Big South Fork-Memorial Day Weekend

“going to do the john muir trail from the o&w trestle, and grand gap loop

there are some campsites about 2 miles north of leatherwood ford road, by the bsf river and near fall branch. we will hike to there the first day and set up camp for both nights, and dayhike the grand gap loop the second day, and hike out the third day. total mileage approximately 17 miles. breakfast at oneida huddle house to follow on monday morning

scottfchr@aol.com
home 765-453-7893
cell 765-271-4857”

“The Grand Junction Loop is beautiful - I did this and had a good campsite at the base before the loop. Beautiful vistas of Big South Fork!”

“I am down as a maybe since it is a few months away. I haven't been to BSF since TC2.”

“i just found out we have friday off on good friday weekend, so i will be going to bsf that weekend also. ill probably switch memorial day weekends itinerary to good friday weekend, and plan a different route for memorial day, possibly a jmt/laurel fork route”

“make up your mind, no wonder people never show up for your trips. They never know the details since you keep changing them ;)”

“..and the fact C!B! sometimes doesn't show.”

“youre both uninvited

:-P”

“Note to all going:
Make sure you wear the heel strap on your Crocs or Waddies. C!B! will be displeased if you don't. ;-)”

“Just don't camp below the South Fork Dam.”

“Make sure you wear the heel strap on your Crocs or Waddies. C!B! will be displeased if you don't. ;-)”
StoveStomper
4:01:08 PM
1/11/06

there has got to be a story there”

“see the crocs thread. theres no story, just a peeve”

“Hee hee hee......”

“smith, arent you late to work as a wal-mart greeter?”

“Is this a good trip to take if its technically my first time backpacking? I've been doing long day hikes (6-7mi) for about 6 years...I think its time to step it up a notch...though 17 miles sounds dang long. I could be wrong though....or just a wuss.

: |”

“17 miles over 3 days, only one major up that i know of. the second day is a dayhike. piece o cake”

“the first day is 4.3 miles with packs on, no major uphills. the second day is 8.2 miles without packs, one major up. there is likely no water along the grand gap loop, so you must take all the water you need before you leave camp. last day is the first day in reverse”

“Just talked to Jerbear concerning this trip and it sounds like a good trip. If all goes well we will be there! Sounds like a fun and easy outing in the making. Except for the drive that is...

Moz”

“cool diggety”

“I was there this past weekend. We did the Fall Branch trail to the Grand Loop and back. Nice trip, good views”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/548081586dUhPbY

my pics from this past weekend”

“Who were those folks, Ewker?
I didn't recognize them.”

“they are part of a local outdoor club here called Team Green. First time I have been on a bping trip with them. There were some newbies, averge and experienced bper's on this trip.”

“Thanks, I know a few TN Trails folks, but not these.”

“Stove, I don't think many of these folks belong to Tn Trails. They do local day hikes, bping trips and put on big trips (Glacier, Mt Rainer, Costa Rico, Rockies, etc) also.”

“day 1
shuttle cars to jacks ridge trailhead. start hiking at leatherwood ford trailhead and go north on john muir trail. good water source and campsite at about 8.5 miles

day 2
about 5.6 miles to laurel fork creek trail. turn left down lfc trail. hike until find a suitable campsite

day 3
hike out to jacks ridge trailhead. shuttle back to leatherwood ford trailhead”

“this is the route for MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. i also have a trip to bsf planned for good friday/easter weekend”

“How's the water in the area? It looks like there might be an opportunity to do a float trip that week.

Moz”

“if you put in a Leatherwood Ford Trailhead yoou can float downstream for 8 miles to Station Camp. There is a recommended portage at Angel Falls then after that pretty much Class I/II rapids. You can keep going to Blue Heron camp

check out this website. It is the Tennessee Scenic River Assoc. http://paddletsra.org/phpBB2/index.php

Also there is some info on the Big south Fork website about river conditions”

“joined this trip.
Moz we be hikin!
Itenery looks dooable. Will check to see how many miles the exit will be. I will be driving back Monday.
Need to see where fri eve camp will be? OR just plan to meet at the exit trailhead? Now we all can not meet there duh! We will need to shuttle to the start. Yo bear!
Eaker and 2 poops will be good to see ya again. and my shoes are mine ! Nane na......more to come I will look at a map!”

“yo bear, it will be good to see you again”

“i have to drive back to kokomo on monday, so we will go for a very short day. the further we get sunday, the better.

it will be very late when i arrive friday night. the exit trailhead is not shown on the map, so how about we all meet at the backcountry office saturday morning? it is close to both trailheads”

“otherwise known as the bandy creek visitor center”

“thats an option.Bandys creek visitor center
NOW post a map so as the people can find it.yo bear”

“the visitor center is easy to find. once you cross bsf on 297, go about a mile and it is on your left, next to campground area E and across from B, C, and D.”

“So where is this exit parking area???? will our cars be safe??? Why dont we stick to the original route and you change the itenary for the good friday trip. Logistics and people driving from afar to this hike lets keep it simple. WE, signed on for a loop hike and now you have changed the itenery!
Scott , please re-think this. thanks jer Yo bear.
last edited: 3/26/06 6:55:26 PM”

“the exit parking area is just off bandy creek road. for some reason, the trailhead is not marked on the map, but it is in the guidebook. the cars will be as safe there as anywhere else. the trailhead is near a main road.

i am keeping it simple. we will all meet at the visitor center, which is very easy to find. the trailhead for the good friday weekend is actually the more complicated one to find, plus in a more out of the way spot. all that means is the memorial day weekend itinerary is simpler and safer than the good friday itinerary.”

“if anyone feels uncomfortable with either trailhead (not that i know of any reason to), that person could leave his car at the visitor center. im sure itll be at least as safe as the red ;-)”

“Hey ewker, Hows that Grand gap loop!”

“before the trip, ill send a map to everyone going so there should be no problems getting there”

“The best part is the view once you get to the top. There are a few views along the way but mostly a walk in the woods. It will be greener than when I was there in Feb. Pics from Feb http://community.webshots.com/album/548081586dUhPbY
last edited: 3/27/06 4:11:27 PM”

“ewker, git mail!”

“ewker, u got mail son! yo bear!”

“Crash, have you reconsidered hiking the orignal loop hike for the memorial day hike yet?Awe come on!”

“seeing as how i changed it 3 days before you signed on, im sticking with the new plan

:-P

the logistics for this wont be as hard as you think it will be. the two trailheads are only a few miles apart. theyre so close, that if i didnt have anybody else to shuttle with, id still walk the distance between the two trailheads. this may turn out to be the better hike because laurel fork is supposed to be awesomely scenic.

the reason i did it like this was because i planned for memorial day first. then i found out i would get an extra day off work for easter weekend, so i added that to my schedule. im really keen on grand gap loop, so im going to do that first, plus i dont have any firm commitments to easter weekend, so i dont want to do the one that requires a shuttle then. plus, im juggling alot of trips the next few months, i dont want to keep changing things unnecessarily. ive already cemented this in my mind as how im doing bsf. i dont want to change up again”

“i dont want to change up again without a compelling reason, since ive already changed it once, otherwise people will start getting even more confused.”

“I'm in as a maybe.”

“yo bear I will check it tonight.”

“Is anyone leaving from the Nashville area that wants to carpool? I'm in Belle Meade and can fit 3 more in my Echo with Packs. I could also meet up and ride with anyone else wanting to do this.”

“jerbear, i just did the grand gap loop this weekend and we aint gonna be missing much. the only good view is just a couple of minutes off of our route for memorial day. defineitely worth the detour”

“I am still in, what time are you meeting Sat morning?”