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Cumberland Gap National Historical Park *Day 1-Ewing Trailhead to Martins Fork Campsite* March 19, 2004 Cumberland Gap Home Page Day 2-To Gibson Gap Day 3-To the Pinnacle Photo Gallery Cumberland Gap Day Hike to Skylight Cave (April 4, 2004)
View from White Rocks Overlook
Friday was a perfect day for backpacking, mid-60's, light breeze and sunny. We left Will's house at 7:45 am, 7 hikers, 7 backpacks, 14 boots, 11 trekking poles, 1 tripod, 1 dog and 3 cars. Our driving route took us out of the city and into the picturesque east Tennessee countryside. Long stretches of 2 lane highway were lined with fields of spring green grass. The rural communities of Lafollette, Speedwell and Harrogate were decked out with brightly colored flowers. Everything looked fresh and clean from the recent rains. John and I rode with Ron. We chatted non stop about hiking, politics, retirement (don't we wish) and possums. Somewhere between the 5th and 6th dead possum Ron began his commentary on the evolution of possums. He is committed to the belief that possums are not part of the evolutionary process because they show no indication of evolving from years of fatal encounters. John on the other hand believes possum hit and runs are a genetic thing, some possums have the survival gene, some don't. Easy to tell which possums don't, they are smashed on the side of the road. Hmmm. I think possum survival must be in their reproductive system because possums produce so many babies that they face no possibility of extinction from copious hit and runs. Regardless of the process, thanks to our local state senator, Tim Burchett and Tennessee's Road Kill Bill, you can smash a possum with your car, scrap it off the road and take it home for dinner. Yum, yum, who wouldn't want to do that?! We arrived at the Visitor's Center in a short 1.5-hours. Our 8th hiking companion Steve Harvey, who had arranged to meet us at the center, pulled in shortly behind the third car in our caravan. After completing our tasks of registering for campsites, discussing water/weather with a ranger and an 8-mile roundtrip car drop to the Pinnacle (our terminus point), we settled into a three car caravan for the 18-mile drive to highway 724 in Ewing, VA, and the Civic Park trailhead. Once in the Civic Park lot we scrambled to hit the trail. I made an offhanded comment about having so much stuff left to shove in my pack that it was going to take 20 minutes just to get ready to go. Ouch, I must have been in major girlie mode. Steve (girlfriend Sharon in New York) couldn't walk away from the comment and Ron (wife at home in Knoxville) kept giggling and nodding his head in agreement Thus the "Bad Boys of Backpacking" were unleashed and three days of women bantering by two bad boys in the backcountry began. Short of bashing their heads together, I had to laugh cause in the company of their women, these guys are pretty much "yes dear" sorts of fellows. We pushed to get on the trail by 10:45 am. White Rocks Overlook Above Hikers Steve and Ron
Early season backpacking feels more physically challenging to me than later trips (mention this to me in July and I will beg to differ). My muscles are not honed to the effort and my pack is uncomfortable as my body works to adjust to the weight. I was reaching the point of physical protest when I looked up to see the trail junction for White Rocks Overlook and the horse trail which runs parallel to the Ridge trail (to a point just beyond Sand Cave). Whew, not a moment too soon! I needed a snack and a few moments of rest. John, Steve and Ron were already deep in their snack bags as I sat down beside John, glad to be sitting while most of the group was still hiking. Two gentlemen appeared from the direction of the White Rocks Overlook just as the last of our group arrived. The men, VA residents, were on an out and back day hike to White Rocks. After a few minutes of obligatory chit chat, they departed with the following warning, "the real climb is just beginning!" Ominous words I must say, and to the point. We dared not linger long fearing we would not get up at all. The next half mile was brutal. Somewhere near the top of the mountain, John turned and asked me "Is this our wakeup call for Peru." I told him I thought it was our second or third wake up call. He groaned and left me in the dust has he pushed to reach the top. A right turn at the Ridge Trail junction took us east toward the White Rocks Overlook. "Hey, hey, we're up here!" We heard them before we saw them, the Bad Boys had already arrived and were perched on the overlook yelling at us. Or at least Ron was on the overlook, we could hear Steve but not see him. We soon discovered that Bad Boy Steve was not quite so "bad" when heights are involved. He spent his lunch break standing behind the bushes trying to avoid any visual stimulation from the open rocky ledge. When he could no longer resist the conversation, he would pop out on the ledge, make his comment and dash back behind the bush. This was a sight that made us smile. John and I wondered how he would handle some of the open mountain ranges out west, we think his pride would out weight his fear. Barbara, Bill, Will, Diane and Lucy were right behind us. We each found a spot on the overlook and settled in for a good 25 minutes. We ate a leisurely lunch gazing out over the vast valley below. The valley reminded me of a king size spring quilt with different shades of green sewn together by miles of fence. Homes and barns dotted the landscape and the sight was so picturesque we couldn't resist taking a number of photos. Our attention was quickly captivated by 5-6 buzzards circling high above the valley. Luckily high above the valley meant at our eye level. We watched the large, graceful birds soar in the wind currents, occasionally thrilling us by flying close to the overlook. Finally we were ready to move on the next attraction, Sand Cave. The trek to Sand Cave trail was a little over a mile. John and I arrived just as Steve returned from a quick exploration of the side trail. We shook our heads and sighed as he disclosed that the side trail to Sand Cave was pretty much straight down. Oh the agony of it all! A quick conversation with Bill, uncovered the fact that he was in relative discomfort. He had lost 35 pounds during the past year and misjudged how much weight his new svelte body could carry. A heavy tent and some other accessories in his pack were putting quite a bit of pressure on his hip bones and each step was becoming increasingly painful. He decided to rest instead of hiking down to the cave and later chose to continue on to the evening campsite, hoping his pack would feel lighter in the morning. .
