Ahhh Panthertown!
This was a last minute trip because we originally intended to do a paddle trip down the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River for the second year in a row. But, as with all things planned there is always a hitch and in this case it came as thunderstorms in the present and in the forecast. The ones in the present caused river levels to rise to a level that we were not all comfortable with paddling and when you add in the fact that the thunderstorms were in the forecast as well you have a sketchy situation.
So, we decided to go postpone the Big South Fork trip until fall so the whether would be much more predictable, or at least as predictable as weather could be. Instead we opted to go to Panthertown Valley for the weekend because the weather in that vicinity looked pretty good and we knew we wanted to go somewhere. Plus we had some steaks that were meant for our other trip and we were bound and determined to eat them.
Panthertown has a large shelter in case we got really rained out or in, lol.
Although the weather forecast was bleak we still went and enjoyed this hike tremendously. It rained on and off both days and non-stop both nights which actually made sleeping pretty comfortable.
Since the weather was going to be less than ideal we decided to head for or close to the big shelter but it was occupied when we got there so we made out way to one of the campsites on the other side of Panthertown Trail and just below the Great Wall. This turned out to be an excellent choice and gave us some nice flat campsites to call home both nights.
Here is a side view of Great Wall from the trail on the way in. Our basecamp destination, the shelter and vicinity is just to the right of it.
I’ve talked to a few people who said there is a trail up the left side of the face of the great wall but we have yet to find it. On this trip a few of my friends did find a trail and climbed about two thirds of the way up great wall via a trail on the face of it but it was extremely steep and had virtually zero traction. I’m sorry I didn’t try it with them!
This campsite is just off the gravel travel on the way down from the parking lot. I’m thinking it would be a great winter site because it’s only a half mile from the parking lot. That way you can get there fast and get a stash of firewood before it gets dark.
I bet this would be a beautiful campsite with a nice floor of snow.
I took my MSR Hubba tent in combination with my ENO Housefly tarp because it really offers a lot of flexibility. It isn’t a very light combo but it offers a lot of ventilation and coverage for warm and rainy situations. The tarp is so large that once set up it creates a very large air space for air to flow between the tarp and my tent. So if it’s warm and rainy or just warm or just rainy it’s right at home because it can be raised or lowered or whatever you want to do with it and the rain still can’t get to you.
We ate well that night because we had brought some filets and vegetable kabobs that we grilled on the fire. Perfect!
Around 10:00pm we decided to go for a night hike so we hiked up Big Green Trail to the overlook on the Great Wall. This might seem a little dangerous but it was an awesome way to burn off those filets that we scarfed down! I have a Black Diamond Storm headlamp and was thoroughly impressed with it. This thing throws out some serious light but doesn’t eat batteries! I have a Princeton Tec Remix that I have been using for a few years but broke the battery compartment on a previous hike so I went ahead and purchased the Storm headlamp because I wasn’t sure if I could get the Remix repaired. The Storm is on the heavier and bulkier side compared to the Remix but this thing is incredible. I’m a believer! However, I wrote to Princeton Tec and they didn’t hesitate to send me two replacement battery doors within a week. Awesome company. I like both headlamps but I’ll probably stick with the remix for long distance hiking because it’s so compact and light.
We got back to camp around 11:45pm and headed to bed not long afterwards.
A storm rolled in around 1:00am and continued on until about 6:00am which made for an excellent nights sleep. Couldn’t have been a more peaceful night.
We got up and headed out of camp around 9:30am on Saturday by way of the Great Wall Trail. We took it to Macs Gap Trail then Panthertown Valley Trail and Little Green Trail which took us to Schoolhouse Falls. I like Schoolhouse Falls but it’s so close to the Cold Mountain Gap Trailhead that it draws the crowds.
We hung out for a bit then backtracked on Little Green Trail to Panthertown Valley Trail to Devils Elbow Trail that took us across the power line and down to Elbow Falls.
Panthertown is loaded with trails that crisscross Greenland Creek and various other small waterways. They look as though they belong in some tropical paradise instead of in a mountain region in the United States. Some of them look like water features that were created to be the highlight of someone’s backyard. Truly amazing stuff!
I swam for a bit in Elbow Falls but this little section has quite a bit of current and kept washing me back out. It was fun to explore though.
The rock face on the opposite side of the falls has an undercut so it’s a little sketchy when the current washes you under it. Even though I think it’s only undercut by a foot or so it’s still a little unnerving.
In my opinion, the best part of Elbow Falls are the smaller waterfalls and pools just downstream. There are a lot of boulders to climb on; small waterfalls to play in and several pools to wade.
Jawbone Falls and the surrounding area is by far the best falls yet in my opinion. Instead of taking the Riding Ford Falls trail which leads to both Riding Ford and Jawbone, we took a short, steep and less-traveled trail that was probably the highlight of the trip. At the bottom of the trail we came out of the Rhododendrons right into the creek which started shallow but ended up being waist deep. This was one of the most incredible places I have visited and it made me feel like I was in the Amazon on some kind of trek. The shore of the creek is choked with rhododendrons to the point that you can’t see the actual creek until you’re about three feet from it! The trail comes out about a hundred feet above Jawbone Falls. I think the next time I go back I’ll take a cheap inner tube and float this section. But I also want to wade the river from the top of Jawbone Falls all the way to Warden Falls. I can’t wait!
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I definitely want to camp near Jawbone Falls after exploring the area. We took Riding Ford Trail back to the Devils Elbow Trail and found a very nice, hidden campsite tucked in amongst the Rhododendrons. This would be a great place to camp.
