Big South Fork (Tennessee) Backpacking - April 2015

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• published: 03 Jun 2015
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Bailey Rose, Jaden and I took a 3-day, 2-night 'exploration' trip in early April 2015 to Big South Fork National River Recreation Area, generally known as the 'Big South Fork'. I've wanted to explore Big South Fork for many years, and I certainly wasn't disappointed with what I found. The numerous trails I hiked were only a small fraction of the 360 miles of available hiking trails, and all had lush vegetation with interesting geology, and dotted with old homesteads and historic features. You're generally allowed to camp anywhere in the backcountry. I never made it back to the apparently incredible John Muir Trail but that gives me reason to come back. If you study maps of the Big South Fork trails you'll find it is a simple matter to string together backpacking loop trips of nearly any length and distance. The title indicates it was a backpacking trip and, in fact, I did carry my full pack the entire time I was hiking, but I never actually set up my tent. Thunderstorms and heavy rain prompted me to bail to a hotel for night #1, and I had always planned to stay at a neat backcountry lodge called 'Charit Creek Lodge' for night #2. Though this certainly wasn't a 'purist' backpacking trip I did think that for anyone interested in Big South Fork and/or Charit Creek Lodge this should prove interesting and informative.