FTF Congrats to KY Hiker!
Honey Creek Loop Trail is a 5.7 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Allardt, Tennessee that features a waterfall and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. It is the most challenging trail in Big South Fork. Elevation 1053ft, this is a tough and technical trail that is not well marked. More hikers get lost on this trail than any other in the park. There are several rock houses and waterfalls which make the hike very worth while. Additionally the natural, undisturbed beauty of the area is very good reason to hike this trail. There are several points where you may ask yourself if you are going the right way. Trail blazes on this trail are random red arrows, placards of green. There are several boulder scrambles, and points in the trail where you hike in or over creek beds. We have provided coordinates for parking and the trailhead. We recommend you walk down the road a couple of feet, & climbing the staircase to start the trailhead there instead of the trailhead in front of the parking. Going at the trail counter clockwise will lessen the elevation challenge at the end of your hike. After 1.5 miles, you'll pass beneath Echo Rock, named for the way it reflects and amplifies the distant sounds of Big South Fork. It's a perfect spot for a break; perk your ears to see if you can hear the roar of whitewater. Beyond Echo Rock is the junction for the Overlook Trail, which accesses cliff-top views of Big South Fork via two ladders. (You can always drive up the Honey Creek Loop Road—this gravel road is labeled "Alternate Trail" on some maps—after your hike. It dead-ends at the overlook parking lot.) Eventually you'll reach some large signs directing hikers to the John Muir Trail and the O&W Bridge, Leatherwood Bridge, and Devil's Den via the Sheltowee Trace. The trail gets a little confusing here. You'll continue along the main Honey Creek Loop Trail, but the green markers that have marked the trail to this point will be briefly replaced by and interspersed with signs for the Sheltowee Trace. Continue to follow these; the usual green trail placards will pop up again soon.
Caution!
Even experienced hikers should allow a minimum of 5 hours to complete this strenuous hike. Hazards include steep narrow trail sections, numerous creek crossings, moving through caves, rope pulls, unstable ladders, slick boulders and confusing trail junctions. Travel through boulder fields may require using your hands and knees to climb over and among boulders. Trail tread in these sections is often uneven, wet and slippery. Extreme care should be taken when hiking in these areas. Although dogs are allowed on leash, we would not recommend this hike for small children nor pets. Bears are present as I have personally encountered one in the park. It is probably my personal favorite trail but it's not an easy one. We have ranked the difficulty of this cache appropriately and would never want anyone to get lost or hurt pursuing this cache.
The Earthcache:
A rock shelter-also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri-is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional cave (karst) caves, which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost always modest in size and extent. Rock shelters form because a rock stratum such as sandstone that is resistant to erosion and weathering has formed a cliff or bluff, but a softer stratum, more subject to erosion and weathering, lies just below the resistant stratum, and thus undercuts the cliff. In arid areas, wind erosion (eolian erosion) can be an important factor in rockhouse formation. In most humid areas, the most important factor in rockhouse formation is frost spalling, where the softer, more porous rock underneath is pushed off, tiny pieces at a time, by frost expansion from water frozen in the pores. Erosion from moving water is seldom a significant factor. Many rock shelters are found under waterfalls. Rock shelters are often important archaeologically. Because rock shelters form natural shelters from the weather, prehistoric humans often used them as living-places, and left behind debris, tools, and other artifacts. In mountainous areas the shelters can also be important for mountaineers. Transhumant nomads, people who move with their livestock - often from lower permanent winter residences in the valleys to higher summer pastures-frequently build semi-permanent camps, often of rocks. The Cumberland stitchwort (Minuartia cumberlandensis) is an endangered species of plant which is found only in rock shelters in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Requirements:
Message me the following information and please do not post in your log.
Go to the posted coordinates and describe what you see. Give me details regarding the details regarding the makeup of the ceiling and the floor.
Climb the ladder (carefully) & proceed to the back of the feature, face the opening & look right. Describe what you see there. How do you think this formed?
Pictures are always appreciated but not required.