After we had our fun at Jawbone Falls we made our way down another steep trail to the top of Warden Falls. We crossed the top of Warden Falls and headed down to the pool below Warden Falls just to check things out. Although I’ve heard of people sliding down this waterfall I still haven’t found a line that looks safe enough for me to risk it. Possibly the far left side could be doable but the right side is definitely a no-go and the center, in my opinion is too close to the right side. The right side is an eight food drop-off into a shallow pool.
After a short time spent at Warden Falls we headed up the steep trail on the opposite side of the river than we arrived and took the North Road Trail back to Macs Gap Trail to Great Wall Trail that took us to our camp. I had not hiked the North Road Trail much so it was mostly new for me which was awesome of course.
We finally got back to camp, made a fire, ate dinner and relaxed for the evening. No night hikes tonight.
Another peaceful night of rain….
We awoke on Sunday morning and packed up camp and headed out by way of Granny Burrell Falls Trail to the small but very cool Frolictown Falls where we took some pictures and explored for awhile. This trail is very tight!
I found a few trails on the opposite bank of Frolictown Falls so I’m wondering if they actually lead anywhere. I don’t think they do.
From Frolictown Falls we took the Wilderness Falls Trail to Wilderness Falls where we did some more gawking and exploring to see if there were any features we missed previously. It seems like each time I go back I find new things that I missed on my previous visits.
We continued on the Wilderness Falls Trail until it intersected with the Panthertown Valley Trail then took that back to our vehicles at Salt Rock Gap.
Overall, another great trip to Panthertown Valley!
| FOOTWEAR/BACKPACKS/CONTENTS | WEIGHT OUNCES |
| SHOES/BOOTS NOT INCLUDED IN PACK WEIGHT | |
| VASQUE SCREE LOW SHOES | 36.00 |
| TREKKING POLES NOT INCLUDED IN PACK WEIGHT | |
| EASTON TREKKING POLES | 20.00 |
| BACKPACKS | |
| MOUNTAINSMITH LOOKOUT 45 BACKPACK | 66.00 |
| PACK COVER | |
| EQUINOX MEDIUM PACK COVER | 4.10 |
| TENTS | |
| MSR HUBBA NO FLY WITH FOOTPRINT AND POLES | 42.00 |
| SLEEPING BAGS | |
| COLUMBIA LINER BAG | 10.20 |
| SLEEPING PADS | |
| THERMAREST RIDGEREST SOLITE REGULAR CUT DOWN TO 20X60 | 12.00 |
| THERMAREST NEOAIR TREKKER LARGE | 26.00 |
| TARPS | |
| ENO HOUSEFLY | 25.00 |
| SEA TO SUMMIT SILNYLON PONCHO TARP | 12.90 |
| FOOD | |
| 2 NIGHT FOOD – LOKSAK ODORPROOF BAG/ZPACKS BLAST FOOD BAG | 119.00 |
| BASICS | |
| BODY GLIDE-REPEL LEMON EUCALYPTUS-SUNTAN LOTION IN ZPACKS CUBEN FIBER BAG | 3.00 |
| CORD BAG KIT – TARP CORDAGE | 6.00 |
| MINI COMPASS AND TEMP GAUGE | 0.70 |
| ZPACKS CUBEN FIBER ZIP WALLET | 2.00 |
| SAWYER FILTER MINI(2OZ), ONE SQUEEZE BAG(1.5OZ), SCOOP CUP(2OZ) MESH BAG | 5.50 |
| SAFETY LANYARD – BG COMPACT SCOUT KNIFE/ADVENTURE MEDICAL RESCUE HOWLER/NITEIZE STS LIGHT | 2.80 |
| TOILETRY KIT – MEDICINE/TOOTHBRUSH/TOOTHPASTE ETC IN OUTDOOR RESEARCH SMALL DRY DITTY SACK | 10.40 |
| FIRE KIT: DRYER LINT/LIGHTER/LIGHT MY FIRE FIRESTEEL | 2.80 |
| POTTY KIT – DEUCE OF SPADES, TOILET PAPER, HAND CLEANER BOTTLE/HOLDER IN NYLON SACK | 4.30 |
| CLOTHING | |
| SUMMER CLOTHING BAG 2 NIGHT – UA BRIEFS/SWIM TRUNKS/EMS LONG SLEEVE SHIRT/SHORTS/ | 39.00 |
| MARMOT DRICLIME WINDSHIRT | 12.00 |
| VIVOBAREFOOT ULTRA SHOES | 6.00 |
| NIKE RAIN PANTS | 12.40 |
| RAB LATOK GAITERS LOW | 5.50 |
| COOKING | |
| EVERNEW TITANIUM STOVE/SOLOSTOVE ALCOHOL BURNER/ALCOHOL/SNOWPEAK MINI POT/FOLDING VARGO TITANIUM SPOON | 16.00 |
| WATER BOTTLES – BLADDERS | |
| SOBE BOTTLE – FULL | 21.00 |
| LIGHTING | |
| BLACK DIAMOND STORM IN HMG NANO CF8 CUBEN STUFF SACK | 4.30 |
| TOOLS | |
| UDAP 7.9 OZ BEAR SPRAY | 12.10 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | 4.30 |
| MIRROR / COMPASS / MOUNTAIN LAUREL DESIGNS CUBEN FIBER BAG | 1.50 |
| EXTRAS | |
| SUNGLASSES | 1.40 |
| MP3 PLAYER; EARPHONES; BATTERY IN HMG NANO CF11 CUBEN STUFF SACK | 5.30 |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT OUNCES | 495.50 |
| TOTAL SUM OF WEIGHT POUNDS | 30.97 |
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