Back Country Camping

[MiddTennTaco]

I've got a group of friends and we're wanting to find a good place to go back country camping. Any suggestions? Nothing TOO hard or long. We'll have some women who are unaccustomed to long hikes.

 

I've pretty much worn out Virgin Falls - I highly recommend it though! It's a little difficult of a hike but I liked it because most of the trail is beside a river majority of the time (filter water so we don't have to carry as much) and there are plenty of campsites near water as well.

 

In order of importance:

 

1. Legal to carry with permit

2. Access to water (hiking & campsites)

3. Not too difficult (women and we carry a ton of gear)

4. Campfire OK

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[TMF]

Land Between the Lakes (LBL) has a WHOLE bunch of places that meet that description.  Open fires are dependent on weather conditions, of course.  I've been back country camping out there at least a dozen times.  PM me if you plan on going in that area.  I have lat/long coordinates for some of my campsites.  A couple of them are well off the beaten path, yet still accessible by vehicle.

[MiddTennTaco]

Land Between the Lakes (LBL) has a WHOLE bunch of places that meet that description.  Open fires are dependent on weather conditions, of course.  I've been back country camping out there at least a dozen times.  PM me if you plan on going in that area.  I have lat/long coordinates for some of my campsites.  A couple of them are well off the beaten path, yet still accessible by vehicle.

 

I gotta say personally I didn't like the island very much. I suppose I should say we tend to like places with lots of panoramic mountain views, waterfalls, caves, etc. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[jeremiah]

Mammoth Cave National Park is my choice. I.5 hours North of Nashville, up I-65.  Great car camp campground. Gun carry is legal. Plentiful wood for fires. Several scenic back country camp sites. Main camp ground opens March 1.

[tartanphantom]

The best kept secret in Tennessee is Big South Fork.

Managed by the National Park Service, so yes, you may carry, as long as you don't carry into the Ranger Center or other buildings where a Ranger is located.

 

The Trails range from very easy to extremely difficult, and you can back-country camp all over the place. My recommendation for a first visit would be to camp in the Leatherwood Ford area. This provides a good base camp area with immediate access to restrooms (the women will like that), and you can easily access both novice and experienced trails from this point. There are spots along some of the trails which are already cleared for camping, yet are nicely wooded. some sites already have a basic fire pit built.

 

Big South Fork is huge, and loaded with natural bridges & arches, waterfalls, & more.

[Erik88]

Big South Fork is amazing but I can't think of a trail that meets your criteria.

[tartanphantom]

Big South Fork is amazing but I can't think of a trail that meets your criteria.

 

The O&W bridge trail and the Angel Falls Rapids trail (NOT the Angel Falls overlook) are relatively flat and pretty darn easy, and both follow the river canyon floor. Also, the Twin Arches Trail from the Twin Arches parking lot-- 0.7 miles, and not very strenuous. On the other hand, if you take the Twin Arches Trail from The Charit Creek Lodge, you are in for one heck of a strenuous hike!

However, the East Rim overlook is also extremely easy.

[analog_kidd]

Frozenhead State Park has several nice trails. The Tubs Springs camp site is about three miles hike, and is right next to a very nice water source.. The site is huge and could easily hold a boyscout troop. If you group is going to be about three tents or so, the Rockhouse right next to Tubs springs is another excellent spot, one of my favorites. You camp under a rock ledge. I've been there in a torrential rain, and been nice and dry with a fire. Both sites have excellent fire pits (Rockhouse is the best) and some Eagle Scout did a project to set up tables at each of the sites. THis hike will take about three hours.

 

Also nearby to that is Alley Ford. Go to the Ranger Station in Wartburg and get a map. Find Nemo Bridge, and park at the campground right on the other side of the bridge. Start there and hike up the Cumberland trail to Alley Ford. It's a very nice beachy area right on the Obed River. Bring a fishing pole along. There is a bunch of places to set up a tent, and several sites if you keep heading up the river. The trail to the campsite veers off from the main trail for about 100 yards. It's marked, you just need to be looking for the sign (you can't miss it actually). You could probably hike this in two hours at a leisurely pace.

 

Both trips are legal to carry on, however, the Alley Ford hike borders the Catoosa Wildlife Management area. Certain times of year you are not even allowed to hike the part of the trail that crosses into it due to a Wildlife Rest period, and I'm not certain of the carry rules in Catoosa. The trail all the way to the campsite is on Obed Wild and Scenic property, so if you don't venture too far past the campground you'll be OK.

Edited February 25, 2013 by analog_kidd

[MiddTennTaco]

Wow, you guys are great! Thank you for the replies so far! A lot of tempting ones so far!

[BBill_TN]

South Cumberland State Park. Several different areas managed as one. Areas include the Fiery Gizzard Area (Grundy Forest Day Loop and Foster Falls Area) and Savage Gulf. If you like Virgin Falls and never have checked out this area, you definitely need to do so.

