Big Hill Pond State Park

Big Hill Pond Trail …….Moderate…..3.6 miles………………Outcasts Total:565.5 miles
Azalea Spring Trail …….Moderate…..1.3 miles
Turkey Call Trail ………Moderate…..1.9 miles
Day One………………………………6.8 miles

Turkey Call Trail ………Moderate…..1.9 miles
Azalea Spring Trail …….Moderate…..0.8 miles
Board Walk …………….Easy………..0.5 miles
Tuscumbia Trail………...Moderate…..1.3 miles
Dry Ridge Trail…………Moderate…..5.5 miles
Day Two……………………………..10.0 miles
Total………………………………….16.8 miles

Marco and I took this trip, which we started after the usual all night of running at the fire hall. We started with our first wildlife being Geese walking down Walnut Street in the Boro. It takes about three and a half hours to get to Big Hill Pond State Park, which is south of Jackson in Pocahontas TN. They have a map on the Tennessee park website which gives a small amount of information. The visitor center is closed on the weekend so you need to get a hold of them during the week and have them put one of their good maps out for you to pick up. You need the good map, which we have a picture of, to follow their different color hiker dudes that they mark the different trails with. We got lucky and the Ranger stopped by the visitor center so we got in to get the map.

The back country, or not as popular, trails are in rougher shape than the popular ones do to manpower according to the Ranger. The trail parking is across from the picnic shelter down by the boat ramp. We got a kick out of the sign there listing backpackers separate from hikers.

We got on the trail at 11am. We took the Big Hill Pond trail around the East side of the park down to Big Hill Pond. You cross a long wooden bridge over Travis McNatt Lake and then head up through the woods. We were a little disappointed that you cannot see Big Hill Pond from the trail, as the woods are too thick. There is a little waterway at the end of a dirt road that you can load your boat in and go out to the pond. All of the area Southwest of the hills in the park is swampland. The area around Big Hill Pond needs some trail work. The Trail skirts the swamp along Big Hill Pond and then goes back through the woods. This is where Marco got to see his first snake and excited he did get. After you cross the train tracks, where I picked up my track splinter, you drop back down and follow along the swamp on the Dogwood Point Trail, which is also labeled Turkey Call Trail.

The first shelter we came to is Pipe Rock shelter. All of the shelters are wood structures with three bunk beds in each. Pipe Rock and Dogwood Point both have outhouses. They do have a wood bee and wasp problem. Pipe Rock shelter is a good climb from the trail and you need to be looking for the trail to spot it. The water source is the muddy Cypress Creek, which is at the bottom of the hill. We did find a spring just past this shelter trail at an old road site. We continued down the trail to the lowest point of the park. Since we figured that the Dogwood Point shelter would not have any water, we found the Tuscumbia River by following an old road bed due West of the point about one hundred yards through the woods. We bagged our water and carried it up to the shelter where we stayed the night.

Marco was proud to see the outhouse, with a manual flush I must add. Of course he couldn't get it to work. It might have been neglected for a while. We suffered through a steak and baked potato dinner with pudding for desert, but we were still roughing it. We enjoyed the wildlife, picked ticks, and listening to the bees work the shelter over. Marco got some pictures of the local frogs and toads. We didn’t hang around the fire too long. It was more of just a small light maker as the temp was in the sixties. We told a few lies over cough medicine and called it a night. At one point the bees stopped buzzing. It was like they got a signal and they just all stopped at once. We saw a bat later on flying around.

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, and were on the trail by 8am. We hiked North across the train tracks and followed the Azalea Spring trail to the half mile boardwalk. It is listed at lengths from one mile to a half a mile on different park items. The boardwalk crossed Dismal Swamp where we got to see deer, squirrels, and a mud turtle swimming the creek. We were fast enough to get a picture of us hiking the boardwalk and that was about it.

From the Boardwalk we hiked to the observation tower. This is a 73’ metal observation tower that offers a panoramic view of Travis McNatt Lake and Dismal Swamp. We got some good pictures from the top and Marco got a good picture of a large bird.

From the observation tower, we took the Tuscumbia Trail over to the Tuscumbia Bend shelter. This shelter is located on a small stream. There is a sign there, but it points in the wrong direction. Walk along the stream and you can find it. I don't know if this stream runs all summer or not. From there we hiked to the horse trail and ate lunch at the Dry Ridge Trail head. We did get to see a grey snake cross the trail and I actually kicked a box turtle that was on the trail. He didn't come out of his shell, but I would imagine he had a headache and wasn't interested in visiting.

