Another great trip in the BSF (Big South Fork) that I am pleased to say went well.  I love the BSF and go there several times a year to backpack different sections.  I’ve been on many of the trails there so far but still have so much to see.

My friends and I even paddled a section of the Cumberland River in the BSF one year (which you can see right here) and it was incredible.  It’s quite a bit more difficult to organize a paddle trip because the river presents so many variables.  A) The flow (CFS) must be close for us novice paddlers – we ended up with around high 400’s or 500 but you really don’t want any more or less. B) No sign of rain in the forecast. C) Logistics of hauling canoes / kayaks D) Logistics of staging vehicles. E) Time it takes (1-1/2 hours to stage vehicles at the minimum for the section we did.

But this is about the hike and this time was a reversal of the hike we did in 2016(Here it is) that I hadn’t planned as well as I should have and ended up being a death march, lol.  Basically, I didn’t water up enough at the Station Camp Creek/Laurel Fork Creek intersection and ended up having to ration water because this section of the John Muir Trail can be a little dry on water in the warmer/dryer seasons.  Well we carried water from the Bandy creek campground so we were prepared – more than we needed to be because there were a few water sources, though they weren’t exactly great.

Basically, it’s a good idea to carry additional water if you’re hiking this section of the John Muir Trail between the Angel Falls Overlook and the Station Camp intersection.

 

 

So we drove down Friday and camped at the Bandy Creek Campground on Friday night so we could get up and hammer as many miles as possible on Saturday morning .  We awoke on Saturday and headed down Duncan Hollow which is a gravel road and is actually pretty cool.  We have rode our mountain bikes down Duncan Hollow before and it goes all the way to the Grand Gap Loop.  At that point you can park and walk to the Angel Falls Overlook which is pretty awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after walking down Duncan Hollow for about 1.5 miles you take a right to get on the John Litton homestead trail.  Now this trail is very long but it goes through the John Litton homestead which is so cool in my book.  Just checking out the homestead outbuildings kind of takes you back and is unexplainable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hiked through the homestead and on to the intersection with the Falls Branch Falls and onto the Falls Branch trail which leads you on out to the Grand Gap Loop intersection.  If you hang a right at the Falls Branch Falls intersection it takes you back to the Bandy Creek Campground trailhead and makes a nice little loop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed left toward the Grand Gap Loop intersection.  At this intersection you have four possible routes you can take.  If you take a right it will take you to the Angel Falls overlook and on to the one end of the  Grand Gap Loop trail.  If you take a left it will take you onto the John Muir Trail which leads to another intersection where you can go in four different directions.  This intersection also crosses Duncan Hollow road which allows you to drive to the intersection if you want to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One thing to consider…If you decide to hike the Grand Gap Loop be aware that it is a mountain bike trail and you need to be aware that mountain bikes may happen upon you or vice versa as you hike.  It can be a surprise so stay awake.

So, we got to the intersection and bypassed the Angel Falls overlook and instead headed down the John Muir Trail instead.

Not only were we passed by several mountain bikers but we also saw all kinds of trail running signs the second we hit the Fall Branch Falls Trail so we had an inkling that some kind of event had happened or was about to happen.

This section of the John Muir Trail is very long and I highly advise anyone hiking it to carry water because back in 2016 we found one reliable water source in the 8 miles so I kind of got blindsided.  Now I think in the wetter months there are more water sources but I just don’t know if I’d take a chance and go without water.

Along this part of the trail you skirt the edge for a lot of the way with many sections offering unobscured views of the canyon below – and the river is can be seen as well.  Care must be taken in a lot of these areas because they are cliffside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We ended up hiking about 16 miles on Saturday and found a great campsite that served us well.  It had all of the attributes of a great campsite  – flat – clear sections for tent / tart set up – a fire pit already in place.  Oh yeah and some leftover wood to boot!

We set up camp and gathered a good bit of firewood then ate dinner right around dusk.  Things were good and then a few hours after dark is when the first trail runner went by – I saw a blinking red light / white headlight combination coming down the trail and knew it must be a trail runner.   About a half hour later the next runner went by and then another and another and basically all night long they kept going by.  I

You would either here voices or a radio coming down the trail and you knew it was another runner approaching.  As it turns out the run was the No Business NB100.

