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Trip Report: Big South Fork

Abusfullofnuns

Abusfullofnuns

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I finally got to use my Square Burb for why I bought and am building it. We took the long holiday as a chance to get my girls into the woods. Sure, I’ve used it for plenty of mountain biking day trips and even some 4 wheeling on some trails I had no business being on in a barge. Tagged my quarter panel on a tree, but kept it on all four wheels and no serious damage. The locals said they had never seen anyone come down that trail, much less that wasn’t in a buggy. The Wifey wasn’t super happy with me, so it’s been hard to convince her that a trip in the boat will be fun.


I had planned to take the whole family camping. We haven’t officially switched over to the Burb as our camping vehicle, so it’s pained me to leave it while using another vehicle for trips. We spend a lot of time in the woods as a family. Then my youngest daughter (4yo) bailed for a stay at the grandparents, I took this chance for my other daughter (7yo) and myself to teach Momma to mountain bike.

I rented our First Lady a bike from some friends at a local shop. It ended up being a full carbon Pivot, kitted with XTR and carbon wheels. I almost had bike envy, but not quite… Here is my steed getting a once over before we left.

Steed Prep

Steed Prep


We loaded up the dog, all our camping gear, a full arsenal for some outdoor range time, and three bikes with gear. Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’……

Loaded Up

Loaded Up


We settled on Big South Fork National Recreation Area, about two and a half hours from Nashville. It’s about 125,000 acres in Eastern TN on the Cumberland Plateau, right close to the Kentucky border. On the north side of the border it turns into the Daniel Boone National Forest. There are opportunities for camping, hiking, biking, horseback riding, dirt bike trails, as well as paddling.

bsf pro shot

bsf pro shot


more coming
 
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map

map


We headed out Friday morning and the drive wasn't bad.

There are a few campgrounds, including the Bandy Creek Campground where we stayed. There is a visitor center, stables, and interpretive center across the street. I’m not one for improved campgrounds or crowds in nature, but dang this one is nice. There are nice bath houses, well-kept sites (too close together for my preference), pool, and many playgrounds.

Bandy Creek Campground Map

Bandy Creek Campground Map


When we arrived, we decided to explore the forest to see if there were any private free sites to camp. I was unfamiliar with the area, and made a choice on one gravel road to get on a multi-use trail. The exploring turned into night time exploring on the multi-use trails that included vehicles and buggies (not the off-road variety, but the pioneer kind). They were dark and meandered through the woods. Some slightly off camber sections and ruts/roots. Not too much to be concerned with in any 4wd, but with two $10K bikes hanging off the back, and all the gear on top. Did I mention there was a foot of leaves on the trail? I had to engage the locker to keep moving a couple of times, but no worries and I was having fun. We ended up reaching a decision point, and my choice put us at a dead end on an incline. That was a great time to realize that my shift linkage gets into a bind when the trans is manually shifted to 1st and the suspension is flexed. I couldn’t get it to move from 1st. Go figure, but the wife wasn’t thrilled when I asked her to climb over and mash the brake, all the while I climb under a running truck in the pitch-black woods. Once under I saw that the shackle was interfering with the tip of the shift linkage. A quick massage and we were back on our way. At this point, I decided not to anger the beast any more than I already had and retreated for the improved campsites.

BSF Camp

BSF Camp


BSF Camp Distance

BSF Camp Distance


We stayed in A7, but had A1-A19 to ourselves. This also meant that we had a private bath house with 4 showers and 10 stalls total. Hard to not be comfortable with all those amenities. Not my style, but Momma was pleasantly surprised.

We didn’t bring in any wood, so I put the rig to use gathering wood. Don’t worry about the paint, it wasn’t harmed in the process. ;) Here a couple of different runs. $12 for a stack of wood…I don’t think so.

Wood Run 1

Wood Run 1


Wood Run 2

Wood Run 2

 
We spent the next two days riding. My little girl is a shredder, but Momma hasn’t ridden a bike in a few years, much less a mountain bike. Nothing like a little baptism by fire. That’s pretty much my MO, so she shouldn’t have been to surprised.

The park is really cool, and has lots of geological features that were in full view due the leaves being down.

BSF Rock

BSF Rock


We rode Grand Gap Loop the first day. It’s a little less than 7 miles and hugs the cliffs of the Big South Fork canyon for much of the ride.

bsf bike trails

bsf bike trails


There are multiple overlooks, but I didn’t get many pics. Here is one off the web, and one of my girls.

BSF Girls

BSF Girls


bsf pro shot

bsf pro shot

 
The next day we did Collier Family>West Bandy>Duncan for a ride of about 13 miles. There were multiple cool rock features and a few fun sections of trail. It was a long day for my little one, and Momma was done with the her cooch getting a pounding from the seat. That’s something that you get used to and she needs more time in the saddle. The best part is that she enjoyed it and is looking forward to more riding. Luckily, I’m real close to having a full bike in parts. I just need to find her a frame.
BSF Bike Distance 2

BSF Bike Distance 2

Little one shredding BSF

Little one shredding BSF

Momma Speeding

Momma Speeding


Here are my ladies...halfway done with their 13 mile ride. Super proud!

Half Way Through

Half Way Through

BSF Dog Leavaes

BSF Dog Leavaes

 
I did spot a crew cab square. I cruised by his campsite a couple of times, but never was able to chat. I did see him coming back into the campground. I was hanging out of the truck trying to get a pic but he didn’t even slow down. I guess he didn’t like my truck as much as I liked his.

Square Sighting

Square Sighting



There were some lessons learned, but overall it was a great success. It was nice to be able to hop in the fast lane and cruise with the speeders. I logged the entire trip home with my HPTuner, so I’ve got some good data to dig into for fun. Some dog pics for good measure.

dog bike

dog bike

Regal

Regal

Dog Close

Dog Close

Dog is Happy to be there

Dog is Happy to be there

 
Thanks guys. We had a ton of fun. This weekend we are in Atlanta for a wedding. On the way down the wife said that she would rather be camping and riding this weekend. I almost wrecked the car when she said it. Sounds like there will be more to come.
 
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