The Dry Ridge Trail goes over to Travis McNatt Lake and goes around the North end of the lake back to the boat ramp.

We got pictures of the Dipping Vat. We had no idea what a dipping vat was used for until we looked it up on the Internet. They used the vats because of the tick infestation back in the late 1800,s. They were required to dip all of the farm animals and have them inspected.

The Grassy Point shelter has a lake front view and a half a picnic table. They need to clean out an access for swimming here. We continued around the lake. The North end of the lake you do some board, log, and bridge jumping across the swamp. After that you hike along the shore back to the boat dock.

We visited with the ranger after our hike and he said that they have a steady flow of hikers, but never many at a time.

On the way back we stopped at the Pinson Mounds which was pretty cool to check out: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/homework/historicsites/pinsmoun.html

Pictures

North South Trail

The guys are scared of a few tornado's and have cancelled our hike for today. It's kinda sad because I have brought them so far through rain, sleet, and snow. I guess I will have to toughen them up a little bit more.

Angel Falls Trail, River Trail East, Big Island, and Pilot-wines loops

Trail.....................Miles..........Rating.........Outcast Total: 548.7
Day One: 8.1
Angel Falls Trail.....2 Miles.......Easy
River Trail East......6.1 Miles.....Easy
Day Two: 15.3
Station Camp..........0.2 Miles.....Easy
Big Island Loop Trail...5 Miles.....Moderate
Indian Dome Rockhouse...0.4 Miles...Easy
Pilot-Wines Loop Trail..9.7 Miles...Moderate
Day Three: 14.2
Pilot-Wines Loop Trail..3.1 Miles....Moderate
Big Island Loop Trail....9 Miles.....Moderate
Station Camp...........0.1 Miles.....Easy
River Trail East.........2 Miles.....Easy
Day Four: 6.1
River Trail East.........4.1.........Easy
Angel Falls Trail.........2 Miles.....Easy
Total Miles......43.7

We didn't mean to out run the horses!
Troy and I were the only ones that could make this hike. We headed out after work and made our way, after signing in, to Leatherwood Ford Trail head parking. We got on the trail at noon. We used 100 Trails of the Big South Fork by Russ Manning for our trail description. There is a lack of signs on these trails, but they do use metal trail markers which are few and far between. Red for the Loop trails and red and green for the river trail.

Angels falls trail is an easy hiking trail running along the Big South Fork Cumberland River to Angel Falls. River Trail East connects Angel Falls with Station Camp crossing. We did have two creek crossings that required the donning of the old Crocks. The weather was beautiful and it only called for rain on our second day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the ticks were after us. Yes, there were plenty of ticks on this hike.

That evening as we started looking for a camp site, we walked into Station Camp Crossing. There are a few camping sites here and Station Camp Road ends here. It was 5pm and we were ready to eat.

We set up camp, collected fire wood, got our water, and settled in for the night. It was only suppose to get down to the mid forties tonight. The owls were out tonight and a friendly coyote called in the night. About the time we got ready to call it a night, here comes the truck. It was a few young kids out having some fun. Luckily they didn't stay long and we got to bed around 11pm.

We got up the next morning and no rain. Yes, things were looking good. We only had a coyote visit during the night and he just headed right through camp. I got some pictures of the Station Camp Crossing which you can only cross the river during dry weather. At 8:15am we headed across the parking area and started the 600 foot climb into the hills on the Big Island Loop.

We made it to the Indian Dome Rock house around 11am. It is basically a cave like opening with a big room that has a dome shaped ceiling. Pretty cool to check out. We hiked an hour longer, got on the Pilot-Wines Loop trail and did lunch at a creek crossing. This is when we hung out our stuff to air out and also where I left my clothes line.

I went to the creek, found a deep spot to fill my bucket, leaned against a tree and reached out only to notice that I got no resistance from the tree and it followed me into the creek. I looked like a cat heading into a bath tub. I was reaching and scratching for anything that I could get a hold of. I managed to get only minor wetness of the foot during this episode.

As we finished lunch, a light mist began to fall. We packed up, put on the old poncho and headed out. The mist didn't last long and we had a beautiful day to hike.

We stopped at the Station Camp Horse Camp Trail head parking area. It is a very large gravel parking area which would make a good spot to park if you were hiking the Big Island Loop or the Pilot-Wines Loop for a day hike or overnighter.

