Big Piney Rock House

Big Piney Rock House

Friday Jan. 26, 2018

Dana & Kenny Koogler

 We went over to visit with John and Sharon in Fentress County on a much needed get 

away weekend.   We have been going through a rough spell in our personal lives thanks to the upheaval caused by having substance abusers in the family.  Relapse is part of recovery, but that doesn't mean its painless. You don't give up. You keep loving . You keep praying. You keep working the 12 steps and you keep trying.   We finally made arrangements with Gabe's other

grandparents and our daughter and son in law to watch him for a weekend.   It worked out great, but what we did not count on was how tired we were.  We also did not count on 

how after awhile the problems at home follow you. You cannot run from things forever.

You gotta talk things out and work on it.  

      The weekend turned out to be rainy on Sunday but the rest of the weekend was pretty fair.

We did hash out our differences and the time away from home and being with friends was good for us.   Below is a quote I have in art work framed and on the wall at my house.  A reminder to keep trying. Never give up. 

“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come.”--- Rumi 

     Big Piney Rock House

  Friday we ended up with a few hours to do something.    We needed to keep it short.

We went down into Big Piney gorge to see the massive rock house we found.  We wanted to 

check it out during cold weather.  It is probably very snakey down in there during warm weather.     We went to the Sandy side and started in.     We found the trail in fair shape.

Still lots of overhanging limbs but only one fallen tree.     We made it there and walked down

into the drainage and followed it back to the rock house.  It was pretty cool.  The late afternoon sun had the woods looking golden and smoky.   

 RZR on the trail at the rim of the gulf

Golden sun in late afternoon woods.  

 Finally made it to the rock house.

 Looking out from under it. Nice to see blue skies.

 Taken from the second level of the rock house.

 Late afternoon sun makes its way into the rock house' upper reaches.

 

  Once we'd checked it out we found an easier, quicker way back to the RZR and the trail. 
We went on down to the bottom of the gorge to see the creek. It was wintery and pretty. 

Incredibly clear and sparkling waters of Big Piney Creek.

 Lots of icicles still around. Edges of the stream still frozen.

We did a quick stop by the spot where a cemetery is supposed to be.  We did not find it, but did find the remains of an old structure.  We will have to try again.  I have a way point for next try.

  Saturday-- Trail into Lost Cane 

  Saturday we visited with John and Sharon a bit.  They invited us to have dinner with them.

We told them what we planned to get up to and they opted out.  I told them I had a feeling it might not end up being fun or a success.  Unfortunately I was right.   

We stopped by a house we pass sometimes on Boatland Road.   I had photos of Mrs. Koger's beautiful tiger lilies I had taken one Summer when they were extremely pretty.   I got prints made for her.  I brought her a candle I made.   We stopped for me to take them in. I met her son James and told him what I'd come for. He told me she passed away last June of cancer.  

I was stunned and saddened. I expressed my sympathies and sorrow at having not made it by there in time to meet her. I left the things with him to enjoy and promised to try to be more neighborly.  I went back to the RZR with Kenny and burst into tears as we pulled away.  

Don't hesitate to do something nice for another, because we never know when it may be too late.  Her name was Clarice Koger and she was only 72 years old.  A sweet looking silver haired lady.  I hate that she is gone.   

     We went on to Bills Creek and the upper trail on the ridge.  It was open, but lots of brush to whack me in the face. We finally got on to where we'd found  a side trail we believed led down off the ridge and into Lost Cane just below Frank's Flume.   We pulled over and walked it. 

The plan was to clear it out IF it went where we believed and IF it was not a mammoth task.

We followed the old road, but it did not end up going where we believed.  It would have indeed been too much of an undertaking to clear out.   We finally had to give up and go back.   I was down.

I just didn't care about anything right then.   I was still saddened.  

    We had a nice dinner with John and Sharon and lots of good conversation.   

We finally headed back to the No Tell Motel as I call it.. the Jordan Motel.  We slept and when we went to bed it was raining.  It was to have cleared out by morning, but it didn't.  We went back to Boatland to see John and Sharon and have breakfast. The day was rainy and cold and dreary.  

We said our good byes and headed home.

   It was good to get away, but most of our plans didn't turn out like we wanted. That is not the end of the world.  When you explore sometimes you are going to get disappointed.  At least we have the satisfaction of knowing what we wanted to know and can cross some things off our list.  

