Random Scenes from Big South Fork

Here are just some random scenes from our rambling around the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

I spotted this gorgeous Fall color from the walkway across the top of the coal tipple at Big Heron Historical Area.

The restored coal tipple at Big Heron. It once contained the machinery that sorted sizes and grades of coal.

The walkway across the top of the coal tipple. Once, a rail crossed here that unloaded coal into the tipple.

The view from  Station Camp Overlook peering down toward Charit Creek Lodge.

And, down at Charit Creek Lodge looking up at the rocks of  Station Camp Overlook. (That's the Lodge stable below the hill on the other side of the meadow.)

The top of South Arch. Don't stray to the left or right. A fall of over 100 feet would greet you. Briefly.

Grotto beside Natural Bridge.

Yahoo Falls, the highest waterfall in Kentucky.

Water at Devil's Den.

The restored O & W bridge.

A Day at Charit Creek Lodge, Part II

After we got to the lodge Carole decided to take it easy and just enjoy the peace and quiet. Since we'd only hiked 2.1 miles to get there, I was still wound up and full of energy. Looking at my trail map, I saw that a hike of a round trip of four miles would take me to a high overlook that I could see from the lodge. Pretty much exactly two miles to Station Camp Overlook and a return trip via retracing my path up.

Since it was still cool and I had consumed several bottles of fresh water after hiking down I grabbed just my camera and lenses and headed up. The trail was created mainly for horseback travel and there were no switchbacks. It was rather like a road that tackles the slopes straight on. In fact, I did encounter a party of horseback riders coming down the trail. And, as always with horse trails, I found some large sections to be mud pits unfit for walking and I had to move into the forests to bushwhack past them. I really do hate what horse and riders do to our National Forest and National Park trails. Something really needs to be done.

At the end of the first leg of the hike I reached the ridge line and hooked a hard right that continued to follow the heights. The Fall colors were really reaching their peak at the top of the plateau and walking amidst all of those reds and yellows and oranges and browns was a pleasure. In short order I found myself emerging from the forest onto the cliff edge at Station Camp Overlook. The Park Service has constructed a solid log fence there to prevent idiots from falling from the heights.

After snapping some shots looking down on the Lodge itself, I headed back down to be with Carole. I found her napping, but she got up so that we could sit on the back porch and listen to the creek babbling through the trees. We just relaxed and talked and waited for supper, which was served at seven.

The Lodge was being run entirely while we were there by a young man named Bill. He took care of the guests and did all of the cooking alone. And he is an excellent cook. We had a great supper with lots and lots of vegetables. His carrot souffle was so good we all had seconds and thirds. I don't think we left much for the dog to eat as scraps.

After dinner I took a shower and we went back to our cabin which was toasty warm. We'd fired up the wood stove before supper so that the cabin was very nice and comfortable when we got back to it. I got up a couple of times in the night to add some wood to the flames but mainly spent the rest of the evening in a very deep sleep. So deep that we were almost late for breakfast.

After the morning meal we cleaned up and decided to sit around the cabin until 10 am. Then we packed up our stuff and said and goodbye to Bill and Lars (his boxer dog) and headed back up the truck, stopping for a while at the Twin Arches to take in the views of that amazing geology.

I very highly recommend a stay at Charit Creek Lodge. The folk who run it are exceptionally accomplished at what they do, and it's an amazing place to spend time. I think the next time Carole and I go there we will stay for at least two nights.

I head up the trail.

Horses completely wreck a trail. I had to bushwhack around this muddy damned mess.

Warning sign at the cliff edge.

Despite appearances, you can't drive to this spot. Foot traffic and horse travel only.

The lodge was visible below with telephoto lens. The smaller of the two buildings is one of the cabins.

A nice oblique view from the clifftop.

Real color. Amazing blaze of Autumn.

Carole peeks out at me from her comfy bed.

As the sun sets, I look up at Station Camp Overlook from the Lodge grounds.

This was a self-portrait I took in subdued light at breakfast.

We relaxed in front of the wood stove for a couple of hours before heading out.

This was our host, Bill, who did all of the amazing cooking! And his canine companion, Lars, who has to be one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. Lars loved to be petted and talked to--what a big baby!

Sadly, we head back up the trail. The previous day had been bright and sunny. We left in a drizzling rain and solid overcast.

