View Full Version : Daniel Boone National Forest
Transient Being
08-12-2014, 19:02
Hey everybody, I know this is in the wrong section, but was trying to get some fairly quick suggestions for places to see in the Daniel Boone NF. Im gonna be there for Wednesday night, Thursday and half a day friday. Cant wait! Its been far too long since Ive been out. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Timely topic. I've been ordering/printing maps, perusing sites, visiting DB NF maps, and checking out things to see and hike along the Sheltowee Trace, the backbone of Daniel Boone NF, for the past few days. Some of the sights/places/side hikes I'm going to explore further on a ST thru-hike are Big South Fork, Cumberland Falls, Natural Bridge, Cave Run Lake, and Red River areas
hey dogwood---im on the road this week for a music festival this weekend, but when i get back----i'll check but i think i have an extra big south fork guidebook that i could send ya........
Yippee, I'll take it. Come and hike a few days on the ST Kev. I'll even let ya haul my backpack. hehehe.:)
ive done bits and pieces........i used to live in lexington (twice) and would go down to red river gorge all the time.....
dayhiked all over that place...........bunch of rock formations and arches........
i havent been back there in ten years but the last time i was in the gorge, sadly it was getting more and more trashed up....
one of the last hikes i did in that area was goin up raven rock---a place that people used to hangglide off of til some deaths many a year ago, and theres a road that goes up to a parking lot that used to have a restaurant at the top.....
its really not in any guidebook but can be done.....
give me til next week to get home.........allman brothers this weekend in scranton at the peachfest..........
You got it rough, real rough. :) I would like to pick your brain on the Red River Gorge.
Finishing up south on the ST I think I'll try to get in a 100 miles in GSMNP too. I know you would be up for that.
ha.....
if you pick another place besides GSMNP, id be game.....
im pretty much done with my goals with that Park...
but, i may be up for something in big south fork.......thats right up the road and i havent explore much up there....
red river gorge----i'd have to bring back a few brain cells for that one.....
its been a while since ive been there so id have to look at a map and what not to get some of that memory back...
the second time i lived in lexington, i was not very happy with the gorge and was trying to erase much of it...........and the ten years being down in TN have helped that....
camping on a ski slope this weekend......
come back from this one and turn around and do another festival in early september....
Siestita
08-15-2014, 03:37
Transient Being--Tomorrow you'll return from your Daniel Boone N.F. hike and hopefully tell us how it went. Here's some ideas for future consideration.
I'm a an exceptionally slow hiker, and also somewhat who likes to combine backpacking with fishing, where that's practical. So it took me many years, primarily during short out-and-back weekend trips to section hike all of the Sheltowee Trace (STT). I like some stretches of the trail more than others. Because Red River Gorge is heavily visited, especially by day hikers, and also intensely regulated, I usually prefer to hike instead at places that are further south within the Daniel Boone.
I've found the recreational maps sold by the Forest Service (3 maps: northern, central, and, and southern sections) have always provided me with enough detail to enable me to find various recreational facilities and trail heads, and also to locate the both the STT and also other Forests Service recreational trails. Those maps are not topos but one quickly learns to anticipate what the terrain will be like. Major streams are usually located down in gorges and the places on the maps that lie between streams are inevitably ridge tops up two to four hundred vertical feet higher. Some of the most beautiful trails descend downward from ridges along (or above) small streams, often passing overhangs and steep rock faces.
In the posts that follow I’ll describe three especially attractive places within the Forest where I enjoy taking two night trips.
Siestita
08-15-2014, 03:45
Backpacking Across Cumberland Falls State Park
This combines a seven mile State Park Trail (#2 on my aging guide) with the SST going north from there. This hike has excellent scenery, well maintained trails (compared to some others in DB National Forest), and a parking lot for one’s car which is probably pretty safe, due to State Park police patrols. Back country camping is not permitted anywhere in the State Park, but there are good hiking trails there. Also, the Park gives out trail maps at its lodge.
On day one, arrive at the State Park. If you get there late in the afternoon, simply start backpacking. Or, if you arrive earlier, do some day hiking within the Park, perhaps walking out-and-back to Eagle Falls.
Leave your car in the large Parking lot right at Cumberland Falls. Then, while remaining on that same side of the River (the east side), walk up stream (southward) for approximately two miles. This will initially be on a roadway accessing picnic areas, and then on the park's trail #2. After about two miles trail #2 will turn left in order to proceed uphill, away from the river. An informal trail continues south along the river, however. That informal trail will take you, over several hundred yards, out of the state park to the bank of a major side stream, Bunches Creek. Under Forest Service jurisdiction, that’s a good place to camp.
The next day backtrack to the trail junction where trail #2 starts uphill. Then take trail #2 upwards, eventually crossing the paved highway, passing near the Pinnacle Fire Tower site, and descending to the Cumberland River. There, back at the River bank but this time north of Cumberland Falls, you join the Sheltowee Trace Trail (STT). The hike on Trail #2 uphill to the highway and then back down to the river is about five miles. Continue that day’s hike by going northward, downstream along the River, on the STT, which has its "Turtle" blazes occasionally. After about 3/4 mile you cross out of the State Park before coming to Dog Slaughter Creek, which has a bridge. Continue hiking north far as you like, but please don't camp while you're still within the Park. The next day, hike back to Cumberland Falls, taking the SST southbound along the River corridor the entire way.