[tartanphantom]

South Cumberland State Park. Several different areas managed as one. Areas include the Fiery Gizzard Area (Grundy Forest Day Loop and Foster Falls Area) and Savage Gulf. If you like Virgin Falls and never have checked out this area, you definitely need to do so.

Yup, Savage Gulf area is primitive, but very cool.

[BigK]

All of these sound fun to me. My dad and I did a lot of overnight camping/fishing/hunting trips when I was growing up. I miss it, but you guys have inspired me.

[cj0e]

Check out Hiking Tennessee it's a Falcon Guide. ISBN 1560443944

 

It's a little out of date, printed in 96, but it's a good resource to be sure.

 

EDIT: if you can meet me on Friday, I'll let you borrow my copy.

 

EDIT2: if you're interested in a -really- neat test of your compass/pacing skills, there is also the compass course at Shiloh, I've got GPS info for the orienteering course as well. It's overland - almost no trails to follow though, and definitely not "easy". Also, not a backcountry or campout spot. Start early, eat lunch at halfway, end at dusk. Great fun though.

Edited February 28, 2013 by cj0e

[Guest ab28]

I've got a group of friends and we're wanting to find a good place to go back country camping. Any suggestions? Nothing TOO hard or long. We'll have some women who are unaccustomed to long hikes.

 

I've pretty much worn out Virgin Falls - I highly recommend it though! It's a little difficult of a hike but I liked it because most of the trail is beside a river majority of the time (filter water so we don't have to carry as much) and there are plenty of campsites near water as well.

 

In order of importance:

 

1. Legal to carry with permit

2. Access to water (hiking & campsites)

3. Not too difficult (women and we carry a ton of gear)

4. Campfire OK

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I've personally found that cutting a lot of gear and making your pack lighter leads to a much simpler and more enjoyable hike.I did the entire Appalachian Trail in 2010, and my pack weight was 28 lbs with 5 days food and a liter of water. 3 years later, with bad knees from that and other hikes, and doing some military stuff overseas in 2004, ect. It took a lot of creativity, and planning, but I now have a winter pack weight of 17lbs with 1L water and 3 days food. I carry barely anything besides cold weather clothing, my tarptent, titanium 1L cookpot, cut down double layer foam sleeping pad, rainjacket, and 0 degree down quilt. Other than that I have a water bottle, a large nalgene water bladder, magnesium firestarter, Victorinox classic, headlamp, about 30 feet of light cord, dental floss for sewing and teeth, a small diamond rod for sharpening, and a fixed blade knife with a 2" blade, lightweight and very sturdy. I also carry a pair of lightweight safety glasses for night hikes, keeps me from getting hit in the eye by low hanging branches. I also have a small dropper bottle of bleach for water purification.

 

You would really be surprised at how little you need to carry to enjoy being outdoors. I have spent a long time training myself in wilderness survival skills as well, just in case. I am also very handy at sewing, and have made or heavily modified most of my own gear. After about 4000 miles of hikes, one thing I can say for sure is all that fancy, cool, backpacker gear most people carry is dead weight, and you will enjoy yourself much more if you lighten your pack.

Edited March 1, 2013 by ab28

[Randall53]

I love backcountry camping.....sitting by the fire in front of my 30ft fifth wheel, 30" LCD TV, gas grill........noth'n like it I say!!! Edited March 1, 2013 by Randall53

[Guest ab28]

I love backcountry camping.....sitting by the fire in front of my 30ft fifth wheel, 30" LCD TV, gas grill........noth'n like it I say!!!

I'm not sure if that is sarcasm or not. I go into the woods to get away from that stuff, but whatever floats your boat.

[Randall53]

I'm not sure if that is sarcasm or not. I go into the woods to get away from that stuff, but whatever floats your boat.

Sarcasm?....nope. Just a lighthearted post on how old people camp is all. No malice intended.....

I did a lot of hiking and back country camping when I lived in Glenwood springs Colorado 30 years ago. Back then you had to stand on the bait bucket to keep the trout out of it. I wore one of those hats with lures in it once and got tired of chasing the damned thing down. The trout kept jumping up and taking it off my head. :cool:

Edited March 2, 2013 by Randall53

[JR2ATN]

Savage Gulf

 

Hike to Stone Door then make a loop out of Big Creek Gulf and Big Creek Rim trails, staying overnight at Alum Gap.  The climb up to Alum Gap is a bit of a grind but it's a nice hike overall.   About 5 miles from parking lot for Stone Door to Alum Gap via BCG trail and about 4 miles back from Alum Gap via BCR trail.

 

http://www.friendsofscsra.org/downloads/savage-gulf-trail-map-2008-september.pdf

 

the short side trip to Ranger Falls off of BCG trail is worthwhile.

Edited March 2, 2013 by JMR1138

[Erik88]

The GF and I did some hiking in Big South Fork over the weekend. We had a great time. We did the Burnt Mill Bridge loop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course my dog loved the snow Knoxville got on Wednesday. She doesn't get to see much snow in Florida.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2013 by Erik88