After we left there, we came upon the Wilderness Resort, which we found out later was privately owned and operated, but has access to the Pilot-Wines Loop trail. It looks like some fancy log cabins and a large horse stable. For hikers there is a water source at the barn.

The last source for water before Pilot Rock is a creek that runs along a rock bluff just past the private land. We got lucky and found some water right at Pilot Rock and spent the night at the camp there. We ended up hiking 15.3 miles by the time we found the water source to camp by. We must have looked pretty bad because the vultures were circling us when we made camp at 4:30pm. Did I mention that the ticks were out?

There was ice on the water buckets the next morning. We had slept in an extra hour so we got on the trail at 9am. After Pilot Rock the trail drops 600 foot to the Grassy Branch which we got to try out the old Crocks again to cross. After crossing the river we did the 600 foot climb back out to join the Big Island Loop again.

We dropped the 600 foot to the the Big Island crossing and stopped for lunch. We aired out the packs and rinsed out some clothes. Big Island crossing is one of those river crossings that you can only do during low water. While we were eating three horse riders rode by. We saw them again at the cabin which is at the first river past the Big Island crossing.

The cabin is a good place to stop if you can work it into your hike. It has two bedrooms and a loft for sleeping. There is a big fire place and a picnic table inside the front room.

We left our horse riders and headed down the trail. They caught back up to us after going back and finding a lost jacket. They were surprised on how far we had made it. They said that we were more like trail runners than hikers. Well, we really impressed them when we came hiking into Station Camp crossing and they were there taking a break. I wished that I would have known that we were going to catch up to them. We would have picked up a couple of old beer cans and walked in drinking beer. Their reaction was "Holy Sh_t, I'm going to have to get a set of those hiking poles" when we walked up on them. They asked how much further we had to go and I told them that we had 8.1 miles to the truck, but only had an hour to get there before dark. You should have seen their faces then.

To avoid any more visitors we hiked down the River Trail East for a couple of miles before setting up camp. We got in a total of 14.2 miles by 5:30pm. We found some ticks and listened to owls as we sat around the fire.

We got up in the morning and hit the trail by 8:15am. We did have a small layer of ice on our water bucket this morning. Just before Angel falls we saw some people camping along the river and after Angles falls there were people all the way to the truck. A good day for hiking. We got to the truck by 11:30am.

Pictures

Franklin-Marion State Forest

West Rim Trail 19.5 Miles Trail rating Easy...Outcast Total: 505 Miles
Sweden Cove trail warm up 1.0 Miles
Two Day Total 20.5

First off, it takes an act of God to get a map of this place. You will not get any helpful information on the Internet. You can get a map at the ranger station that is north of Hwy 41A on Fire Tower Road next to the fire tower. This is not in the park. They are not opened on weekends or most hours of the week. They will mail you a black and white copy of this map which will help you none at all. There is a trail description that is posted next to a map at the unused Ranger station at the park. You cannot get a copy of this description. I took a picture of it and typed it out when I got home. So now that we have that clear:

Troy, Marco, and I head out after work. As usual everyone makes fun of us because of the weather and sure enough as we head down I-24 we start with the snow flurries. They get heavier as we get closer to Sewanee.

We got on the trail at 9:30. Since anyone can hike the trail according to the description, we hike it backwards going counter clockwise around the park. It took us right at a half mile before we made a wrong turn. Since we didn’t know the name of the trail, which isn’t written on the map or description, we took a turn at the first sign that said Swedon Cove hiking trail. After we ended up crossing 156 again, I consulted the map, backtracked a half mile, crossed the campground and found a sign for the West rim trail. Yep, that’s the name we were hunting. We call that an Outcast warm up.

Once we got on the trail it was very well marked and at most road crossings you got a letter A-W in order that corresponded with the map. It is a very well maintained trail and easy to follow.

The first four and half miles were through the woods and then we hiked the rim of Crooked Tree Hollow. One of the concerns that we had was water supply. After we were assured that there was no water on the trail when we picked up the map, I copied the trail description and every other line was “Cross Creek.” We didn’t have any problem finding water.

Marco was again a source of entertainment for us on the trail. First off when we came to a split in the trail, he had warmed up and took off his jacket. We went on by him and a little while later he asked me if his jacket was still on the back of his pack. NO! He ended up hiking back to the split and found his jacket hanging on the sign where he took it off. He had tied it to his pack and then rubbed it off on the sign when he put his pack on. Next, he had bought a new camera and was proud of it all week before this hike. He put fresh rechargeable batteries in it for the trip. When we got to Crooked Tree Hollow where the scenery really got good, his batteries died. When he got home and read the instructions he found out that he had gotten the wrong batteries.

