Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky and Tennessee as well as its namesake river, the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. I backpacked here in 2000 and was excited to be able to return and help the park repair/improve a bit of its massive 500 miles of trails as part of this American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation.
Early in the 1900s, this area was stripped of much of its marketable trees and coal, and debris from these operations denuded the land and polluted the streams. Life was hard for the local residents who had depended on the natural resources for their very lives so two federal agencies were commissioned by Congress to alleviate the problems. The park is the successful joint effort of the Army Corps of Engineers, which acquired and developed the property, and the National Park Service which was chosen to operate and maintain the land for the benefit and use of the public. New growth now covers the logged-over land and environmental controls have restored water sources to good health, and this immense park with its rugged and scenic landscape is now a recreational playground for users who wish to hunt, fish, rock climb, hike, horseback ride, camp, mountain bike, and whitewater canoe and raft and kayak. In fact, the park is actually the first to be designated as both a national river and a national recreation area!
The park provided us with nine campsites in the Bandy Creek Campground, and on one of the sites installed a huge tarp, tables, camp stoves, coolers with a daily supply of ice, kitchen necessities, storage for the tools, and bear proof storage for the food. We also had a water spigot nearby and a washroom with hot and cold running water and even showers just a short walk up the hillside.
Our AHS crew leader, Richard, also provided kitchen equipment, prepared menus, and with the help of Effie from the park staff, shopped for all the food.
All of us pitched in with food prep, cooking, and cleaning up after meals.
Regarding our assigned work duties, we were charged with clearing and rebuilding sections of the John Litton Loop Trail in the Bandy Creek area as well as Slave Falls/Charit Creek Trail.
Below is our group rebuilding a section of trail...
...and installing water diversion bars where needed...
Hikers sometimes break the rules and cut switchbacks short which damages drainage as well as the ecology. We rebuilt a number of these switchbacks to discourage such abuse...
Here's another section being widened and made safer from tripping hazards such as roots and rocks. We also lopped back the overgrown vegetation which impeded hikers...
Several bridge structures needed repair so we carried wood, nails, and hammers with us...
A big problem is blowdowns. The sandy soil atop the limestone and sandstone rock base makes for shallow-rooted trees, and big gusts from wind storms can topple trees, blocking the trail. The ranger crew carried chainsaws and took care of these larger obstacles. Over a dozen large trees like the one below were cut into pieces by the National Park Service professional trail crew...
... and then we helped remove the cut-off pieces after they finished...
One area had half-a-dozen trees across the trail, criss-crossing each other. I've done this kind of tree removal in wilderness areas out west where power tools like chain saws are not allowed. On those projects, we had to use hand tools -- two-man, six foot long crosscut saws -- and a large tree took half a day to remove. The professional trail crew rangers made short work of these trees with their chain saws!
Below are two of the blow-downs we encountered. The huge root balls were 10 or more feet high and just as wide, so we tried to make it easier for hikers to get through the mess. Both root balls had completely obliterated the trail necessitating a future re-route. Sights like this demonstrate the power and ferocity of the wind and the shallowness of the root structure of some of these very tall trees.
A sharp-eyed member of our crew noticed this copperhead snake sleeping just off the trail...
We stopped to admire Slave Falls...
...and also Needle Arch...
Here's our stalwart group of hiker-volunteers as we pose at Needle Arch:
(l to r) Chuck, Richard (our AHS crew leader), Rhys, Eric, Tom, Andy, Michael, Jeff, Alina, and Krista.
Our Big South Fork NPS trail crew leaders, Ronnie and Don, were true professionals and also a joy to work with and learn from!
These photos and others are available for download here.
Here's a video of our week together...
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