Exploring Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Book

	Preface	viii
	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area	1
	Creation of a National River and Recreation Area	1
	The Geology of the Big South Fork	3
	History of the People and Their Effects on the Big South Fork NRRA	6
	Ecology of the Big South Fork Area	11
	Habitats and Species in the Big South Fork NRRA	13
	How to Use This Book	18
	The Basics	23
	How to Get Here	23
	Local Directions	24
	Weather	38
	Safety and Etiquette on Land and Water	39
	History of the Charit Creek Lodge and Area Towns	48
	Charit Creek Lodge	48
	Historic Rugby	50
	Historic Stearns, Barthell, Blue Heron Mine, and the Big South Fork Scenic Railway	51
	Camping and Horses	54
	Supplies and Essentials	54
	Special Equestrian Campgrounds	56
	Bandy Creek Stables	56
	Other Permitted Horseback Riding Outfitters	57
	Yahoo Falls and Alum Ford Areas
1.	Yahoo Falls Scenic Area Trails	58
2.	Alum-Yahoo Loop	62
	Blue Heron Area
3.	Blue Heron Overlook Trail	70
4.	Devil's Jump Overlook	72
5.	Blue Heron Loop	74
6.	Dick Gap Overlook Trail	79
	Bear Creek Area
7.	Bear Creek Overlook Trail and Split Bow Arch Loop	81
8.	Bear Creek-Lee Hollow Loop	84
	Slavens Branch Area
9.	Cotton Patch Loop	91
	Station Camp Area
10.	Pilot-Wines Loop	96
11.	Big Island Loop	102
12.	River Trail East	110
	Divide Road Area
13.	Rock Creek Loop	115
14.	Middle Creek Loop	120
15.	Slave Falls Loop	124
16.	Twin Arches Loop	131
17.	Laurel Fork Trail	140
18.	Maude's Crack Trail	146
19.	Longfield Branch-No Business Trails	150
20.	Gobblers Knob Trail	153
21.	Hatfield Ridge-Station Camp Creek Loop	158
22.	Charit Creek Lodge Access Trails	164
23.	The Kentucky Trail (KT)	168
	Bandy Creek and West Entrance Areas
24.	Bandy Creek Campground Loop	178
25.	Oscar Blevins Farm Loop	181
26.	John Litton Farm Loop and Fall Branch Trail	186
27.	West Entrance Trails	191
28.	Katie-Jacks Ridge-Bypass-Duncan Loop	194
29.	Duncan Hollow-Station Camp-Black House Branch Loop	200
30.	North White Oak Loop and Overlook	208
31.	Groom-Gernt-Coyle Loop	216
32.	Leatherwood Overlook Trail	223
33.	Duncan Hollow Bike Loop	228
34.	Collier Ridge Bike Loop	231
35.	West Bandy Creek Bike Trail	236
	Leatherwood Ford and East Rim Areas
36.	Leatherwood Ford Boardwalks	239
37.	Angel Falls Trail	242
38.	Angel Falls Overlook Trail	246
39.	Grand Gap Loop	251
40.	Leatherwood Ford Loop	255
41.	East Rim Overlook Trail	261
42.	Sunset Overlook Trail	262
43.	The John Muir Trail (JMT)	264
44.	The O&W Railroad Grade	278
	Mt. Helen, Honey Creek, and Rugby Areas
45.	The Confluence Trail	287
46.	Honey Creek Loop	289
47.	Burnt Mill Bridge Loop	296
48.	Meeting of the Waters Loop	299
	Floating the Big South Fork and Its Tributaries
49.	White-water Rafting in the Upper Gorge	310
50.	Canoe Camping in the Lower Gorge	314
	Picnicking, Swimming, Fishing, and Hunting Adventures	323
	Rock Climbing and Rappelling Adventures	326
Appendix	Important Addresses, Phone Numbers, and Web Sites	328
	Bibliography	333
	About the Authors	336