Now, I’ve done my share of night hiking…..which is a lot of fun with an addition of danger and mystery so I could respect these people and I was slightly envious as well. There are some sketchy turns and drop-offs on this trail so to be running it at night is just crazy – but cool.  My nephew, being a runner was really wanting to join them.

 

 

 

 

The next morning we did our best to eat and get packed up in between the fits of rain. It had been raining on and off since about 10:00pm the night before and there were no signs of it letting up.  We decided that we would hike the remaining 8.5’ish miles on Sunday and camp at the Bandy Creek campground so off we went.  Well, from our camp until the Jacks Ridge Intersection happens to be one of my favorite trails in the Big South Fork so I knew it would be fun no matter what!

We finally got it together and hit the trail around 11:30am.(Yeah, I know, late!)  Our campsite was about 2-2.5 miles from the intersection of Laurel Fork Creek and Station Camp /creek so we knew about how much time it would take us to get to the intersection.

I had my ZPacks Groundsheet Poncho – Solo-Plus size and the nephew had his Sea to Summit Nylon Tarp Poncho.
It rained on and off the entire time we hiked out on Sunday – not a heavy rain – just rain – on….and …..off!  In fact, it rained on and off all Day Sunday into Monday morning early.  It even rained on and off Monday!

ON this section of the trail we passed one after another of monstrous boulders and cliffs.  The cliffs are cool but they don’t hold a candle to some of the giant boulders just sitting by themselves next to the trail.  Now, when I say boulder I mean larger than a house boulder.  It’s a really cool section of the trail!  I want to camp at this part amongst the boulders but it will be a dry camp so a water pack is a must.

Just after this section the trail meanders down hill and finally you come to a series of switchbacks that wind back and forth downhill for a long time and so they remind me of the AT in the Smoky Mountains or somewhere in North Carolina.  This section is awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hike up Laurel Fork Creek Trail is amazing to say the least and we had an awesome time.  It rained on and off and we were moving fast so we chose not to take too many pics.  We stopped and took a 10 minute break about a mile up the trail then continued our journey.  We hiked a pretty fast pace and got to the Jacks Ridge Trail intersection at about 3:30pm.

Jacks Ridge is brutal – as if being steep isn’t bad enough but then you throw in that it’s a horse trail and when it’s wet it becomes a real pain.  We finally made it up to the road after a good 45 minutes on Jacks Ridge Trail and then we had a nice road walk for a good 2 miles back to Bandy Creek.

I did a shoe test on this trip – I had just purchased a used pair of Vasque Breeze low shoes from Ebay and put them to the test on this hike.  I’ve had and still have other Vasque shoes that I really like and these seem to be made just as well and Vasque shoes seem to fit me great.

Now, these Breeze shoes are great and very comfortable but they seem to be a little cramped in the toe area.  I had a mild concern when I first tried them on and I figured it would work itself out.  These shoes are extremely comfortable so I don’t think they require break-in period.  However, maybe the toe space will work itself out after a few hikes.

Here are some things I noticed in the two days that I wore these shoes….I know this isn’t nearly enough time to form a complete opinion but this is my initial impression.

a) Very comfortable

b) Extremely lightweight – especially for the amount of support they carry.

c) Supportive – not once did I feel any sloshing side to side movement in my feet as I moved.  My feet felt very secure and cradled in comfort and support.

d) Virtually no break-in period for me at all.  Unless by some mysterious force the toe box area increases or becomes roomier somehow then I will say yes there is a break-in period.  We shall see.

e) Vibram sole looks and acts like a good combination of sticky and hard for a long life of secure traction.

We will see over the next hike or two whether I need to move up to a size 11.5 or stay with these 11’s.  My other Vasque shoes are all 11’s and see, work very well for me.

Overall, it was an awesome trip for several reasons such as the trail itself; the cool temps; the trail runners; and just everything combined.  I may not do this trip for awhile but I will do it again at some point in the future!