Dark As Night

Dog Slaughter Falls

June 2nd, 2012

Yep. It's that time of year again! Time for me to whip out the old Adventure Journal. This time I finally convinced Brittany to come along! I know, can you believe it? Her on a hike? It took a lot of convincing (and a dozen roses) to get her to say yes, but I finally did it! I wanted to traverse the entirety of the Sheltowee Trace. But I know she couldn't handle the full 260 miles of rough backwoods terrain. So I decided to just take a little piece of it that wasn't too awfully mountainous. It's really funny how Brittany reacted to the name of the trail but I'm not entirely surprised. Dog Slaughter Falls doesn't have a very nice ring to it does it? But I promised her the view would make up for the name. The poor thing really does need to get out of the city more often. As we were driving down the old gravel forest road she gripped the passenger seat of the jeep tighter and tighter. As if the lack of shopping malls and paved roads would kill her! Whitley County Kentucky isn't exactly known for it's haute couture and fine dining. She'd just have to learn to adjust.

When we got to the trail head Brittany could hardly believe she was at the final destination. I can't remember her exact complaint but I know it had something to do with the lack of a parking lot. Like that would make a lot of difference once we were away from the Jeep and on our way. I just pulled off onto the uneven grass shoulder and put the vehicle in park. Sheltowee Trace was called that because "Sheltowee" was the name the Shawnee Indians gave Daniel Boone when he walked in this area. It means Big Turtle because apparently that's what he looked like to them with his big backpack on. I could see why the Native Americans would think that, though I think Brittany looked more like a pink, malnourished doe with a boulder strapped to her back. Of course she complained about the weight and size of her backpack but all she was carrying was her sleeping bag, food, clothes, and other necessities. I am the one who was carrying the tent plus all the things we would need. Eventually she seemed to get used to the extra weight though, much to my relief. I love her so much and couldn't imagine her not being my girlfriend but sometimes she really does have a sour attitude. I just know there is more to her than the shallow, superficial facade she keeps up. Like how she complained that her hiking boots were ugly. I told her they'd be a lot prettier to her than her designer sandals if she stepped on a rattlesnake. That made her be quiet about it.

We didn't make it all the way to the falls but that wasn't Brittany's fault. It was mine. I can't believe I never noticed it before but this time I found a tiny little unmarked trail shooting off to the left of the main path. It was so rarely used it was almost invisible among the weeds and ferns of the forest floor. The green had almost completely swallowed it up! I am not sure if I'll ever be able to find it again by just sight alone so I'm writing down that is was around the 3.4 mile mark on the trail. Curiosity got the better of me and I convinced Brit that we should explore the little path. I didn't really expect it to lead anywhere except maybe some cool Indian rockhouse not seen from the main trail. But the trail turned out to be long and one of the best hikes I've ever experienced. And that's saying a lot. The most surprising part of all was that the trail ended at a back country campground I'd never seen on any of my maps. But it wasn't abandoned. There were a handful of tents sprawled out in the little clearing, with backpacks hung from several of the trees to keep bears out of their food. It didn't take much convincing to get Brittany to set up camp here instead of going back to the trail we started on and finishing it. I had to give it to her. She did okay for her first hike and it was pushing ninety degrees the majority of the time. I set up the camping area while Brittany stared in shock at her very first blister that had formed on her left foot. She'd just have to get used to those. As evening closed in the other members of the campground began to slowly make their way back to the camp. There was an elderly man with long gray hair and a matching beard in sixties style clothes. Obviously an old hippie with a deep love of nature. His name was Warren and he looked like a really cool guy. I am going to have to talk to him soon. He may know about some awesome trails and places I've never heard of. I mean he did know about this campground right? It's not like everyone here just happened upon this mysterious little path by accident like we did.