Stories Across America

Sharon and I spent some amazing time visiting some great friends in TN. Larry and Leslie are just plain good people and we really enjoy their company. During our stay they took us on an incredible hike in The Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area; The Twin Arches Trail.

Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area is a part of the National Park System and is maintained as such. The Area encompasses 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. The area boasts miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, is rich with natural and historic features and has been developed to provide visitors with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities.

The Twin Arches Trail within The Park is so full of amazing geology and history of early settlers. The approximately 5 mile hike is what we would call a moderate hike. It has about 735ft of elevation changes and many obstacles along the trail. We hiked The Twin Arches Trail on a crisp 30ish degree day which added another element of challenge; but, it made it very refreshing for sure.

Twin Arches is a 1,500-acre natural area located in parts of Fentress, Scott, and Pickett Counties Tennessee and contains two impressive geological formations known as the Twin Arches. These arches form the largest natural bridge complex in Tennessee and one of the largest known in the world. The two sandstone arches are situated end-to-end, and are commonly referred to as the North and South Arches. The South Arch is the tallest at 103 feet high. It has a clearance inside the arch of 70 feet and its span is 135 feet between the inside base of the feet. The North Arch is 62 feet high with a clearance of 51 feet and a span of 93 feet.

Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area website
https://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm

AllTrails webpage for Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area
https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/tennessee/big-south-fork-national-river-recreation-area

Also within Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area and along the Twin Arches Trail is The Charit Creek Lodge. Read further about the history of the Lodge.

Originally settled by long hunters who followed Daniel Boone’s route across the Cumberland Gap, some of the buildings date back to 1817. The lodge has the designation of having what may be the oldest operating lodging structure in the entire National Park Service system. The property served as a single family residence and subsistence farm until the mid 1900s.

Fascinating people lived on the property, including William Riley Hatfield, of the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud, who moved to the property to escape tensions between the hostile families. Respected and loved by many, he is interred in the cemetery of the property. The ridge to the north of Charit Creek Lodge is Hatfield Ridge, named in his honor.

During the Civil War, skirmishes happened throughout the valley. During one such skirmish, two young boys, the Tackett brothers, hid out in a nearby cabin under a feather mattress to evade capture. Unfortunately, they suffocated and were buried a short distance from the lodge.

To read more visit The Charit Creek Lodge website: http://www.ccl-bsf.com/home