I guess you can call this a Back in the Month blog as this Sierra Club backpack was at the end of March and we are now closing out April. Still, I am doing better getting this blog up than last year (I still have a bunch Back in the Day posts to do). This was my first backpack of 2019 and it was on the Cumberland Trail above Lafollette.
The hike was on the Eagle Bluff Section of the Cumberland Trail, which was the start and the end would be the Tank Springs Trailhead in Big Creek Gap. Before heading out we went up to enjoy the view at Eagle Bluff. This spot used to be owned by Campbell County but instead of creating a park they sold it so it is now private land. However, the owner has kept the trail to this outcrop open and thank goodness as it has a tremendous view of Jacksboro, LaFollette and the Powell Valley below.
I will say that this hike turned out to be much harder than the easy rating (sorry Will more like strenuous). My pack is heavier than normal for the water I had to carry. However, the hike was mostly a ridgeline one with some spots like a knife edge. It also seemed to be mostly uphill. There were some nice views, before getting to a rock formation known as Window Rock. It is an impressive site.
It was too long before we reached the campsite near the trail shelter. Unlike AT or Smokies shelters, this one had no name. I did build a nice fire and we had a nice sunset through the trees before the rains came. When I went to bed I barely zipped up my sleeping bag, by morning I was zipped in my sleeping bag liner and had my puff coat on. Even heard sleet on my tent early in the morning. It just wasn't the rain and sleet it was also the wind, which you know from other blogs the Wood Booger doesn't like. I thought this would be my last cold weather hike, but I still had one to go (here).
That wind would make the hike, out which was tough enough, even more difficult. Like the day before, it seemed there was more uphill than down. One spot had a ladder to climb, Will said once you had to climb the rocks up...thank you, Boy Scouts! Once at the top, there might be the best view of the trip from Powell Valley Overlook (that is saying something).
There were also some cool knife edge spots on the trail and incredible rock formations. The last part of the hike on the mountain was a steep climb down. The reason I say this is because when you reach the bottom you are not to the trailhead. No there is another half-mile, what I call the Big Creek Death March.
Eventually, we made it back to the trailhead and I have to say I was thankful. Besides the extra weight, rain/ice, cold and wind it was a beautiful spot for the season's first backpack...nice choice Will.
