I really enjoy hiking in the BSF and this hike was composed of some of the best of the BSF! We went through areas that I had never hiked before so even better. Some friends and I started this three-day trip and followed two other friends who were doing a five-day point to point backpacking trip from Dick Creek Gap to Rock Creek. But five of us started at Dick Creek Gap on 12/12/14 and ended at Terry’s Cemetery on 12/14/14.
The shuttle on this hike was a good hour and a half to two hours so keep that in mind if you do a similar trip. It was well worth it though because the hike was very scenic with lots of bridges, rock faces, cliffs, hemlocks and giant beech trees. Parts of the hike had old homestead foundations still in tact and that was extremely cool. And we saw more bear scat than I’ve ever seen! I think they choose to go in the middle of the trail to keep us on our toes or possibly just as an insult, haha! I just wish I would have caught a glimpse of one or two.
Since none of us had done this hike before there was a little confusion with the trail in the beginning, which always makes things more exciting. Fortunately for the group though, our friends and leaders quickly got us straightened out and on the Kentucky Trail, which we followed for most of this trip. I’m pretty decent at finding my way through the woods but the ability some of my friends have to navigate is just uncanny. Where as it may take me a few wrong turns and backtracking, they seem to just meld it into either a shortcut or a slightly longer path but either way they make it look almost seamless.
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The section of the trail we started on was fairly nondescript with lots of hardwoods and the occasional pine or cedar tree thrown in there. Until we got down into the valley further where it became typical BSF terrain with lots of rocky cliffs and giant boulders that look almost as if a giant had placed them there just for us to gawk at. Alas, we came upon an optional side trail to a small but very high waterfall called Big Spring Falls that was very cool. A few of us opted to take the short .3 mile trail and check out the Big Spring waterfall while the others continued to press on toward our destination which happened to be a good campsite because we had no idea if there even was a campsite(s) to find.
We began at the Dick Gap trailhead and followed an equestrian trail for a short while until we linked up with the Kentucky Trail which took us down a pretty good-sized hill into valleys and low-lying areas where we spent most of Friday hiking. The terrain we traversed somewhat resembled rolling farmland as opposed to my idea of the typical BSF terrain. We hiked the edges of a few cleared fields where it would have been great camp because there was plenty of room and we were close to the woods for access to firewood. It was very different from all of the BSF terrain I had hiked in the past but yet still beautiful. Once we crossed from the hardwoods through these fields the trail headed lower into a mixed hardwood and Rhododendron forest that was similar to my past hiking at BSF. The light was beginning to fade and my friends knew about where they wanted to set up camp, which was approximately a mile away so we went ahead and watered up at a small stream that crossed the trail. Now we were getting into the type of BSF terrain that I had hiked so many times before.
Shortly after watering up we came upon a small but very cool waterfall, and just after the waterfall the trail veered right and began to parallel Laurel Creek. Laurel Creek was fairly shallow and its bottom surface appeared polished and smooth. I think this combination would make a good water slide in the warmer months so I’m definitely taking notes. We crossed a bridge over a small feeder creek and decided to set up camp in that little alcove where the feeder creek and Laurel Creek. It was a fairly small area so we had to spread out a bit, some of us camping on a side trail. Overall it was a good place to camp but it was extremely damp in this alcove and we had a heck of a time finding dry non-spongy firewood. After a group effort that consumed about an hour, we finally managed to scrape up just enough firewood that would give us a good fire at night and a small one to take the chill off in the morning.
I was lulled to a peaceful sleep that night by Laurel creek which was about ten feet behind my tent.
The next morning I checked my thermometer on my pack which was hanging on a tree just outside of my tent and it read about 23 degrees so the water in my water bottle was practically total ice, brrr. That night It got very cold and damp in that little valley next to Laurel Creek so we ate by the fire to take off the chill. This was the maiden voyage of my brand new Enlightened Equipment Revelation Pro 20 Long/Extra Wide quilt and it kept me very warm and I have no doubt it could have easily kept me comfortable below 20. I’m extremely satisfied with this purchase and intend to get a 40 degree version of the same quilt for when the weather warms up. This quilt, in combination with my Big Agnes Air Core Sleeping Pad worked very well
Saturday morning we continued on the Kentucky trail that paralleled Laurel Creek for a while until we came to Laurel Crossing where we crossed a bridge across Laurel Creek that passed a couple of really nice campsites about a hundred yards or so from where we camped the night before.
We continued up through a hardwood section that was very nice until we came to Ledbetter Trailhead, where we passed an old family cemetery that caught our eye for a while. After spending a short time at the cemetery we had a short road walk then connected back onto the Kentucky Trail which took us back down into the valley and along the BSF river. The trail going down to the river was very slipper due to a nasty combination of wet leaves that hid a concoction of large pieces gravel and mud. A few friends in my group fell along this trail because of the combination of leaves that were hiding large gravel and mud beneath. This was not an easy trail for those reasons and I’m extremely thankful I had my trekking poles with me. But the scenery along this section was pretty incredible because on one side of the trail were rocky cliffs and on the other side of the trail were giant monolith like boulders the size of houses that were amazing. One of them was nearly a rectangle and almost totally flat on top which made it way too tempting to pass up. So I climbed it and was subsequently followed by another friend, haha. The top of it was nearly flat and covered such that it looked identical to the actual forest floor. This was a beautiful place!
As we descended to the bottom, the trail became flat and easy to hike as it meandered along the river, showing signs of beaver with numerous fallen trees. This was the flattest and easiest section of the whole trip because it followed the river bottoms. Each time the trail crossed a feeder creek there would be a wooden bridge constructed over top of it. Although most of the bridges weren’t in the best of shape, they were sturdy enough and sure beat walking through the creek or rock hopping.