On the way back, I climbed to the exposed summit of North Arch and took this video of the views from the almost treeless summit.

Our Stay at Charit Creek Lodge, Part I.

I have to say that one of the coolest experiences of our trip was the hike down to Charit Creek Lodge and our overnight stay. The lodge is located in the bottom of the gorge. There are shorter hikes to get there, but we chose to take the Twin Arches Trail that is 2.1 miles in length and leads past two of the largest natural arches in eastern North America. Those are well worth the trip and make one feel small indeed. (Mother Nature has a way of doing that.)

Despite losing about 500 feet in elevation, the hike is pretty easy as such things go. There are a number of switchbacks along the way and also a number of stairways and steps. It's a very well engineered path. And it takes you through a very beautiful recovering forest of an impressive diversity.

There is no electricity at the lodge. Lighting is by lantern. Heating is by wood stoves. There are bathrooms with flush toilets, and hot showers powered by propane heating. Meals are provided by the lodge staff and during our stay the food was excellent. Included in the price of an overnight stay is supper and breakfast, both of which were vast and of high quality. You can also buy lunch, and you can have beer and wine at a modest charge.

A great boon for me was the total quiet. Except for one aircraft that flew over the vicinity for a brief moment, I never heard the sound of any machine. There was nothing but the sound of the wind and the bird calls and the slight music of the nearby creek.

At the start of the Twin Arches trail.

At the top of the North Arch I found this view of the cliff walls on the other side of the gorge.

Carole heading down one of the massive staircases.

Me, carrying our stuff down to the lodge. You don't need much. Grooming needs, change of clothes, some water for the hike, towel and wash cloth. The lodge provides everything else.

The forest was very diverse. Surprisingly so. The hemlocks there are still thriving. Oaks, beech, hickory, pines, sycamore, walnut, etc. It's an amazingly healthy forest considering the toll that timber and coal mining operations took on the area.

We emerge from the forest to see the first structure, a smokehouse put to new use.

The main lodge building. Circa 1817. It is the oldest building owned by the National Park Service that is still in use.

That weeping willow is nothing short of amazing. Like something from a storybook. This is the back section of the lodge. There is a sitting area between the willow and a pair of hemlocks where you can soak in the peace and quiet.

The barn. Used now to store fire wood and equipment.

This was our cabin. Screened in porch on one side, open porch on the other. Beyond you can see the bathroom and past that (out of sight) is the shower house.

Also sometimes used as a group cabin. For us it was a couples-only abode. All linens provided with plenty of extra pillows and wool blankets.

But you don't need those wool blankets all that much, because that wood-burning stove will heat the entire building more than adequately!

A brief video tour of the lodge grounds from Charit Creek to our cabin.

Tomorrow...more photos. I celebrate the hike down to the lodge by going on a long hike!

The Big South Fork!

Our next camping trip is going to be an area we've never been on the Tennessee/Kentucky border. We'll be staying in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Just looking at photos of the terrain and maps of the area, and reading about the territory, I think it's similar to places we've visited in the past on the vast limestone plateau in east Tennessee. But I won't know until we get there and explore the place.

I plan on doing a lot of hiking down into the gorge, and I've picked out one summit that I want to try to at least see, if not actually climb. This kind of terrain is not truly mountainous in the classic sense of the term. Instead, it's composed of a plateau that is deeply cut by numbers of rivers and streams. There's still a lot of vertical to be seen and conquered, but it's not actually mountains.

We're not sure if we'll see a lot of wildlife. The Forest Service did reintroduce black bears into the area some time back and there's supposed to be an expanding population of them now. But beyond that I haven't read much about the animals who inhabit that area.

Since we're going in cooler weather we're not taking our kayaks and from what I understand there's not a big demand this time of year for rafting trips down the main river through the Recreation Area. I am hoping that there will still be some Fall color to see and photograph.

We've also booked a night at the Charit Creek Lodge. It's one of the lodges that one must reach on foot or horseback. We've stayed at a couple of such lodges and always enjoy the experience.

Also, one of the attractions of the area are the natural arches that have formed. Here in the east coast you don't find a lot of arches (as you do in many western states), so I'll be picking out some of those to visit. And the countdown has begun. One week to go.

Down on the river in the gorge. (National Park photograph.)

We'll see this arch on the way to the Charit Creek Lodge. You have to pass by it along the trail. (Internet photo--not mine.)