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Flying Eagle
01-30-2006, 13:48
Anyone have experience hiking in the Big South Fork Rec. Area in Tenessee. Write ups say it's remote, beautiful, and challenging. What's the real story?

Thnaks

RockSteady
01-30-2006, 13:59
It's really a fun place to hike. I highly recommend the Honey Creek Trail. It very short, but there is so much packed into 5 miles it makes it very worth while.

otterman
01-30-2006, 14:03
Great place to hike. You can find all levels of difficulty and distances to hike. Plenty of waterfalls and arches in parts of it too. I did a loop around Yahoo Falls in Kentucky and it was very nice. You could see at least 20 feet to the bottom of the river.

TN_Hiker
01-30-2006, 14:34
Awesome area I like to hit fairly often. I haven't seen a bad trail yet, but do be advised some of the trails are used by horses. The scenery is awesome and the river itself makes for some good paddling as well. For further info, maps, etc....use this website.... http://www.nps.gov/biso/

Jeff
01-30-2006, 16:18
I agree with the others that there are lots of great trails. There is also a backcountry cabin called Charit Creek Lodge http://www.charitcreek.com/home.html

Beware of heavy, heavy tick infestation during the summertime....not sure of the problem at other times.

Have fun!!!!

Pennsylvania Rose
01-30-2006, 16:43
BSF is beautiful. Be sure to check out Yahoo Falls, the highest falls in KY. There's a neat arch upstream from it, too. If you go in summer, you can swim at Leatherwood Ford. The trails there are interesting - you're either walking flat along the river or on the ridge top, or going STRAIGHT up or down the sides of the gorge. Hardly any in between. We only live ~ 1 1/2 hrs away so I take the kids camping and dayhiking there every summer. It's not unusual for us to see no one all day, except at the picnic/tourist areas. Check out the book Hiking the Big South Fork.

Rain Man
01-30-2006, 17:11
Anyone have experience hiking in the Big South Fork Rec. Area in Tenessee. Write ups say it's remote, beautiful, and challenging. What's the real story?

Shhhhhhhhhhhh ... don't let people know about the BSF NRRA!!!! Else they'll all come and ruin it fer the rest of us!!! LOL

The BSF is a hidden treasure. It lacks the big mountain climbs, but has plenty of long and short hikes and lots of backcountry opportunities.

Charit Creek Lodge is run by the same concessionaire that operates Mt. LeConte Lodge in the Smokies. CCL has trail accesses from 9/10ths-of-a-mile to 10 or 20 miles of hiking to get there, your choice. My family has stayed there twice in January. I'd just note that the bath facilities are out of commission in freezing weather, so be aware of that.

By all means, do visit BSF. It's a treasure. I can post pics or a link to pics if anyone wants.

Rain:sunMan

.

Lilred
01-30-2006, 19:41
BSF is a great place to hike. I've been out there several times, on day hikes and overnighters. I talked to a ranger there that thruhiked BSF from north to south. Around 90 to 100 miles in total. Twin Arches loop trail is a great day hike, with a break at the Lodge. Twin Arches are the largest Arches east of the Mississippi. Great stuff.

Tha Wookie
01-30-2006, 19:52
Anyone have experience hiking in the Big South Fork Rec. Area in Tenessee. Write ups say it's remote, beautiful, and challenging. What's the real story?

Thnaks


This was my master's thesis. I've walked most of the trail system.

I heard a ranger there call it "Big South Fork Horse Park and ATV Sacrifice Area". He did so with good reason. It has severe damage on many trails. Some along the west bank of the river are impassible by foot (impassible if you don't want mud to your knees).

My advice is stay away from multi-use trails.

Look instead for the hiking only trails. The Honey Creek Loop, already mentioned, is short but VERY sweet. One of the best kept secrets in the south.

The Grand Gap Loop is great, and can be hooked up with the John Muir Trail that meanders through the area (broken though above the Honey Creek).

The area is a drain for many watersheds, and is one of the oldest rivers in the country (or world, really). That means in rainy conditions, stay well away from the river. It floods very heavily.

email me with any specifc Q's.

MOREHEAD
01-31-2006, 07:40
The BSF is a well kept secret.
I did a 5 day solo hike there.
around 100 miles
I saw 1 person.
some of the trails are not cleared on a regular basis.
lots of crawling under blowdowns.
good paddling also.

Tha Wookie
01-31-2006, 08:53
The BSF is a well kept secret.
I did a 5 day solo hike there.
around 100 miles
I saw 1 person.
some of the trails are not cleared on a regular basis.
lots of crawling under blowdowns.
good paddling also.

Very good observations. Especially the blowdowns. The area has been devestated by the southern pine beetle, and most of the pines are down or ready to go.

Be VERY careful on windy days, and on choosing your camp site.