The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is a very large place and I’ve only touched on a few areas but those that I’ve seen are pretty amazing.  I had visited the Angel Falls overlook area once back in 2013 and it rained nearly the entire time.  Anyone who loves to backpack knows the rain doesn’t really ruin the trip.  The trip simply changes because either way you’re out there hiking where you want to be and that’s all that matters.

 

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This time it was cloudy and drizzling nearly the entire way to Bandy Creek Campground and even while my nephew and I were unloading our hiking gear in the parking area, it was drizzling and it kept up on and off for the entire day on Saturday.  It turned out even better than the last time.

We got to the Bandy Creek Campground around 2:15 and began our hike around 2:30 at the trailhead which is located right in front of the pool which is just across from the backcountry parking lot.

The primary trail we took is called the Sheltowee Trace and the signpost reads at the trailhead reads ‘TO GRAND GAP LOOP 4.7 MI’.  The Sheltowee Trace is a trail named in honor of Daniel Boone that stretches some 300+ miles give or take, from Southern Kentucky down into Tennessee.  So far I’ve hiked about a hundred miles on the Sheltowee Trace and each part of it is awesome!

 

 

The hike to Angel Falls overlook alternates between tight rhododendron forest and open hardwood forest all the way to Grand Gap Loop.   It passes one waterfall called Falls Branch Falls that’s just off the trail down a small hill.  It’s not a giant waterfall but it sits hidden and you would probably walk right by it if you didn’t see the sign.  When you get fairly close the trail skirts the rim of the gorge quite often and there are some really high cliffs just off the trail.  It passes right by several rock overhangs and caves of various sizes ranging from small to magnificent.

 

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The Sheltowee Trace meets up with the Grand Gap Loop at an intersection right next to the Alfred Smith road which is an unimproved gravel road that connects to Duncan Hollow Road and takes you from Bandy Creek Campground all the way to within 2 miles of the overlook.  This is the beginning and ending of the Grand Gap Loop and you have the option of going one way or another to get to the overlook. We chose the shorter route because we got off to a late start and didn’t want to waste any more time.

 

 

 

 

Standing atop the Angel Falls overlook you can see quite a ways both up and down the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River.  It’s really awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we got toe the overlook all the campsites I was familiar with were already taken so we ended up hiking past the overlook and settling just off the trail in a small patch of woods just big enough for the two of us.  I brought my Nemo Veda 1P tent that I purchased a few months ago.  I’ve used it on several backpack trips and really like it.  I also took it on a 95 mile hike on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevadas and it never let me down.

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My nephew was using my Hammock Bliss No-See-Um hammock although I warned him that we were on the verge of needing an under-quilt for the hammock.  He went with it anyway and ended up being a little cold but got through it just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the John Litton Farmstead we ascended up a fairly steep little hill then across a couple of fields.  Then onto a gravel road where we walked for a few miles on Duncan Hollow Road that took us back to our vehicle.  We passed several fields that were absolutely gorgeous!

 

 

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