Cumberland Mountain Backpack

New Info as of May 21. All state restrictions on travel have been lifted and reservations have been made. This trip is on! In order to go you must not be sick, have a fever, or been in the presence of anyone known to have acquired COVID-19 during the last 14 days. You must have practiced reasonable social distancing for the last two weeks. With ONE NEEDED EXCEPTION, you must agree to observe proper social distancing while on this trip. Here s the exception. You must ride in a your vehicle, or in someone else s vehicle with one other person for the approximately 15-minute drive from the ending trail head to the starting trailhead and the reverse at the conclusion of the hike. Bring a face mask for this part for what it s worth. Bring a picnic lunch for the trip down. We ll stop somewhere with outdoor picnic tables. Bring a lawn chair if you want to distance yourself from the group even more for the picnic if you wish. We can talk about what to do on the trip back. It will likely be carryout. If any of this changes your RSVP, please let me know. Don t forget to bring a rope and a bag to hang your food a the campsites.

Multi-Day Backpack

Total hike mileage: 15 miles
Day 1: 3 miles>UP
Day 2: 6 miles + 3 mile day hike
Day 3: 3 miles Difficulty: STRENUOUS, mountainous terrain on established trails with a 1,750 foot climb on the first day and 2,000 decent on the last day.
Special Equipment: Rain gear. You should have the ability to treat enough water for your own needs each day. Hiking poles extremely recommended.
Hazards: Venemous snakes, ticks, hornets and various other critters.

This is NOT a beginner s hike. You must have reliable gear and be able to hike up a mountain with a backpack, plus walk with said backpack 12 miles over a three-day weekend. There are infrequent water sources along the route, so bring containers to carry at least 3-liters between fill-ups. Our route begins at the Civic Park Trailhead near Ewing, VA and ends at the new NPS Chadwell Gap Trailhead. Attractions include White Rocks and Sand Cave a unique rock house with beach and a waterfall. Highlights include a Sunday afternoon day hike to Hensley Settlement. This is an area of old homesteads with fence-lined lanes, a blacksmith s shop, a springhouse and one-room schoolhouse.

Day 1: We’ll organize our carpool from the Museum. We’ll eat a picnic lunch along the way at a little park in Middlesboro (ADDED 5-28). We’ll drive to the ending trailhead at Chadwell Gap and leave three vehicles there. It’s a quick shuttle from there to the starting trailhead with three other vehicles. The first day’s hike is the most strenuous of the trip. We’ll climb the Ewing Trail and Ewing White Rocks Trail up 1,750 feet in 3 miles to the White Rocks Camp. Once there, we ll set up camp and make a 1/2 mile side trip to White Rocks in in time to catch the Earth’s shadow rising above the eastern horizon just before sunset.

Day 2: Sunrise at White Rocks is a possibility on Sunday (CHANGED:5/20) morning. We’ll break camp well after breakfast and backpack at a leisurely pace west along the Ridge Trail, first making a side trip to Sand Cave and then on to Hensley Camp. It’s only 5 miles from between our two campsites, so after we’ve established an camp, we’ll day hike the 3 mile round trip to Hensley Settlement and see what it was like to live on the Mountain 100 years ago. Water may be scarce in this area and we will may have to beg for H2O at the settlement, or carry extra water from wherever we can find it. We’ll be back at the camp for the night.

Day 3: Our hike ends by backtracking along the Ridge Trail east to the Chadwell Gap Trail. From there, we’ll descend 2,000 feet in just 2 miles to the ending trailhead. We’ll recover our vehicles and find a place to eat lunch (probably carryout (ADDED 5-20) Back in Evansville before sunset.

We ll hang all our food and smellable items on provided cable and pulley system (CHANGED: 5?20). Leave-no-trace practices apply.