     A consolation prize was that at the start of the week a young couple reached out to me for help in finding Rainbow Falls.  I ended up helping them. Friending the lady on Facebook.  They are 

our kinda people!  I am very excited to get to meet them. They are Hippie Jack loving, music loving, outdoor loving, campers, four wheeling peeps!   A second good side effect of helping them?

I found out they can help me get to see Hell Hole and possible some of the other sink holes I want to check out to wrap up my sink hole research project. 

' A third great thing that happened was in studying the map for them I happened upon answers to accessing places I had wanted to reach! I also found new  questions for myself to have brand new Ponders over.  Julia Ross.. You know what I'm talkin' bout gurl!  LOL... The studying on a thing can be nearly as much fun as finally figuring it out!  

  

West Fentress Weekend

Prairie trillium 

West Fentress Weekend 

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Saturday April 25 & Sunday April 26, 2015

pictures are here: 
West Fentress Weekend

    We had wanted very much to get back over to Fentress County to do some more exploring.

The forecast called for a nasty weekend with potential not only for rain, but tornadoes.

We also had a massive brush pile that needed to be hauled off to the land fill Saturday morning.

We decided to stick around home on Saturday and get that brush hauled away and watch

the weather.  We figured we'd head over later Saturday evening.  We got our land fill run over with.  Kenny checked the weather and it was clearing!  We quickly threw some things in the truck

and loaded up and off we went.    We were going to have better weather than had been expected.

Off into the Wild Blue Yonder .. a pretty day at Woo Hoo! 

        

We got to Woo Hoo, Sharon's place and parked the truck.  We had decided to try spending our first night in the shabin. Sharon had offered many times, but thus far we had not taken her up on it.  Since we'd only be over for a single night and since part of our purpose was to try to help work on the ATVs for her and John... it made sense to be here close.    We threw what we needed

on the back of the RZR and took off.  We stopped to hunt mushrooms, but they were done for the season.  The wildflowers were still pretty, but the season for some of them is fading.    

 Few large flowered trilliums and yellow trilliums blooming. 

  We had realized in the past couple months that there was an entire portion of Lost Cane 

we were missing out on.    We had wanted to try to find a way down in there this trip.   One of our

main goals was to find access into that unexplored area.    We tried first going up the ridge above 

Bill's Creek so we could attempt to drop off the back side of it into Lost Cane.  We had cut that trail out completely last time here so we figured it would be a cakewalk by comparison.  

We were disappointed to find that another massive tree had fallen across the trail near the start of it.   Kenny said "Oh no. I'm just not in the mood to start that so early today." We went ahead up the trail and decided to try two other points of potential access into that area.  My read on the 

topography was that the trail he tried next up top was going to head out the ridge with no 

way off into the bottom.  

        The trail we tried did got out the ridge.  The first part of it was a good trail and we liked it.

It snaked out the ridge with partial views off to the sides.  We could see off both sides in places.

Eventually it began to trend downward giving us hope that there might be a way down off the ridge here?!  The problem then became one downed tree after another.  Small trees were also grown up

in the path.  Past a certain point it appears this trail doesn't get traveled.  We finally turned and headed back.  I wanted to go back and try the Upper Bill's Creek Trail and drop off into Lost Cane there.   Kenny wanted to go out the road and try to find another trail he'd seen visible from 

Google Earth.   We went out the road and tried to find it.  It was nowhere to be seen.  

       We saw this at the end of Bill's Creek. 

The photo is of a sign on a tree in the middle of nowhere in Fentress County. The overlook it speaks of is located along the Cherohala Skyway about 150 miles south of this point by road and about 90 miles as the crow flies.   Always vet your way points before going! 

Plug them into your GPS and check them first. This is a prank someone is trying to pull.  

I admire their black sense of humor.   :-)

         I told Kenny he needed to study that google earth map more and set a way point on it

for us to have any hope of locating it.  Out here in the real world you cannot get that birds eye view

that you get with Google Earth satellites.   You have to have help to make it stick.  Like many things.. its not a good idea until its HIS idea.   We went round another way to get into Lost Cane.

Oy! A hard way it turned out to be.  We were mighty lumberjacks again today.  Cutting out more 

fallen trees on the short cut trail we'd found.   What a mess.  It is so pretty in there, but muddy.

We encountered one deep mud hole after another filled to the brim with tadpoles and frogs!

