Mar 19 Forty Acre Rock

 

This rock should have a name. Every visit to Forty Acre Rock Preserve includes a visit to this bouldered forest well away from the much visited "rock". There is room for one car to park off the road. It doesn't appear this place gets visited much as the manway leading to the creek is hard to follow. Once you are at the creek, all the boulders are on the other side. There are lots of them as you make your way through the forest traveling along creek left. 

First we headed out on to the 14 acre rock. It's closest to the parking area. There are always some people here. We saw a number of dead loblollies on a thin layer of soil atop the rock. It could be a result of our drought.

Rock sandwort was blooming in several of the depressions on the high side of the rock. 

Elf Orpine's red stage is just about over. 

Crow Poison

After touring the large rock and its surrounding area, we drove from the upper parking area to the nondescript trail to the large rocks. There we ate lunch sitting by a tiny double waterfall. There was water rushing beside us on the surface and water rushing well below us among the subterranean rocks.  

We visited some old (rock) friends on the far side of the creek. 

It took a while but we were able to begin on creek left and cross back over, then climb a labyrinth of rocks to get to the top. There were several false passages but it all worked out. i love exploring this area.

Turtlehead rock

Runaway grindstone beside the creek. 

Mar 7 Big South Fork - Devils Cave

 

Devils Cave is one of those secret places that is trying to stay secret. There is not a curated trail to the cave. It is accessed by an obscure manway from a popular overlook of the Cumberland River. Keith led us a short distance into the forest and then to a rockface.

The only was down the rockface is via these ropes securely tied to a tree above. And yes, I did make sure it was securely tied. 

From the rope descent, we continue steeply downhill to this nondescript opening. 

Bring light. It is dark inside. There is a fissure opening which provides some light above but due to the wet terrain here, you'll need some light to make your way around. We had only phone flashlights which were enough to get us in and out but I'd be sure to bring better light next time. 

The cave is the deepest we have seen yet. I've heard it is 400' and as much as 600' deep. As we went in deeper, light and wetness became limiting factors. We turned back before reaching its deepest point. 

Later, in the evening, we met with friends of Keith for a outdoor dinner and firepit social. One of Keith's buddies, Ken Pasternak shared a great deal of information about local caves. Big South Fork is sandstone area and the caves are almost all overhang or rockhouse type caves. In the surrounding counties, there are many limestone caves. Ken said some were in the 25 mile range, meaning the limestone cave systems here are measured in miles, whereas the sandstone cave are merely measured in feet. Ken told us of a visit he had in Devils Cave. Descending by rope from the fissure opening in the ceiling, he was dangling above a group exploring the cave via foot. He waited until the group was right below him before he announced his presence to the unsuspecting group below. 

Time to exit the cave

We spend a lot of time maneuvering up and down slick rocks. You need to move slowly as a fall here would not be pleasant. Thee are some tight spots and everywhere is wet. Water was entering the in many spots, forming a slow moving waterway toward the cave opening.

Will ascending via rope

Nov 6 Big South Fork - Northrup Falls

 

The last hike of the day was to Northrup Falls. The waterfall is not within the Big South Fork boundary. the 165 acre Colditz Cove State Natural Area is managed by nearby Pickett State Park. It was a short walk in to a nice viewing spot. Then a rock scramble on slippery terrain, leads behind the waterfall to a huge grotto. 

Our first glimpse

Big Branch Creek plunges 64' here. The waterfall is named for the Northrup family who settled here in the early 1800s and operated a mill just above the waterfall.

Mar 6 Big South Fork - Wildcat Den Arch

 

It was about a mile walk into Wildcat Den Arch. As can be seen from this photo, this overhang cave has a skylight toward the back of the cave. This may be the largest overhang cave we have visited yet. As we have seen before, blackened ceiling spots are evidence of previous campfires. How old they are is anyone's guess. There have been archeological finds in some caves which indicate they had been used as shelter for nomadic native people from the Paleo and Archaic periods but very little Woodland presence.  

Keith is dwarfed in this cave. Note the faint ceiling light in the back of the cave.

The skylight is larger than it previously seemed. Occasionally, a deer of other animal will drop through these openings and not survive the fall. That is how Dead Deer Arch was discovered. 

Mar 6 Big South Fork - Hippy Cave & Fiddlers Rock

 

Next up on our tour is a short hike into Hippie Cave. The road leading here is full of mud puddles which were deeper than I liked. The pull off hold one, maybe two cars. 

Hippy Cave is a rockhouse with a large overhang, so it can be called a cave. 

After Hippy, we drove back on the pot hole road to another small pulloff where we could access Fiddlers Rock. 

Fiddlers Rock has some carvings. One of a fiddler. There is also a story of a fiddler named Martin Stone who fiddled atop a rock, first attracting and mesmerizing rattlesnakes, then shooting them. That went on until the snakes killed him. I'm not sure if that is this or another Fiddlers Rock. The story Keith told was a bit different. A local fellow fiddled here because of the acoustics. It became a local hangout as a result. 

Mar 6 Big South Fork - Indian Rockhouse

 

The trail to Indian Rockhouse is less than a half mile roundtrip.It is in Pickett State Park. 

The rockhouse is very close to Hazard Cave and is also one of the spots with Cumberland sandwort. We saw a few more spots with it, always protected. 

Snakewort 

A Chestnut Oak the could not decide which way to grow. 

Mar 6 Big South Fork - Twin Arches

 

Twin Arches is the most visited feature in the park. The arches are part of the same eroded wall. They are just a couple hundred feet apart. The road heading to the trailhead is dirt and narrow. Careful driving out there, some drivers travel this road way faster than they should. Pulloffs are very limited. The parking area looks like it fills often during more popular times. The trailhead has a vault privy. 

It is best to walk the 1.6 mile loop in a clockwise direction even though it's quicker to go the other way. Seeing the arches from below is more dramatic than approaching them from above. These steps are a cross between stairs and a ladder.

Arches are around the corner

Big Leaf Magnolia has found a home in Big South Fork. The trees are abundant here. The fallen leaves are easy to spot since they turn a very light color and contrast with the other leaf litter. They also look a little like toilet paper on the leaf litter. 

These two arches are among the largest in the world. The one above is known as the North Arch and is the smaller of the two at 62' high. The first photo of this entry is of the South Arch which is 103' feet high with a 70' high clearance and 135' ground span. 

After exploring around the two arches, we slipped into a tunnel in the South Arch. It looks narrow above but opens up just beyond Nanci. We were told it was 77 feet long.

Looks like brand new stairs

This place gets a big thumbs up. You can climb to the top of the South Arch and get a great 360 view. The return trail to the parking area, accesses a wooden staircase between the two arches and then travels over the top of the North Arch.