The campground that is marked on the map on the West side has a beautiful view but is literally trashed. It is sad that people will ruin a good thing. I did take a picture of the Red Neck toilet with the appropriate empty beer cans. We made camp around 4:00 at the ten-mile mark including our warm up. It is marked on the map as N.

We set up our camp and then collected firewood. I pushed over an old rotten tree that I thought we could use as a bench. I couldn’t move it by myself so I went on collecting wood. Marco walked by it and saw something move. It ran up a tree next to him and it looked like a chipmunk. As all three of us watched him reach the top, it jumped and flew to the ground by me about 30 feet away. It was a flying squirrel, which I have never seen other than on TV. We all got excited about that! Later when I was telling my daughter about that she let me know that “it doesn’t take much to get you excited”.

We got on the trail by 9:00 the next morning. The low was only 18 degrees. It was another beautiful day for hiking. We continued east, crossed 156, and ate lunch at Stromeyer overlook that looks over Sweeten cove at marker H. After a short siesta we headed on to the cars. Both of the campgrounds on the east side of the park were clean.

When I got to where we could see 156, I beat Troy to the punch and did the run while doing push ups with my hiking poles over my head as he had shown me in the past. You know that Troy joined in an ran to the end as well.

We would recommend this hike. Very well kept and beautiful.

Pictures

Trail description

Map

Cumberland Trail- Soddy Segment

Cumberland Trail- Soddy section……………..Outcasts Total…..484.5
Trail Rating: Moderate with future bridge sites being difficult
Day one…..…8.6 Miles
Day two……7.4 Miles
Total………....16 Miles

Marco, Raleigh, and I made this hike. We headed out after work and dropped a truck off at the Heiss Mountain Road trailhead. We then drove back to Mowbray Pike and parked at the marked location on Millsap Road. It took us a little longer to find Mowbray Pike because the street sign is not there off Dayton Pike. You need to turn by the Dollar General store. We ended up going further south on Dayton Pike to Mountlake road and coming down Mowbray pike from the other side. You definitely want to print off the directions, maps, and trail description off the Cumberland Trail website. They are very helpful.

We got on the trail at 10:30. Shortly after you get on the trail, you go through the Little Stone Door and pass the Indian Rock House. The trail travels the side of the mountain until you go into the Little Soddy Creek Valley. We stopped and had lunch before Clemmons point where we could enjoy the great view of the valley below and see the peaceful looking Sequoyah Nuclear power plant.

Just before you drop down into Little Soddy Creek valley you pass above a house and then the trail drops down. There was a generator and some other stuff off to the side. There was an extension cord hooked to the generator running off somewhere. We didn't hang around to investigate!

Once you cross the Little Soddy creek you will find remains of the old Soddy Coal Company and the area where they have been trying to clean up years of illegal dumping. This is a very challenging area to try and remove a lot of tires, wash machines, and the likes. From here you climb up and cross Hotwater road.

Hotwater road is where we met the members of the Soddy Daisy chapter of the Tennessee Trail Association. They had been working a section of the trail from Hotwater road to Posey point. And a mighty fine job they had done. We talked to a few of the members at the road and then about eight members on the trail. Super folks and we just can’t thank them enough for the work they do. After talking a bit, we found out that Don Deankins and Caroline Woerner were the one and same people that had made the maps we were following. They also found out that we were the Outcasts and we were amazed by how many people follow our Blog. After we left their company, I wished that we had taken a picture of the group to put on our Blog.

After Posey Point you hike the side of the mountain over Big Soddy Creek. We did spend a little while checking which way to go after the pine farm where the trail splits and there is no sign. The next marker is down the switchback from the split. This is about the time Marco’s knee started bothering him real bad. Part way back into the Deep Creek Valley we started wondering if we were going to have to stop our hike and carry him out. He wanted to be tough and keep going. I think he only fell about five times on the way down to Deep Creek. Not too bad for Marco.

On the way down to Deep Creek you pass in front of an old coalmine portal with the timbers still visible and at this time water filling the bottom.

The only part of this trail that is difficult is the crossing of Deep Creek and Big Soddy. The switchbacks are short and the drops or climbs are steep. Hopefully when they get the bridges done they will rework the switchbacks and bring them out further.