We cleared trees.   He showed me a cut across trail he and Buck had found.  On that one I got a nasty reminder about KEEPING ALL BODY PARTS IN THE RZR!   I reached a hand up to push some hanging limbs over the top of the RZR. Two saplings snapped my pinky finger and ring finger back so hard I thought they'd be torn off.  It hurt so bad I could not make any sound.

It took my breath away.    I got my fingers freed and sat holding my hand checking it.  It only scratched the skin on my fingers, but they hurt.  I knew they'd be fat and swollen and later they were black and blue and all puffed up.   It scared me.  I pulled my t-shirt up over my face

and cried a little.  Then I got alright and was over it.  We did end up making a connection

as to how the trails came together so it was worth it.  The short cut trail is now cleared.

         Down in Lost Cane at last we realized that only some of the waterfalls would be flowing.
The first pair had only a trickle going over one and the other dry.    We had decided we'd go down 
so far and if we found anyone else had been in and cleared even one more log out of the way we'd continue.  Here is what we found. 

              

Thankfully someone had started cutting where Kenny, Sharon and I had stopped.
We found that the way was cleared down into Brer Rabbitt's Briar Patch so we went that far and quit.   The lower end of the trail is full of briars and vegetation.  Beyond the overgrown briar patch is a really rocky stretch. Kenny was not in the mood and neither was I to deal with that today.
It looks like perfect snake territory and today was nice and warm.  

       We stopped on the way through and visited two of the waterfalls we could hear running.
There is no trail down to them.  You just have to climb for it.

           First waterfall you come to here is about fifteen feet high and comes out of a cave and goes into a swallet.  

          

This boulder is massive. I'm guessing thirty feet high and about thirty to forty feet wide.
I finally managed to set the camera up to capture what this sinkhole looked like at five pm.
It was dark down here! This is right by the two waterfalls.

No trail here.  Just steep sides around you everywhere and house sized boulders.

The second waterfall at this spot is long and tall and falls between massive boulders.
It is about thirty feet high. By it is a rectangular boulder that is fifty feet high from its top point.


The camera lightens things up so the images here show the beautiful Spring greens which I love.
It does not show without using the flash to darken it how it really looks to the human eye at five p.m.


  We crept back up the bank and rode down a little further and came to the spot where we could hear the next waterfall flowing. Only one of this pair was running today.  It has had water on it every time.
The Spring wildflowers were still pretty. Prairie trillium, Southern Red trillium, Appalachian bugbane, yellow trillium, a rare large flowered trillium, and lots of dwarf larkspur were present along with Canada violets.
Mayapples stood like small green umbrellas along the slopes.

Down in the rocks and dry washes of Lost Cane.

Last waterfall today. Out of a spring above it and into two swallets!
The other one of this pair was dry today.


Dwarf larkspur bloomed profusely down here today.

    It was growing darker so we turned and headed back up the way we'd come.
On the way back I was dreading getting smacked in the face again, eyes poked, by twigs, limbs, briars.
My fingers were beginning to thump now.   It wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but we did see two or three spots which bear further and closer investigation on return trips.   One spot caught my eye as we were looking at one on the left side.. I noticed a foot path going up on the right.  Next thing I knew I was out of the RZR and on the run. I trotted up the slopes and started hearing water.  I popped over an embankment and there before me was a cave with a waterfall coming over it.  It wasn't really a cave, but a wide slit in a dirt bank.   I kept going and hooted back for Kenny to come on and bring the camera.  It was a very cool
finding and we enjoyed checking it out.
 
The photo above and below show the rock house with the small waterfall. It is rough in there. Not groomed
at all. No trail to it.  Just a rough footpath to get up the bank.




          We went back to the RZR, but will have to return and continue above this as the path keeps going.
It may lead to nothing, but we want to know for sure.  I'm still looking for Frank's Flume. Maybe this will be it!  You never can tell, but finding things is fun. Here is a link to the visit to this rockhouse falls.
Newly Visited Rock House and waterfall


Sun is setting in the west.  We stopped on the way back at an overlook I knew of.  Kenny has been to it.
Sharon has been to it, but Kenny did not remember it.   He checked that infernal phone of his since it had a signal here.  It told us that a very bad storm was on the way in about an hour.  We had to get going he said.
Here is a link to a short video of the quiet beauty of that moment. Skinner Mountain Sunset

         Back at the shabin we unlocked everything and got about the business of cooking dinner.
He grilled us up some excellent burgers. I used the propane stove to boil up some mac and cheese.
We were both tired and wanted to hurry and keep it simple.  We ate well and after dinner I cleaned up our small mess while Kenny made up a bed for us.   We both washed up with baby wipes and went to bed.
Sometime during the next hour or so after lights out I began hearing thunder.  Soon after that the rain arrived.
We had quite a thunderstorm. One crack of lightning and boom of thunder shook the shabin and woke us out of a sound sleep! It was close!   Neither of us slept well thanks to that, but our first experience in the shabin was good!   Thanks Sharon and John!

