rugby is a restored Victorian village with British roots which provides not only these hike options, but also a guided walking tour and various buildings and exhibits open to the public. See http://www.historicrugby.org/. After the hike, the hikers and others who wish to join us will have lunch at 1:00 p.m. at the Harrow Road Cafe in Rugby which serves traditional English foods.

Logistics: Meet at the Cracker Barrel off the Merchant's Road exit on I-75 N by 8:30 a.m. (If you are planning to have breakfast there first, please plan to have finished eating by 8:30!) We will arrange for car pools to Rugby and depart shortly thereafter. Travel time to Rugby is approximately 1.5 hours. We will need to make reservations for anyone eating at the Café, so please notify either Betsy Tonkin or Bruce Foster by email no later than Thursday, October 11, if you plan to participate: betsy.tonkin@usdoj.gov or bfoster@bassberry.com.