The trail to the cave began as a gradual downhill but quickly dropped off the side of the mountain. At the trail's end we were greeted by a crystal clear stream flowing over a sandy creek bed. The shallow creek was an easy rock hop. As we became aware of our surroundings, we noticed that not only was the creek bed sandy but the rich humus soil had given way to sand. So here we were in the midst of a beautiful rhododendron forest standing beside a 75' waterfall, looking into the mouth of Sand Cave and sand was everywhere!! WOW! So much to see and explore! We stood gazing at the waterfall for a few moments then turned our sights to the cave. The cave is a 75' high sandstone overhang with a 240' arched opening. Sand blankets the floor, a result of the wearing away of the walls and ceiling. John hung back along the perimeter as I hiked in. The interior of the cave was amazing. Years of moisture seepage through the rocks have left the cave walls pitted and stained multi-colors. Sand flew around my feet with each step. Someone had built a small tacky sand castle in the back of the cave and thoughtlessly left it for all to see. The cave was further desecrated by graffiti painted on the back wall. The graffiti brought to mind a poem that my father use to repeat when he took us to visit the cabins in Cades Cove: "Fools names and fools faces are often seen in public places." Cades Cove is another place where people can't control the urge to leave their mark. Steve at the mouth of Sand Cave
We played as long as we could before tackling the return climb to the Ridge Trail. Back on the trail we continued hiking southwest, sometimes along a knife point ridge, sometimes to the right of the ridge. The trail rolled gently up and down between the numerous peaks and gaps. Occasionally we stopped to snack or catch our breath. John and I hiked mostly by ourselves catching up to Steve and Ron when they took a break. Barbara hiked close behind us and always stopped for a breather with us. Bill was next and Will, Diane and Lucy brought up the rear but not by much. Trail markers ticked off the mileage. We were registered for Chadwell Gap and Martins Fork campsites but by the time we reached the first site, Martins Fork, we were ready to stop. We rationalized that water was available on-site here but would require a mile round trip walk at Chadwell Gap. In reality, we were all pretty tired. We took the .2-mile side trail down to the campsite. It was about 4:30 pm. The trail led to a small cabin with a large grassy open lawn... the campsite. The cabin, with room for 6, is rentable for $10 a night. Available in early February when I first booked our campsites, I declined the option assuming the cabins would be similar to GSMNP shelters....over run with mice. Good decision on my part as the guy who rented the cabin the night we were at Martins Fork said the mice kept him up most of the night. We scrambled around the open 'lawn" looking for the perfect spot, not surprised to discover the lawn was not as flat as we initially thought. Barbara, Will and Diane and Steve took perimeter sites. Ron, John and I put our tents right down the middle while Bill set up under a tree. We figured the lawn must have either been used as a garden during the time the cabin was occupied or not cleared at all. Martins Fork Campsite
Most of us participated in the effort to drag downed wood from the side of the mountain to the campsite. Needless to say, the entire area immediately around the campsite had been totally depleted of wood. Other chores including getting water at the creek located 50' behind the house, fixing dinner and for me, dumping large amounts of sand out of my boots and socks. John and I enjoyed one of our favorite dinners, McKenzie Chowder with 3 Cheese Biscuits. Bill talked about the difficulty he was having with his hips and was considering hiking back to his car at the Ewing Trailhead on Saturday morning. We took a lot of pictures and settled down to an evening around the fire and some light banter. We all managed to stay up until 9:30 pm then went to bed. John and I were exhausted and looking forward to settling into our soft down bags. We had a great night's sleep!
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The Ewing Trail
marked the first leg of our adventure, a strenuous 2400',
3-mile climb. Although a tough way to begin a three day trip, we were
surprised and pleased to discover the wide, smooth trail under our feet.
Late March is an absolutely perfect time to hike in the Cumberland Gap
National Historical Park. Temperatures are cool enough to make the climb
bearable, bugs are almost nonexistent and leafless trees provide
unobstructed views of the lush green valley below and baby blue sky
above.
Ladders on the Sand Cave Trail