             Next morning we woke and the rain had quit.  All that was left was the spatter of drops off the trees
when the wind would blow.   I had a cup of instant coffee while we got ready. We headed to town to McDonald's for a quick breakfast and to replenish our ice in the cooler.   A check of the weather revealed
the day should be clearing up.   We went back to Woo Hoo and Kenny got to work on the four-wheelers.
I cleaned up and packed up.   We ended up calling Sharon later when we had a phone signal and just bringing the ATVs home to service them here in Kenny's garage.  It was a hilarious process figuring out
how to load them and haul them, but he did it!  I helped all I could.

           We were not in the mood to ride in that nasty wet today.  We decided instead to go hike
and then we'd head home at a reasonable hour.  I talked Kenny into taking me back to visit Big Sunk Cane Falls.  I knew the hike was short, the waterfall was pretty and the Spring wildflowers beautiful.
We found it this time with no trouble.  It is clear across into Overton County in a separate part of Nowheresville.    Long drive. Short hike.   It was worth it.

Big Sunk Cane Falls is about 70 ft high. It comes out of the ground at the top of this rock in a spring stream.
It enters the ground at the bottom of this sink.    It is a cave.  The sunk cane is the entire surface depression which starts out at the road.  You cross the main part of the sink to get here. The only cane left is along the edges.   You enter woods and the sink ends at the waterfall.  Here is a link to a video of Big Sunk Cane Falls

Big Sunk Cane had lots of dwarf larkspur in deep purple, lavender and almost white!

Prairie trillium, southern red trillium, bugbane, canada violets, yellow trillium,  and mayapples were also present.  I saw large flowered trillium, but it was past peak bloom and fading fast.  I did not see any Catesby's trillium today, but it is here.

        On our long drive back the sun began coming out!
Kenny exclaimed at a waterfall he saw down over the bank along the road.  We stopped to check it out.
It was a great find!

Big Indian Creek Falls.. not on the database yet, but has been submitted now!

        We did not tarry long here as we were not able to find the property owner for permission.
No one lives in the house we found.     Back at the shabin we loaded stuff up and got ready to roll home.
We were both tired.  It had been an odd weekend, but better weather than had been called for.
We avoided any tornadoes!   We'll be back to bring the ATV's and cut more wood and clear more trails.

Below are a couple of the best videos from this weekend. Big Indian Creek Falls and Lost Cane.

Bryants Cove Four-Wheeling

Rhexia marianna--growing in a wetland at the start

of the Bryant's Cove Ride.  (Maryland Meadow Beauty)

Four-Wheeling Bryant's Cove 

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Saturday August 2, 2014

Pictures are here: Bryants Cove Pix

43 mile Round Trip Ride

     Kenny & I wanted to get away and do something different.   We hadn't been four-

wheeling since April.   I was longing for my beautiful Cumberland Plateau.   We had talked 

about going exploring, but hadn't done any of that for months.   It was time.  Kenny did not

want to go camping.  We planned a get away weekend out in the Plateau with a stay at a motel.

Less work for Kenny that way not having to pull the camper.   He had been to Bryants Cove, long ago, but I had never been.  We decided that would be a fun trip.   I had no expectations. 

I did not want to feel obliged to find anything.  I did not want to continue my pattern of doing

things over as a sure bet.   

         We headed over early Saturday morning because the drive would be long.
Kenny was a champ and found the parking spot and road access to Bryants Cove he'd used before.  I had done some additional research Friday evening and had an idea where we were 
supposed to be starting out.    It worked out perfectly. He still had the track on the GPS from 
the last trip with Buck.  We parked back Pryor Ridge past the church at an old lot full of log trucks.   We saw one other vehicle and trailer that appeared to be someone else riding, but we did not run into that person on this trip.  They were gone by the time we got back. 