Deep Creek is a large boulder crossing of the creek where Big Soddy is more wading. The only pain you felt while crossing is anything that touched the water. I was hoping for numbness, but none would come.

There is a spot where the dozers tore up the land before Deep creek crossing doing rock mining. They could make a future campsite down the river a little ways where the dozers flattened it out by the river.

In between Deep Creek and Big Soddy creek Marco tried to break his leg, the good one, by dropping his foot down between rocks and falling backwards. This gave everyone a good scare.

It was getting dark so just after we crossed Big Soddy and got our feelings back, we made camp for the night. There is no flat area around here so we camped on the slope. It’s nice when you have hammocks. It is a little rough collecting firewood at a seventy five degree angle. Marco did some meds and rehab while we told lies around the fire. We had a full moon and the temp stayed around 35 degrees.

We started out the next morning hitting the trail at 9:00. It was a good climb after breakfast, the way we like it. The trail continues along the side of the valley.

There was one large shelf that the trail actually goes under. We had been talking about how boulders have fallen in the past and how people have been killed. Well, as Marco was hiking under the shelf, a large clump of ice broke off the top of the cliff probably around fifty pounds of it. It was safely out to the edge away from the trail as I saw it fall, but poor Marco didn't know what happened and just assumed he was dead when it crashed to the ground. It was entertaining to watch.

We stopped for lunch at a spot just past the last bridge which would make a good campsite. It was along the river bank and you could tell where a couple of people have camped before.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. The trail covers alot of different type of forests and you end up hiking out along the highway and down Heiss Mountain road to the next trailhead. There were cars there when we dropped our truck off and then more cars there when we got to our truck Sunday. Must be a popular day hike out Possum Creek segment.

When we got back to the Mowbray Pike trailhead we had a note on our truck window stating "This is private property, do not park here" written on duct tape. It looked offical redneck. I will have to find out more about this.

The only wildlife we saw was the cows out in the pasture by highway 111.

Pictures

John Muir Trail

Day 1………7.6 miles…………………………………..Outcasts Total: 468.5
Day 2……..10.9
Day 3………6.8
Day 4……..10.6
Day 5……..10.3
Total…..…..46.2 Miles
Trail rating: Moderate with the climb on rock creek trail in Pickett State Park as difficult


This is a trip that required a lot of preplanning and searching for information. The John Muir trail is not an easy trail to look up. There are actually three different John Muir trails that you will find on the computer. The other two have information all over the Internet. One problem was I have never been to the Big South Fork so I didn’t have any idea of the terrain or water situation. It came down to buying a topographical map from National Geographic and buying books. We ended up using the 3rd Edition, Hiking the Big South Fork, by Deaver, Smith, and Duncan as the best trail description.

Problem two was the crew. There were a few items that they got a hold of and would not let go. BEAR…. BEAR…. bear, FORDING rivers, and BIG hills. The length of the trail, 42 miles, was a new record for all of them to make. While I studied water sources, they studied ways to get out.

After packing, repacking, repacking, and repacking, we were ready to attempt the trail. We got off work, repacked, and hit the road. We went to Picket State Park, signed in, and dropped off one truck at the Hidden Passage trail parking. One car had headed to the Brandy Creek Visitor Center and signed us in there. Then we met at the Leatherwood Ford trailhead. We got on the trail at 12:00.

You start out crossing an old bridge over the Big South Fork Cumberland River. The panic didn’t really start until then. Yes, it was deep, but it was also almost completely frozen over. FORDING rivers? After numerous tackles and blocks, I managed to get them over the other side of the river. The first two miles were a steady climb along the riverside. After we crossed Fall Branch, we started the 400-foot climb to Angel Falls Overlook.

Greg put on a show for us; again, Marco was behind him one time and said that it was absolutely amazing to watch. He knew he saw the bottom of both of Greg’s feet at the same time at least once as he continued a tap dance along the trail.

It was an exciting climb to Angel Falls Overlook. One time we were hanging on by a cable that was mounted to the rock facing as we walked along a cliff. Another time we were climbing the rock facing where a ladder had once been, making our way through a crack in the rock facing up to the Grand Gap Loop trail. Once there, we hiked over to the Angels Falls Overlook for an amazing view.

