Mill Springs Mill

In addition to our hike in the Big South Fork earlier in the day, we made a short detour on the way home to Mill Springs Mill, the site of a Civil War battle, an old mill,

and an interesting set of spring-fed waterfalls

which flowed into Lake Cumberland. It was an enjoyable way to end our day!

Big South Fork NRRA: Maude's Crack

Maude's Crack happens to be the name of a destination in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area that Noelle and Eric have been wanting to check out for some time. Well today we finally made it there. It is named after Minnie Maude Roysdon, who reported used the crack to descend from the ridge top to a rock shelter in the valley below where she and her husband temporarily lived after their cabin had burned.


Our trip started with a long drive from Lexington down Interstate 75, around Somerset, over to Monticello, and south into Tennessee. Once we got into Tennessee we were shocked to find the road blocked by a friendly Tennessee State Park Ranger who informed us that an 18 wheeler was stuck half-on and half-off the road ahead. Luckily, we were barely able to squeeze past the stranded tractor trailer and made left the paved road at the Divide Road. From there we spent about another half hour traversing gravel roads to the Terry Cemetery.

Terry Cemetery marks the point of the trailhead. From there we hit the trail, first ascending, then descending to the Maude's Crack Overlook. It is an impressive overlook there, with views of surrounding vertical walls of sandstone. We had a quick snack there.

It is at this point that Maude's Crack becomes evident. Maude's Crack is a narrow crack in the sandstone

that descends to the valley floor in an almost ramp-like manner.

It was a lot of fun traversing the crack.

At the bottom of the crack we intersected the John Muir Trail. We decided to make a left to follow out intended loop in a counter-clockwise manner. When we reached the Big South Fork River we stated to see signs of a long vanished community.

Perhaps these structures represented the outskirts of the once thriving community of No Business. We followed the river to No Business Creek.

Although the official trail crossed the creek to follow some horse trails, we decided to bushwack on the other side of the creek to avoid a deep cold creek crossing. The bushwacking was rough. We were constantly struggling with the Multiflora Rose. We did get to see some interesting sights though, old rocks walls and fences left over from long ago.

Finally we rejoined the John Muir Trail where we hiked .9 miles back to Maude's Crack. From there we ascended back up the crack, along the trail and to our car. It was an interesting hike.

Big South Fork NRRA: Burnt Mill Loop

Today the weather took a break from the regular below freezing temps, for a well deserved warm day. Eric took advantage of the warmth by taking a drive down to the Big South Fork for some hiking and trail running. He sure is glad he did! Ended up running about 6 miles and hiking about 8, for a total of 14 miles traveled on foot. The high temperature for the day in Oneida ended up being about 66 degrees and the scenery along the Burnt Mill Loop trail was great,

with lots of views of streams,

rock shelters

and narrow cracks.

What was especially interesting was seeing all the large icicles disintegrating before my eyes

in the spring-like warmth. It's got us in the mood for Spring and more hiking.

Music Review: Kris Grunwald's The Devil's Wedding

Okay so a music review isn't quite the type of thing you'd expect from an adventure blog. However, I would have to say that Kris Grunwald's The Devil's Wedding is truly an adventure for your ears. Okay, so I might be a little bit biased because Kris happens to be my brother, but believe me this is an album that deserves to be listened to. Kris really takes some adventurous risks that many new musicians just aren't willing to take. He blends an eclectic mix of influences to produce some really solid music. The best part of the album is that all the songs sound quite different. Kris doesn't get into the rut of playing the same types of songs over and over. I would say that when I listen I hear influences ranging from Bob Marley to Jack Johnson to The Police, and even John Mayer. Do yourself a favor and click here to give it a listen!
Click here to buy it!