Gambit McCrae
08-15-2014, 08:56
I have done about 95 % of the trails in Big south fork as I live close by. The 50 mile JMT they have is pretty nice along with about 75 miles of the ST. Best I can tell you is beware of the ST's stated mileages, they are way off. Best thing to do is call the sheltowee trace (http://www.sheltoweetrace.org/) to inquire mileage. As well, be mindfull, that trail has many river crossings, this time of year not a big deal, winter, its rough
Thanks for the heads up on the campsite option on Bunches Cr. From what I'm getting can't you also get outside the park(purple park boundary line) to possibly camp by taking the ST south on the west side of the river from Cumberland Falls. I'm asking because I'm probably going to camp somewhere very near but just outside the park. I don't have yet have TABA's ST Guide so he may cover this but how are the legal camping options on the west side of the river on the ST. See the map link and expand.
http://www.sheltoweetrace.com/maps/7.pdf
Any camping opps at Dog Slaughter Cr?
Siestita
08-15-2014, 23:50
"Any camping opps at Dog Slaughter Cr?"
Right at the "entrance" to the bridge across Dog Slaughter Creek, going northbound, there's a pretty spot with room for several small tents or tarps. I've overnighted there a number of times. That camp site happens to be within sight of the bridge 80 feet away. That lack of privacy doesn't matter over night, but it could potentially affect campers staying there during the day. The Dog Slaughter Creek bridge is a popular out-and-back destination for day hikers from the State Park.
I've also cowboy camped at a spot five or ten minutes further north on the STT, on a small terrace part way up the hill. That was an interesting evening, partly because the flat spot that I had chosen was located next to a faint 'use trail', one that, unbeknownst to me, proceeded all the way up to the the top of the ridge. Shortly after dark a friendly squirrel hunter and his dog walking down hill were started to see me camping right in front of them. And, several hours later an inquisitive skunk paid me, my gear, and my food bags (fortunately well packaged) an extended visit.
If you look around a bit , Dogwood, or perhaps walk a bit further north on the SST, you'll probably find other potential campsites.
Siestita
08-16-2014, 00:53
"...From what I'm getting can't you also get outside the park(purple park boundary line) to possibly camp by taking the ST south on the west side of the river from Cumberland Falls. I'm asking because I'm probably going to camp somewhere very near but just outside the park. I don't have yet have TABA's ST Guide so he may cover this but how are the legal camping options on the west side of the river on the ST."
Much of that area gets limited use, even though the State Park encourages people to hike through it via the loop "Blue Bend Trail". The land that the ST passes through there on the West side of the Cumberland River is owned by the Nature Conservancy, but apparently administered by the State Park. It's posted as "No Hunting" and also "No camping".
Of course, one could start at Cumberland Falls, walk all the way through that Blue Bend protected area, and then camp along the River in the short section of river corridor located between the Nature Conservancy area and the point where the southbound ST leaves the steam corridor for the ensuing road walk. Others have camped along the River there previously.
The topo map to which you've provided a link, Dogwood, shows that little section of the ST differently from the way that I remember it. Unless things have changed, proceeding northbound towards the Cumberland, the ST descends all the way to the River along an automobile road. After reaching the River the trail proceeds upstream for a short while along a high clearance road/rough track, before crossing into the road-less, well protected Nature Conservancy area. When I passed through about a decade ago, that high clearance road section was the site of extensive debris that had been left behind by vehicle campers. Some of my fellow Kentuckians love to camp, but they haven't all grasped the concept of LNT yet.
Camping there along the Cumberland, just outside the Blue Bend nature preserve on its southern (upstream) side, is probably tranquil during rainy weather, and perhaps also in mid-winter. But, it was my mixed fortune, both good and bad, to stay there exhausted from a long day of hiking, on a nice summer evening. After enjoying the stillness and watching a beaver slap its tail down hard repeatedly in the middle of the river, I prepared for bed. At that point three pick ups pulled up a hundred feet away, disgorging group of good old boys preparing to enjoy a celebratory night, one spent imbibing, constructing the largest bonfire I've ever seen, igniting fireworks, and of course shooting various firearms into the air. Perhaps I was just lucky that night. I can't guarantee that you'll necessarily be similarly entertained if you camp in that area. Neither the movements of the beaver, nor those of the good old boys, are necessarily predictable..
http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/cumberland-falls/trails.aspx
Thanks Siestita. Nicely written replies. You answered my noted concerns and added info like you knew what was on my mind. :)
Cookerhiker
08-16-2014, 17:29
I have done about 95 % of the trails in Big south fork as I live close by. The 50 mile JMT they have is pretty nice along with about 75 miles of the ST. Best I can tell you is beware of the ST's stated mileages, they are way off. Best thing to do is call the sheltowee trace (http://www.sheltoweetrace.org/) to inquire mileage. As well, be mindfull, that trail has many river crossings, this time of year not a big deal, winter, its rough
The latest published Sheltowee total mileage is 307 but that does not include the re-route in the Morehead area. I'm not sure whether the re-route added or subtracted from the mileage.
BTW, the northern Sheltowee map set is finally, apparently, finished nearly one year after the company made their grand announcement. I didn't see an update on their website (http://www.outragegis.com/), but it has been announced on Facebook.