Life was good, as everyone knew that they had conquered the first major climb. From here the trail was more rolling hills for the rest of the day. We stopped at a “Rock House” which is a rock overhang for the night. We had made 7.6 miles by 2:30. We had a good challenge collecting firewood off the side of a very steep hill. It got down to 20 degrees that night. You should have seen my bear bag. It was working with all of its might, as were Marco and I trying to hang it in the tree. It felt like 50 pounds. We weren’t going to starve on this trip!

Greg had decided to camp under the overhang that night, instead of hanging off the edge of the hill like the rest of us. Well our fire was under the overhang too. I wish I could have recorded his description of the night with his noises. Basically it started out warm and cozy. Then it got chilly, then it got cold, then he heard cracking of wood, then it got warm, then it got hot, then it got really hot, then it got warm, then it got chilly, then it got cold and started all over again.

DAY 2
We got on the trail by 7:30. After the first mile we found a bridge piled on the side of the trail with a broken sign next to it. We forded that stream. Around 10:00 we came across the first of many Hog hunters. We made our way 500 feet down to Laurel Fork passing two more hunters. We crossed Laurel Fork and stopped for lunch. We had gotten in seven miles today and I was feeling confident that we could complete the trail with no problem….. like we had a choice. We hung our stuff out to dry as we enjoyed the peaceful sound of gunshots and watching hunters walk back and forth by us. I don’t know what they would have done if they got one. It was a drag that I would not have wanted to attempt.

We crossed Parch Corn Creek at 1:15 and we wanted to get to Big Creek and ford the river before camp. We took a break at a campsite next to the Cumberland River where Marco showed off his makeshift chair. He put a board on two stumps and did his Humpty Dumpty routine. I had to take a picture before I helped him up.

We got to Big Creek at 2:30 and found that it now had a bridge over it. There wasn’t enough water in it to worry about a bridge. People were happy. We hiked up to where the trail leaves the Cumberland and came back to Big Creek to make camp. We had gotten in 10.9 miles and sat around a campfire and watched the snow as the temps dropped to 10 degrees. We just got some flurries and that was it.

DAY 3
We warmed ourselves in front of the fire on got on the trail at 9:15. Today’s goal was to get across the two biggest peaks and camp on the other side of the John Muir overlook. We started with our usual family tradition of uphill going the 400 feet up to Burkes Knob. I got pictures of the Large Chimney Rocks on the way along with the most berries I have ever seen on Holly bushes. We made it to Maude’s Crack, got some pictures, and then headed the 350 feet down to No Business Creek. We stopped at Tackett Creek for lunch with 3.2 miles under our belts.

After lunch, we started uphill the 500 feet to the John Muir overlook. We took many long switch backs, climbed a ladder, scrambled up the bluff and when the trail looked like it ended, we simply climbed straight up the sloping shelves of rock in front of us to the trail heading up. Marco and I stopped to rest as Troy came up with a big smile on his face just laughing at the easy trail I picked for him. The John Muir overlook was not as impressive as the Angels Falls Overlook, but it was impressive. We had made our goal and now just find water.

TICKS? What the ? There is ice on the ground and Marco, Greg and Shadow all got ticks. What is going on?

We stopped at a grove of hemlocks with a river and made camp. We had 6.8 miles in today with most of it up hill. It got down to 25 degrees tonight. We got a couple of sleet showers, but nothing impressive.

DAY 4
Once again we warmed by the fire. Our goal today would just be make it as far as we could. Marco started out the day by placing his oatmeal bag next to his stove. The bag caught fire. Marco grabbed the bag, which started the leaves on fire. While he was throwing his oatmeal bag into the fire, the leaf fire was working on his shoes and jacket. It was exciting to watch from across the fire.

We got on the trail at 9:00. Greg was a little or a lot concerned about the trail description I read to him this morning, mainly the water fording for some reason. Today was mainly rolling hills and we stopped for lunch just a couple of miles short of Divide Road. When we got to the road, I heard the plans that Greg and Troy had made, as this was one of their escape routes. They were still contemplating on it. After you cross the road you head into a beautiful valley following an old railroad bed along Rock Creek. This is where we found some wonderful ice sculptures and the longest icicle that I have ever seen. We hiked this valley all the way to Pickett State Park.

At one point on this section Marco lead us down the trail and down hill around a boulder. Soon after he disappeared, he came running back full speed yelling OH SH…T! You should have seen the shocked look on Greg’s face, who was right behind him. We all got a great laugh out of that one.