      We took a wrong turn at first and headed out past a swamp. I'm glad we did make a wrong turn because it was a pretty area with rhexia galore!  

 

Top: Wetland swamp

Bottom: Maryland Meadow Beauty 

    We got turned around and heading the right direction.  The GPS makes it easier to get yourself

oriented and it beeps periodically to let you know you're on track.   It was not long until we came to an 

area of sandstone filled with rose pinks and blazing star.  I got some photos and found something I did 

not even know was possible.  I found white blazing star blooming in the midst of all the normal, purple/pink

variety!   Lots of butterflies were around feeding on nectar.

Top: Normal pink blazing star

Bottom: White form of blazing star

  We rode on through red dirt and gravel tracks.  We went through mud holes.  The sun was shining. The skies were blue with puffy clouds.  It was a warm day, but not too hot.   We had dragonflies buzzing past and butterflies flitting from flower to flower.    Frogs hopped all around 

those mud holes.   Every so often I need to smell dust and red clay.  I can't have things groomed

perfect and touristy all the time.  A person has to have some grit in their gizzard now and then to

cope with life.    I was going to make certain this weekend I got PLENTY OF IT!

     The forest was deep and green. Healthy hemlock groves. Umbrella magnolia, sycamore, hickory, maple, beech and oak were some of the trees represented in the forest.   The sun shone

down through the groves of trees making dappled patterns.    The air began to change and grow cooler.   The further we went the cooler it grew.  Usually losing elevation means its going to warm up.   Today we went lower and the air was cooler.  We both knew what that meant.  Out here in the Cumberland Plateau you are likely nearing a cave when you feel that cool air!  We were in bottom land now with lots of weeds and lush grass.  Purple phlox was all around smelling so sweet.   Mud holes of black loam stood full of water.   We looked to one side and there was the cave we'd felt air

coming out of!  I am not sure, but I think this is Peter Cave.  I have not been able to find any info on what the entrance to it looks like. 

 Nearby this cool entrance was a snake. It looks like a rattlesnake from the pattern.  I also saw a tiny green frog about 1/2 inch long!

       

      Kenny remarked when we stopped to check out the cave "Oo! This place looks snakey!".
I had to agree with him.  He went in the general direction of the cave. I was taking photos of tadpoles and checking out frogs.   I heard him yip from behind me and I knew something was wrong.  He was pale and backing away. He'd been right about the snakey comment.  He came an ace of stepping on one in the weeds.   We decided it was best for us to mosey on.

      We went further up the cove and saw the typical rocky, dry river beds of the plateau's karst land.   Swallets stood along the edges of some of these dry washes waiting like large open mouths for the water to return for them to drink.   We saw something move to the drivers side and it was a 
green heron!   Today we saw lots of wildlife.   Here is what we saw:

• two deer
• half dozen turkeys
• pair of wood ducks
• two hawks
• lots of trout
• minnows
• frogs
• one copperhead
• one muskrat
• a beaver dam but no beavers visible
• two cardinals
• one indigo bunting

• one green heron

     
We turned and went up a side trail that did not look familiar just to see where it went. It was through an ugly area where they were logging.  Finally we turned around and headed back to follow the track we were supposed to be on.  We soon passed an old building.  Turns out is is the Bryant's Cove Church.  It had a big sign on it that said "No Camping", but right past it was a travel trailer.  I guess that is the manse.  Gotta love living in the Bible Belt.  Here in Tennessee you pass signs just anytime telling you things like "Its time to turn so you don't burn." and "Get Right with Jesus while its still time!"  I'm not making fun. I'm a believer in Christ.  It just tickles me some of the stereotypical sign hanging behavior.  I can't help having a fondness for preachers with nicknames like "Cotton" and "Mutt". It sounds like where I come from in Virginia.  Only the men there with those nicknames were not exactly preachers.  My Pawpaw was "Shine" Bradley.

 

Top: Bryants Cove Church

Middle: Placquard on the front of the church

Bottom: I guess the trailer is the parsonage.

