|
Home > Trip Reports > Big South Fork - Twin Arches and Jakes Place
Trip Images |
One of the Twin Arches
|
 |
Me and my bro at the cave entrance
|
|
My Dad and Bro hiking through one of the natural rock shelters
|
|
|
 |
Trip Report
|
 Email to a friend
|
 Print this page
|
| |
Big South Fork - Twin Arches and Jakes Place
November 2006
Oneida , TN
posted by Wade
Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving my father, brother, and I head to the wilderness to bond. It's a great way to catch up. We live less than an hours drive from each other but we are all so busy, this trip gives us a chance to catch up.
This year we headed to the Big South Fork National Recreation Area for a backpacking trip. We arrived at the Big South Fork around 1 or 2PM and got our backcountry pass from the ranger at the Bandy Creek Campground Visitor's Center. We had decided to do something in the Twin Arches area after reading abenson's trip report of the area here on Outdoorzy.com.
The ranger told us about Jacob Blevins who had moved to the area in the 1880's and lived there until the 1930's with his wife. They were true pioneers; made their own clothes, hunted, fished, and farmed for food, and only went to town on very rare occasions.
We decided to camp at Jake's Place, the remnants of Jacob Blevin's homestead. It was only about a 3 hour hike in, but the weather was perfect. The temperatures were in the upper 60's and the sky was clear. We hiked toward the Twin Arches first.
We weren't sure when we would reach the arches and we thought we were getting close when we looked to our left (East) and noticed our tiny shadows in the valley below standing on the shadow of a huge natural arch. We didn't know but we were standing on top of the first arch. It was really cool to see the shadow.
We had some lunch under the first arch that we had bought at a local country store. We explored the small cracks and caves around the two arches which are easily visible at the same time.
After playing on the rocks and talking some we moved on so we could make camp in time to gather firewood and put up the tents before dark.
We hiked along huge clifflines and under gigantic rock ampitheatres for most of the next 2 miles. Then down some switchbacks into the valley and to our campsite. Jake's place is marked with a wooden sign, and you can see the remnants of the rock chimney of the old house and an iron circle that looked like part of a wagon wheel or barrel.
We set up camp right next to the trail by the creek. There was another campsite nearby in a cedar thicket, but it was a bit moist because it was shaded by the trees all day.
We set up the tents, and found some firewood and started relaxing. The wonderful thing about this campsite is that it is situated next to the confluence of two streams. They babbled and gurgled us to sleep that night, which was wonderful.
We stored our food in a dry bag, hung in a tree about 60 feet or so from the camp. This was precautinary measure because there are black bears, boars, coyotes, and raccoons that would love to eat our granola bars and beef jerky.
A group from Alabama hiked by around 8PM or so with headlamps. They were looking for a good place to camp. They went on down the trail and ended up coming back to the Jake's Place area. We suggested that they try the cedar thicket. They set up camp there, and spent some time searching for firewood in the dark. They didn't seem to mind though and we could hear them laughing and having fun.
We hit the sack around 9:30 and I slept pretty well.
The next morning we got up. My dad made a fire, I boiled some water for hot chocolate and oatmeal. Then we packed up and hit the trail again. We followed the same route back out (the western part of the Twin Arches Loop Trail). Then hit a Pizza Hut half way home as a reward for our "hard work".
It was a great trip, and I would definately reccomend the Big South Fork and the Twin Arches Loop Trail to anyone who wants to get out into a remote wilderness area. There aren't too many places where you can still see the milky way in all it's brilliance in the night sky of the Eastern US, but this is one of them. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Trip Reports from Wade
|