A little while later as things were just moving along, Troy came jogging past me doing pushups with his poles over his head. Again, he was making fun of my easy trail. Right after that the trail did a very steep climb, and I asked Troy to show me that move again. I have to give him credit, he showed out one more time. We decided to make the fording before camp again.

It was starting to get late as we finally made it to the fording point of Rock Creek on Rock Creek Trail. The boys were not impressed with the ice build up on either side of the river. We forded across the shin deep river and hiked to the next ford across Rock Creek which was closer to knee deep. We camped just across Rock Creek at the Thompson Creek split at 5:00. We had made 10.6 miles today.

We stayed up late celebrating the good hike that we have had. The bear bag was light tonight. It got down to 30 degrees.

DAY 5
I woke up at 2:00 with the sound of sleet hail mixture hitting the tarp. Bathroom break before it got bad. I woke at 5:00 with heavy freezing rain hitting the tarp. At 6:00 with the heavy rain I hear a voice. Greg woke me up saying that he felt we should skip breakfast and just hit the trail. I contained my laughter; as everyone knows I don’t skip breakfast.

The boys headed out as I finished my breakfast. The trail was grueling the first .8 of a mile climbing a mudslide. Just as I cleared the worst part, I heard that dreadful sound of cracking wood followed by a huge tree falling just behind me. A quick thank you to the lord above as I quickly caught up with my fellow hikers. We hit the Hidden Passage trail and headed to the truck. The trail was beautiful as everything was covered in ice. The draw back of course was the ice on the trail, which made climbing a challenge. As we like to do and even more in the freezing rain, we decided to add a few miles on our trip as a warm down. We missed the intersection and started doing the loop on Hidden Passage. Things were looking familiar with the hike we did a few years ago. Greg finding the sign showing our mistake came heading back and pointed us in the right direction. He then went back to the park rangers’ house and caught a ride, while the rest of us that were further behind, found the intersection and made it to the truck about the same time. We got in 10.3 miles today.

We headed back to Big South and retrieved our cars. They have a restroom there that we could change into dry clothes. Luckily there wasn’t any hot water. We were making fun of how we had been out in the cold for the last five days and now in a mater of minutes we became sissy’s complaining of the cold.

This was a beautiful trail and our thanks to the fine folks of Big South and Pickett for the trail.

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Fort Henry Trail

Fort Henry N/S Connector Trail ...3.4...........Outcasts Total..422.3
Telegraph Trail..............3.9
Trip to road............6
Day one total........7.9

Volunteer Trail........2.2
Artillery Trail.......7
Peytona Trail......1.3
Telegraph Trail....2.3
Extra.............2
Day two total.........13
Total............20.9

This hike we had Marco, Troy, Raleigh and myself. We met up at the South Welcome Station at Land between the Lakes. We got on the trail at 11:30 after a small communication problem.

It was a good day for hiking even though it never reached the forties that the weathermen convinced us it would.

Once again with hiking this area, you want both the hiking and the hunting maps so you will know where you are. Some of the springs on this section are not marked either. We wondered off the trail twice. Once at the 230 crossing and once at the 230 crossing that we weren't suppose to take. You can walk by the cutoff trails rather easy and when they don't mark the trail it is usually at intersections. You might take note that we did this on purpose to teach Raleigh the art of finding one's location when separated from the trail.

We did get the chance to see some deer but not alot of wildlife. We did not make are planned camp at Infantry Pass as we were running out of daylight. So instead we made camp where Telegraph and Volunteer trails come together. We had a good water source and firewood.

We got camp set up, water gathered, and the fire started. Sometime after dinner while sitting around the fire, Marco said that he saw a light out in the woods. When I finally saw what he was talking about, I thought it looked more like a camp fire. Shortly there after it raised high enough that we all agreed that it was the moon. It takes alot to fool us.

We had a clear sky all night with the full moon. Luckily mother nature had pity on us and stopped the temperature drop at 20 degrees. We all slept well with no interruptions.

It took a little longer than planned to get on the trail this morning. Warming around the fire might have been the reason. We got on the trail at 9:20. We had to make up 2.2 miles today. Once again we showed Raleigh how to get back on the trail at number 17. I think that he is catching on now. It is good that we take time out to trail the new members.

Troy was quite impressed by the fact that not only did I start the hike going uphill from the truck, but I also managed to finish the hike going uphill to the truck. The things I do to make everyone comfortable is amazing.

This was a good easy trail with mild hills.

Pictures