I’m normally verbose, so I’ll keep this report brief. I started off in the morning by leaving the house at 6am. The drive was beautiful and peaceful; the air was crisp but tolerable; the sky was infinitely blue. Traffic was light as I sped through many of the waiting green lights.
I arrived at Bandy Creek visitor center at about 9:45am. The Ranger led tour started at 10:00am from the swimming pool parking lot. Throwing on my boots I sped over to the starting point and was surprised to see a large group of waiting hikers at least 50 strong. Awkwardly I climbed out of the car (because I’m always awkward) and joined the group.
While waiting for the hike to begin, I met the ranger who came up with the brainchild of the Centennial Challenge. Her name was Mary. After talking with her, I was surprised to learn that this program was not universal throughout the NPS. I didn’t realize it was only particular to the Big South Fork and that she was its author.
The first part of the hike was a short 2 mile hop down to Fall Branch Falls. This section of the trail followed the Sheltowee Trace from the Duncan Hollow Rd intersection. After milling around for about 30 minutes, we continued on to the John Litton farmstead where we stopped for lunch and a brief Ranger interpretation. The climb out of the valley was brief, but steep. We reconnected with Duncan Hollow Rd and walked another 1.1 miles before reaching our cars (6 miles total roundtrip).
After checking the oil in my car, I sped up the Divide Rd to Peter’s Mountain. At the John Muir Trail intersection, I passed the white STA van. Steve was asleep in the driver’s seat. I decided not to wake him up and drove on.
There couldn’t have been a better day for hiking. The temperature was perfect. There was no haze, just clear skies for miles and miles. The sun illuminated the ground, forming perfectly stark shadows.
My primary objective for the day was to walk the remaining 1.5 miles on Beech Grove Rd. This was makeup miles that I missed on the trip from the previous weekend. It was all road walking. I left my car at the top of the hill on the side of the road and started my hike.
Nearly halfway down the trail I spotted a natural arch. It was so close to the cliff face I would have missed it, if it weren’t for the sunlight beaming through the backside of the feature. It was a large arch, nearly the height of Natural Bridge, but half as long. I stopped for a few pictures and then moved on.
On my way back from the end of the road walk, I was approached by a Forest Service Ranger. He had seen my car parked on the side of the road, noticed the bottle of brake fluid on the floorboard, and was concerned that my car had broken down. I thanked him for checking on me but assured him that everything was okay. My only regret is that I didn’t ask if I could take his picture.
I walked 9 miles in total. I’m now 63.5 miles toward my centennial challenge goal of 100 miles in 2016. I plan to meet the hundred miles, and maybe even double it this year.