May 31-June 2 Guide Tali Hunt Big South Fork area Fee $75, $50 for STA members. Limit 8 participants. Registration opens April 20th.
Location: Sheltowee Trace in the Big South Fork. Meet at Bandy Creek Visitor Center
Dates: May 31-June 2
Length: 3-day/2 Night
Cost:$75, $50 for STA members
Difficulty Description: Beginner
Overview
This weekend course is designed for hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts who have little or no overnight camping experience in a mountain or wilderness environment. By the end of the weekend, students will have acquired the skills to plan and carry out an enjoyable multi-day backpacking trip using established trails and campsites, and will have a foundation upon which to build more advanced wilderness skills.
Meet at Bandy Creek Visitor Center on Friday, May 31 at 2pm.
The afternoon will be spent in instruction about backpacking, how to pack your pack and pack shakedowns. We’ll leave some cars here and carpool others down to Leatherwood Ford. We’ll camp just south of the bridge to test out our gear and practice backcountry procedures.
Saturday, June 1: We will get an early start from Leatherwood Ford to allow us plenty of time to get used to full packs and to “lollygag”. We’ll start out along the Cumberland river and then climb up to the Angel Falls Overlook where we will take a long lunch break and enjoy the views. We’ll then journey on to a backcountry campsite where we will practice setting up camp, gathering water, cooking dinner, and other camp chores with an eye to LNT principles. We will also talk about how to plan a backpacking trip on your own. We’ll also review some other hikes in the region to help us learn map reading skills that can help us in planning day or overnight hikes About 6 miles hiking
Sunday, June 2: We have a nice leisurely morning today to enjoy breakfast, camp coffee, and practice breaking camp before heading down the trail back to Bandy Creek campground. We’ll take a mid-morning break for photo ops at one of the Big South Fork’s famous Rock Houses before continuing on to our waiting cars. We only have about 4 miles total today. Once we retrieve cars from Leatherwood, you may want to stick around the area and explore some of the trails at Pogue Creek Canyon, Pickett State Park, or Twin Arches. We will use these trails to talk about trip planning on Sat night and if you have time before heading home, you can test your map reading and timing skills while seeing some really beautiful country!