I really appreciated this section of the hike because I had paddled down the section we were hiking and it provided me some landmarks for camping on the banks. When we paddled the river back in June the greenery obstructed our view of the prime areas to camp along the banks and in turn made it a little difficult to determine where to camp.
The Kentucky Trail gradually headed back into the woods and away from the river, passing Watson Branch Creek then paralleling Troublesome Creek along damp creek bottoms. This was gorgeous country and if it was fall or spring time we would have camped in these areas because we were right next to water and it was just plain awesome terrain. But, at this time of year it was quite cold in this area and everything was soaked through which left a dampness in the air the acted as a conduit for the cold. It wasn’t until around four that we started seriously looking for good campsites but decided to push on because we really wanted to get some more mileage under our belts and everything was damp. So we all watered up before heading up out of the valley because according to the map there wasn’t much water up top but we wanted to camp up there for a good head start on Sunday.
Hiking out of that valley was a pretty good climb but once we reached the top of the hill it was obvious that we would be much more comfortable that night without that damp coldness. We went ahead and pitched camp just off the trail which was basically wide enough to be a one lane road. It was about eight degrees warmer that night which in my opinion was due to the fact that we weren’t in the damp valley which made everything feel colder. But, it’s always a double-edged sword camping in a gap or on a ridge because the winds almost always pick up at night. But Saturday night the winds stayed calm and it will go down as one of the quietest nights I’ve ever spent in the backcountry. It was so peaceful, perfectly still and quiet that night up on that hill.
A friend had a surprise for us that night. He brought spice cake mix and after heating a rock up in the fire he put the ingredients in an aluminum pan and placed it on the rock. We had a delicious spice cake in about 6 minutes! This was the best spice cake I’ve ever had and will probably not have a better one…ever….
Our total mileage for Saturday was around 9.2 miles so it was a pretty long day considering we didn’t break camp until 10. And the fact that in the winter it gets dark around five just makes it seem like that much longer of a day. We barely made it to camp on Saturday; got our tents set up; and collected our firewood for the night before dusk hit.
We were glad we got good mileage in Saturday because with our two-hour commute on Sunday we knew it would be a long ride home.
On Sunday we woke up and low and behold one my camp mates had a great surprise that consisted of bacon. It was the pre-cooked bacon so no worries about it keeping in the backcountry. But once we heated it up it tasted like some of the bet bacon I’ve ever had. It was a great treat before heading out on our journey to our vehicle at Terry Cemetery.
This leg of the hike we followed the Kentucky Trail for a few miles until we connected up with the No Business Trail which crossed Dry Branch Creek and on past Oil Wells. It ran parallel to No Business Creek for a half mile until it merged in with the Sheltowee Trace for another mile then split off again. This half mile section of the No Business Trail, which although it’s an equestrian trail, is actually very cool. It was unbelievably beautiful, perfectly flat and surrounded on one side by a hardwood forest and the other side by a combination of pine trees and No Business Creek itself.
No Business Trail was an easy hike even after it merged with the Sheltowee Trace and we stayed on it for another mile after the merge. At the end of that mile it was time for five of us to say goodbye to our other two camp mates because we were heading South to Terry Cemetery Trailhead and they were continuing on to Rock Creek Trailhead via the Sheltowee Trace. So we said our goodbyes and watched them as they hiked off into the hardwoods until we could no longer see them and I think at least a few of us were wishing we didn’t have to go home at this point. We finally managed to find a somewhat shallow area to cross No Business Creek and headed up the windy one mile equestrian trail to Terry Cemetery Trailhead that proved to be quite a small challenge in itself because it was all uphill.
Once we got to our vehicle at the top we didn’t waste any time in cleaning up and changing into clean clothes and getting the final leg of the hike complete. It took us a good hour to do the final vehicle shuttle so our camp mates would have their vehicle waiting for them when they got to Rock Creek Trailhead the next day.
All in all we ended up hiking about 4.1 miles on Friday; 9.2 miles on Saturday; and 4.3 miles on Sunday which gave us a trip total of about 17.6 miles from Friday to Sunday. Our friends who continued on to Rock Creek would total approximately 22.3 miles. I still wish I could have continued on with them to see the rest of that section of trail. But, once again work gets in the way of fun!
Finally, we began the long climb out on a gravel road to our vehicle at Terry’s Cemetery.
This was my first trip with my new Enlightened Equipment Revelation Pro 20 quilt and it was every bit as comfortable as I hoped it would be. It got down in the low 20’s on Friday night but it felt much colder because it was very damp at our campsite in a small valley next to Laurel Creek. I purchased is the Revelation Pro Long Extra Wide that’s rated for 20 Degrees. They come in four different temperature ratings, 0, 10, 20 and 40.
As soon as we got to our campsite I unpacked the quilt let it loft back up. Once it lofted back up after being compressed in my pack it stayed that way all night and showed absolutely no signs of allowing the dampness in the air to seep into the down.
I was very impressed with how well it stayed in place with the small and unobtrusive attachment clips provided by Enlightened Equipment. Yet, I was still able to move around and get comfortable without letting too much unheated air in or heated air out. Not once did I slip off my pad! The second night it only got down to around 29 because we were out of the damp valley and I actually had to vent a little bit to cool down.
HERE IS SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE AREA
National Park Service
Hiking the Big South Fork
100 Trails of the Big South Fork: Tennessee and Kentucky (100 Hikes In…)
River Gorge to the Big South Fork and throughout the Cumberlands (Explorer’s 50 Hikes)
Natural Arches Big South Fork: Guide To Selected Landforms (Outdoor Tennessee Series)
BIG SOUTH FORK NATIONAL RIVER & RECREATION AREA
Cincinnati
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