    The river began having a little water in it.  We followed it along and eventually we came to a spot
where I got my first glimpse of something I had not seen in awhile.  The beautiful aquamarine color of the waters of the Little Sequatchie River.   The color I associate with the Cumberland Plateau.   It was hot out.  
The river was deep in shade and looked so inviting.  I saw two large trout and a school of smaller fish swim past.   A nice sunny, hot day and a clear stream of sparkling green water was too hard to resist so I didn't 
even try.  I shucked off and dived in head first.   The water was cold even for me, but once I got in and was wet it became easier to tolerate.   It was that spicy kind of cold.  Water so cold it feels hot.  Makes your skin turn red.  Steam was coming up and fog hanging in the valley over the stream. Rain drops fell now and then out of a clear sky and steam came up.  I was doing the back stroke looking up at a blue sky and dark green
leaves on the trees.   I rolled over and gathered a mouthful of water and sprayed it like a fountain.  I was a cartoon character.  Moments like this make lasting, special memories for me.  Times like this I feel truly and fully alive.   Glad to live where I do and be who I am. 

My swimming hole for the day.  

     Kenny reminded me we still had a long way to go.   I reluctantly got out and dried off with a towel and put my stuff back on.  We went further up the river and encountered some people.  All 
other riders who were out for the day.  We chatted with them a bit and traded info. They were nice men and very helpful.   The one man indicated we were heading the correct way to find a waterfall that was supposed to be along this loop.  We were hoping to see two falls today. I had read about them and had seen photos.  Kenny had seen both of them on his trip three years earlier and so far was doing a great job of re-creating the route.   

Kenny and me visiting with a couple other riders.  The fellow in the gray tee shirt was very helpful.

       He told us about Miners Path and said we would not like it that it was washed out.
 We followed our track on around to where the waterfall should be and we found it.  It was flowing, but
the typical Summer low water flow.  It was a pretty spot to stop and have lunch by the stream.   We saw
a few more people some of whom were camping in the area.  What I found disconcerting was all the beer bottles, beer cans, soda cans, and trash.  Someone had put out a plastic drum to collect trash, but
it was nearly overflowing.  The campers we saw were throwing their litter on the ground.   They had trashbags with them, but were not bothering to use them.  Two legged pigs.  Whatever we haul in... we haul out!

 

 Small scenic cascade in Bryant's Cove, TN 

     We did some more exploring and found a side trail that ended. We doubled back and hit Miner's Path and found out that it WAS indeed washed out.   We went up and down that rough thing.  We got down in the ditch at one point and before you knew it... we were laying over on the side.   Kenny winched us out of that predicament. I laughed like crazy.   It was funny to me.  

He had just fixed the winch the night before we left and boys howdy.. I was so glad!  We sure needed it today.    We finally made it to the top and back out on the dirt road for the next leg of the trip we were surprised to find the sky had turned black and a thunder storm was coming!

       Top: Seeing the world sideways
Bottom:  Darkened skies threatening a Summer storm.  It rained shortly after we saw this and it continued for a couple hours! 

   The next part of the trip involved red dirt and sandstone trails up to the top of the mountain.
Next we went on the gravel or hard top road a short distance and began closing the loop.  We saw several interesting rock houses and bluffs. We enjoyed the sight of healthy, deep green forests.
We had some views out across the plateau at one point.    We found the spot where another waterfall was supposed to issue forth out of the bank and drop into a sink hole. It was not flowing today, but it was still a pretty area.  I suppose it does not flow all the time.

      We had another loop to complete and I was offered a chance to NOT do that loop.
From the point where was sat it would have been a three mile ride back to the truck.  I was having a good time and not wanting to miss anything so I agreed we'd see it through no matter what.
No getting mad at what transpired after that, because I asked for it.  

    The next part of the trip was about another 11 miles with the last five miles rougher than a cob.
It was over river jacks and other rough huge boulders.  Reminded me of the end part of Lost Cane.    Dry wash from Hell.    It was so bad that we both had our doubts if we were even going the correct way. Kenny confessed that both times he was wishing Please please just get me out of here!  He did not bother to tell me that before hand, but there was nothing for it now.  
Shake my teefs out honey!  What it did.   The scenery was still pretty.  We stopped a couple times just to get some relief from the violent shaking and jarring of the ride.   The Little Sequatchie is down to holes of water on this part.   Some of the holes of water were clear and rather shallow and you could see fish swimming.  Other holes were dark to the point you could not plumb the depths.
The surface of these holes was like a mirror.  Aggravating and rough as it was... I'm still glad I went.   We made it out ok at last and we were both darn glad to see the truck again!

