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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Leatherwood Ford Loop Trail - Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area


I hiked the moderately strenuous 3.2 mile Leatherwood Loop trail in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on a sunny day in late January 2014.  With temperatures in the low 50s, there were no icy patches on the trail, but several places were damp to muddy.  The trail begins at the Leatherwood Ford river access gazebo.  After passing under the Tennessee Highway 297 bridge, I stayed on the O&W trail along the river at the first junction.  This gave me the opportunity to get warmed up without the immediate stress of climbing the hillside.  The nearly level route along the river led to the second trail junction in about ½ mile.  The trail immediately attacks the hillside climbing from 900 feet to 1300 feet in about a mile before leveling out several hundred feet before the side trail to an overlook.  From the overlook, the trail climbs another 100 feet to the top of the ridge and another junction.  Continuing around the loop, the trail crosses an earthen dam that impounds a small pond.  The trail then follows a series of switchbacks down the drainage area with views of several wet weather waterfalls.  Once the trail reaches highway 297, it turns left and follows the shoulder of the road for a short distance around a hill before dropping down to the first trail junction almost under the highway bridge.  To help visualize the route, I've included a topographic map with my GPS track marked in red.  Adding the side trail to the overlook extends the hike to just under 3.5 miles.

Topo map with GPS overlay

Park information gazebo

Trail bridge

River views abound along this section

A wet weather stream cuts across the trail...

...and flows into the river

The trail junction sign is hard to miss

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost

Sidehill climbing

The second of several switchbacks

Stone staircase

A temporary duck under

More stone steps

Trail? What trail?

Another switchback...

...and one more

Bus sized boulders were scattered along the trail

A small icicle holds on in the shade

A switchback in the shadow of a boulder

Rock hopping a small brook

Green in the midst of winter

At least the switchbacks aren't as steep here

More icicles

Another switchback takes the trail above the icicles

I imagine a face with chiseled features to the left of the tree

The major climb is over as the trail approaches the top of the plateau

Still frozen

Another stream crossing

The junctions along the trail are well signed

The overlook trail skirts this depression that is steeper and deeper than it first appears

The overlook trail is on bare rock

The fenced overlook...

...provides a beautiful view of the gorge and the Highway 297 bridge

There are no handrails on the trail along the cliff edge

Beyond the side trail to the overlook, the trail widens out

A boardwalk has been installed across a wet area

Another hurdle

Trail junction to the upper parking area on East Overlook Drive

The trail crosses an earthen dam

Ice on the pond

A sturdy bridge spans the pond outlet

The trail passes by the edge of an open field...

...before following an old road

Intricate structure against a perfect sky

One of the few trail markers I noticed along the way

More icicles in the shaded ravine

An eight to twelve foot waterfall

Although it looks like it could be, this is not the trail

The trail continues along the old road

Icicles and ice mounds

The second waterfall

The route leaves the road and follows a trail again

The third waterfall is about fifteen feet high


Moving away from the creek to start switchbacking down the hill

Above Highway 297

Another small hurdle in the open woods

The trail comes down these steps to follow the old road again

Long shadows of winter sunlight

Another trail marker

The trail drops down to the highway...

...and follows it around the hill to the next guardrail before heading down to the O&W trail junction

The creek crosses under the highway

There is no entrance fee to visit the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm.

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