Cumberland Trail 2016: Looking for Shuttle Hike Partner

[Ashepabst]

it looks like I did not take any photos of the campsite, but here's what I remember:

the campsite is down a steep side trail where an old roadbed heads down to the river. there's a pretty large flat area right on the banks where you could have maybe three groups without feeling cramped. it was buggy as hell down there --this was September 10, last year.

[Traffic Jam]

it looks like I did not take any photos of the campsite, but here's what I remember:

the campsite is down a steep side trail where an old roadbed heads down to the river. there's a pretty large flat area right on the banks where you could have maybe three groups without feeling cramped. it was buggy as hell down there --this was September 10, last year.

Great! Thanks for the info.

[Analog_Kidd]

Alley Ford is one of my favorite sites. Have been there several times. You can get there in about an hour. You will go thru several different types of terrain... Sheer rock bluffs, forests. It's mostly a pleasant walk, with maybe two short steep sections. The end of the trail, heading to the camp sites is also pretty steep. There are several sites, but the one the right at the bottom is my favorite.nite right on the river, and has a nice fire pit, and lots of tent sites.

I bring a collapsible fishing pole. I also bring a mask and snorkle. Trust me, you'll thank me if you do. The rocks in the river there are really neat to snorkel around.

[Traffic Jam]

Alley Ford is one of my favorite sites. Have been there several times. You can get there in about an hour. You will go thru several different types of terrain... Sheer rock bluffs, forests. It's mostly a pleasant walk, with maybe two short steep sections. The end of the trail, heading to the camp sites is also pretty steep. There are several sites, but the one the right at the bottom is my favorite.nite right on the river, and has a nice fire pit, and lots of tent sites.

I bring a collapsible fishing pole. I also bring a mask and snorkle. Trust me, you'll thank me if you do. The rocks in the river there are really neat to snorkel around.

That sounds awesome. Never thought I’d consider a mask and snorkle as part of my hiking gear.

[Time Zone]

As of today, the CT website is silent on this, but it should be noted that for the Obed WSR section, there is no overnight parking permitted at the southern trailhead - which is the Devil's Breakfast Table lot on Daddy's Creek, because it's within the Catoosa WMA (no overnight camping or parking is permitted).

This means that, unless you are a through-hiker, the Obed WSR section must be completed as a shuttle dayhike between Rock Creek Campground at Nemo Bridge and Devil's Breakfast Table. The CT lists this section as being 14.1 miles, but I have heard multiple reports of people using GPS (or even string on a map) that it is about 25% longer, making it a formidable challenge, even ignoring pace.

Even as a thru-hiker, you still have to get through the Catoosa WMA part during the day, and that's nominally 11.9 miles (reality - 14-15?) from Alley Ford (backcountry campsite) to Devil's Breakfast Table trailhead. I did some of the southern end yesterday with TJ (it was low 80s but very humid) and due to the plethora of loose, moss-covered rocks on ascents/descents that account for a substantial part of the southern end, overgrowth, blowdowns, and inadequate blazing (that led to a couple backtracking interludes), it was hard to maintain even a 1 mph pace. So it would be really hard to get that done in daylight. Everything would have to go right ... unless we happened to be on the only hard miles like that. Perhaps the pace could have been picked up beyond our turnaround point. IDK.

Bottom line, don't count on leaving a car overnight at the southern end. They have a sign there at the lot saying you will be towed, and I confirmed this with the Region III WMA office.

***
Also worth noting is some other outdated info on the CT website. They state that the Rock Creek Campground (near Nemo Bridge) is:

first-come, first-serve,
$7 parking fee for campers,
portable toilets only

But it appears to me that now,

reservations must be made through recreation.gov,
the fee is $10, and
the portable toilets have been replaced by a small building with vault toilets.


I'm going to contact the Cumberland Trail office and see if they will update their web page info for the parking issue and these other things.

TZ

[Traffic Jam]

As of today, the CT website is silent on this, but it should be noted that for the Obed WSR section, there is no overnight parking permitted at the southern trailhead - which is the Devil's Breakfast Table lot on Daddy's Creek, because it's within the Catoosa WMA (no overnight camping or parking is permitted).

This means that, unless you are a through-hiker, the Obed WSR section must be completed as a shuttle dayhike between Rock Creek Campground at Nemo Bridge and Devil's Breakfast Table. The CT lists this section as being 14.1 miles, but I have heard multiple reports of people using GPS (or even string on a map) that it is about 25% longer, making it a formidable challenge, even ignoring pace.

Even as a thru-hiker, you still have to get through the Catoosa WMA part during the day, and that's nominally 11.9 miles (reality - 14-15?) from Alley Ford (backcountry campsite) to Devil's Breakfast Table trailhead. I did some of the southern end yesterday with TJ (it was low 80s but very humid) and due to the plethora of loose, moss-covered rocks on ascents/descents that account for a substantial part of the southern end, overgrowth, blowdowns, and inadequate blazing (that led to a couple backtracking interludes), it was hard to maintain even a 1 mph pace. So it would be really hard to get that done in daylight. Everything would have to go right ... unless we happened to be on the only hard miles like that. Perhaps the pace could have been picked up beyond our turnaround point. IDK.

Bottom line, don't count on leaving a car overnight at the southern end. They have a sign there at the lot saying you will be towed, and I confirmed this with the Region III WMA office.

***
Also worth noting is some other outdated info on the CT website. They state that the Rock Creek Campground (near Nemo Bridge) is:

first-come, first-serve,
$7 parking fee for campers,
portable toilets only

But it appears to me that now,

reservations must be made through recreation.gov,
the fee is $10, and
the portable toilets have been replaced by a small building with vault toilets.


I'm going to contact the Cumberland Trail office and see if they will update their web page info for the parking issue and these other things.

TZ

Nice work, TZ. Hopefully they’ll make the changes. This isn't an easy trail to hike and incorrect/insufficient info makes it even more difficult.

[Ashepabst]

yeah, what a waste of perfectly good public land. on the bright side. I've been told that it's cool to camp along the river outside of Alley Ford. (along the river is NPS land where backcountry camping is generally permitted)