    It was a tiring, but satisfying day. A successful ride.  A safe ride.  And for all my bitching about the roughness of that one section.. I know I will go back for more.  The enjoyment and discovery 
far outweighs the discomfort.  The rain had stopped.  The sunset was pretty. 

That evening as we went to dinner in Jasper the valley below Monteagle was lined with wisps of cloud and the sun was sinking low.   We both know we have only scratched the surface of what this place holds.  We will be back.

Beaver pond and swamp along the trail. You can see his lodge out there!

   

Mirrored surface of a section of Pocket Creek where it has dried up to holes. 

Fentress County Camping, Four-Wheeling and Hiking Trip

Cave Painting? 

I don't know. Looks like it to me!
And NO! It is not one of my infamous
Fake Ole Ass Cave Drawings.
Look for them on King Mtn!



Fentress County Camping Trip 

Kenny & Dana Koogler
Oct. 17-Oct. 20th, 2013

Pictures are here:   

Fentress County Camping Pix

    We took a much needed get-away long weekend to go camping, four-wheeling, exploring and hiking.    Kenny was worn out from working a month straight.

I was bored from lack of his company and having been laid up for a while.

We ran away to our beautiful Cumberland Plateau. We stayed at Maple Hill Campground

run by Betty & Klaus DeJong.  It is a great place to stay run by a terrific couple. I had 

thought after living in our camper for a month Kenny would not want to go. He told me

it was not the camper it was the working all the time that wore him out.  He was all about it so we went! 

       We set up camp and took off to go ride.  We wore it out riding on Thursday and Friday both.  The river trail has to be low water to be able to ride it.  We did not get to ride it during Spring or Summer owing to all the high rain fall we'd gotten.  Today we saw the river the lowest I've ever seen it. We covered a lot of new ground. New trails ridden. We also connected a lot of new trails with previously ridden ones to learn how they hook up.   There was not a lot of Fall color, but some.  It was pretty. I stood in the middle of the rock, dry river bed picking up gum tree leaves of purple, black, red, yellow, orange and red. I announced to Kenny that if I could be a tree.. I'd want to be a gum tree.

Obey River


Another pretty spot along the Obey


Dry patch of river bed. This river dries up to holes of water or areas that are mostly dry.
This past Spring it was at flood stage. A raging torrent that would have swept us away in a heartbeat.  You could not even get close to this spot.



A blue hole along the same river.


Deliverance Bus sitting in the woods looking out at the world with vacant eyes.


Another blue hole along the river. I loved the look of the azure water with copper beech leaves floating on it. Surreal.


Patch of color in the forest on the trails. Up high the beech trees, sourwood, black gum, sweet gum, persimmon trees, poison oak, and sugar maples were putting on a good show!


One of a few caves we went in.


View from the newly discovered overlook on Skinner Mountain. It faces west/northwest.


    
RZR on the dry river bed at the Swift Ford


Down in the wild and wooly Lost Cane exploring. Downed trees, vines, briars, this time. Still looks like Saigon. It was bone dry this trip. No waterfalls.


Golden autumn sun on the black gum pond on the mountain

    We spent Thursday and  Friday on Skinner Mountain, Lost Cane  the River Trail and King Mountain.
Saturday we were tired of riding and since it was so dry and not a good time to waterfall hunt ... we went arch hunting!  We visited the Clarkrange Arch at last. We had looked
for it once before unsuccessfully. Today we found it.


Clarkrange Arch


     Next we hunted up the Mountainview Arch. It was not far off and was a big one.
We found it with no problem.


Patch of Autumn color near Mountainvew Arch



Mountainview Arch with Kenny under there for size reference. He looks tiny! The dimensions on this are 100x30


   We'd gotten along great so far. It was a pretty Fall day with perfect temperatures for hiking.  We'd found what we were looking for easily thus far.  Our day was about to change.  We went to hunt for Price's Arch next north of us.  The day turned rainy and cold and windy. We ran out of luck.  We were heading in the right direction but the bushwhack turned out to be longer than anticipated and I was over it.  I was cold, tired and hungry.  We went back to the camper ate lunch, dried off and took a nap.

     The next day we took a gamble on finding an access to Conatser Hollow and the waterfalls back there. It did not pan out.  We also tried to find an access to Catpen Hollow Arch and that did not pan out.  We went north and explored Pogue Creek and ran out of time, but we did get to find how to reach it and saw State House Rock!



View from King Mountain


State House Rock. Next time we are bringing ropes and climbing this bastage!