BIG SOUTH FORK BACKPACK (BURNT MILL BRIDGE LOOP) & COLDITZ COVE DAY HIKE (12-27/28-2021) скачать в хорошем качестве

BIG SOUTH FORK BACKPACK (BURNT MILL BRIDGE LOOP) & COLDITZ COVE DAY HIKE (12-27/28-2021)

As 2022 neared its end I wanted a final dose of wilderness via one more backpacking trip and watched the weather for a couple of relatively warm/dry days, which turned out to be December 27-28, 2021. My destination for a short solo backpack was the Burnt Mill Bridge Loop in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. The Loop features many of the things the Big South Fork is noted for, valleys and gorges containing high sandstone and shale bluffs above the beautiful Clear Fork River (which joins the New River downstream to form the Big South Fork River), plus waterfalls, creeks and forests. And solitude, I saw no one else while hiking. I found a wonderful campsite beside the river and near a high bluff (under which I cooked dinner to avoid a light rain). We’re fortunate in east TN to have interludes of relatively good weather in the winter, and for this trip the high was mid-60’s and the low just below 50 degrees with just a small amount of rain. After the backpack, with clearing weather, I day hiked a short trail to Northrup Falls in the Colitz Cove State Natural Area near Allardt and was surprised by how scenic it was. Located in a densely forested cove formed by sandstone walls, the falls drops 60 plus feet and best of all the trail goes behind the falls. For photos of the backpack, see this link: https://theskeltonview.smugmug.com/20...