Hiking Burnt Mill Loop with Maggie May

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area
October 5, 2024

This is a very pleasant hike with only one small section of any real kind of elevation and would make a wonderful day of slow hiking and frequent stops just to take in nature. The loop itself is around 4.5 miles and then Maggie and I added on a little more by going a little way up the John Muir Trail.

The trail wanders along the Clear Fork River for most of the hike and has many of those rock outcroppings that I like so much. I would get the morning sun popping in and out with all the river views that we came to. It gave Maggie plenty of opportunities to dip in the water to cool off. I bet you could find a good swimming hole on days the water level was a little higher. There were also several good-looking campsites spread out along the trail as well.

Maggie did a lot better on this hike than the one up at Frozen Head, mainly because it was quite a bit cooler. She did, towards the end need to take a little break to try and cool down. She rubbed her belly on the ground and felt bad because we were in a very dry section. A little while later she found a mud hole and decided to roll in that, so it was a good thing there were some more creek spots to clean her towards the end of the hike. I also found out she is like Frank and does not like to take breaks. However, I did force a lunch break on her and she showed her displeasure just like Frank used to.

At some point I would love to combine this loop with the Honey Creek Loop and make a long day hike or break it up with a backcountry night. From what I have read it sounds like there is a waterfall along the John Muir trail that connects the two loops. That could make an incredibly fun trip.

Story Links:

• Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area
• AllTrails: Hike Recording  |  Profile
• YouTube Channel
• Instagram Profile

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Introducing Ms. Maggie May

Frozen Head State Park, TN
July 7, 2024 

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Ms. Maggie May who is our newest fur baby. After we lost our sweet boy Frank it did not take long to realize that he provided the energy to our fur family. After some conversation we decided we needed another type of pointer dog to bring the energy back, along with providing me with another hiking companion.  

Mary and I decided to go through Pointer Rescue Organization ( https://pointerrescue.org/ ) to find and adopt our new fur baby. After some time, we decided on our Ms. Maggie May who was rescued from being euthanized in North Carolina. Maryville College here in town has a few miles of trails on their campus, so I took Maggie and hiked a couple of miles. She did an excellent job, so I figured let us up the milage. It was time to take her to Frozen Head State Park. 

I put a route together, gave Maggie some anti-nausea medication, and headed up north.  

My Route: 

(1)	Flat Rock Road	1.40 m
(2)	Panther Branch	1.40 m
(3)	Emory Gap	1.00 m*
(4)	Panther Branch	1.45 m
(5)	North Old Mac	2.40 m
(6)	Old Mac Trailhead	0.15 m
*	This millage counts the walk up to the falls and back down.

The walk along Flat Rock Road is not bad as far as road walks go unless you are on it at a particularly busy time. Today was not that bad. Maggie found herself a mouse or chipmunk and went bonkers, so much so a park ranger saw us from his truck and started laughing. Once we got onto Panther Branch Maggie calmed down and got into a nice hiking groove.  

* Debord Falls *

At just over half a mile on Panther Branch we stopped to check out Debord Falls. There was not a lot of water running over it, but it was still pretty, and Maggie took a dip in the pool to cool off.  After Debord Falls we headed up Emory Gap and stopped by Emory Falls. This day Emory Falls was just a trickle as it really needs some nice rain to have any decent flow. However, in the little cavern you get some cool wind from the rocks and some small pools, so Maggie took another dip to cool down.  

Once we were back on Panther Branch you cross a bridge and after a short stroll you get some major elevation gain. Not going to lie, it is steep climb up until you hit North Old Mac and the descent back to the parking lot. I knew this hike would take me past my and Frank’s special spot, and when I got there took a brief moment to say hello to my friend. Maggie was not into hanging out, so we headed on.  

* Emory Falls with low water flow *

It turned out to be another really sweltering day, so I was glad we left early in the morning before the afternoon heat kicked in. Maggie still got a little overheated and we had to take a short break for her to cool down a bit. All in all she did really good and I am looking forward to hiking with her more especially went the temps get a little cooler.  

As always, my friends hike on and stay safe!  

Story Links: 

• Frozen Head State Park
• Frozen Head State Park Trail Map
• Pointer Rescue Origination 

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