A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

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merelunacy
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A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by merelunacy » June 30th, 2016, 1:31 pm

Before the heat started to really set in, Timothy and I decided to head out to do part of the Badger Creek Trail. We took FR 48 hoping to get the back way into Badger Lake. Although right after Bonney Meadows we got stopped by a large tree that hadn't been cleared yet. We stopped by Bonney Meadows since I hadn't been there before. It was a bit cloudy and cold, but I had fun taking flower pictures.
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Adjusting our plans was a bit tricky. Going with the flow of our adventure we went back to FR 48 and headed east. By the time we got to Bonney Crossing it was getting dark and we were considering camping. The campground was pretty full so we continued on to Little Badger. Thankfully there was a good spot where we could setup for the night.

The next morning we decided to skip the Kinzel mine to look for the Jordan Creek guard station. Following an old train grade we thought the guard station would be there.
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Since it wasn't we followed the side of the creek thinking we may find a path the old guard station used. Still no luck. After going down pretty far we cut up to a flatter area.
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Continuing to look around we finally managed to find old trash, it looked like the site of an old homestead. Going back down we followed an old road.
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We were just about to leave when I noticed some remnants of the old Jordan Creek trestle. Naturally we continued to look around.
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There was a different site with old time trash, but no structural remnants in the area.
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The best my panorama could do was this.
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While we couldn't find the old Jordan Creek guard station it was still pretty neat to find the old trestle pylons. Checking out another abandoned place we went to Camp Friend. The only structure was a bathroom which was occupied by rats. It was very flat area, many tall trees, no water source nearby, and not much in the way of brush. I got a couple of cool pictures of some bugs though.
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Our next goal was to get to Lookout Mountain. I noticed an apparent shortcut off of FR 2730 to get there. The road was bumpy to begin with and that was just the beginning. Quite a few times I thought we were going to get stuck because the trees were so close together or that we were going to bottom out on the rocks. When we came across this sign it was no surprise it was so buried.
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The flowers blooming on the road were pretty neat, but considering the road it was best to keep moving.
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Just barely making it, we popped out at the Lookout Mountain trailhead. Very glad to be there we headed on up the trail.
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Our first viewpoint was at the a neat crag.
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Took a little bit of coursing, but Timothy got me out on a ledge. Pretty proud I did it.
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The next stop was an interesting spire.
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We didn't realize it at the time, but there was a waterfall in our midst.
spire_DSC0478-b.jpg

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merelunacy
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by merelunacy » June 30th, 2016, 1:37 pm

There was more views along the way, although the most surprising was getting photobomed without knowing it, haha.
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Before going to the peak we ventured off to find the Senecal Spring nearby.
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We managed to find some of the abandoned trail. I think it was pretty cool. Got some cold water as a reward.
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At the top I stumbled on another critter. He wasn't very happy when I didn't give any treats.
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The view up top was killer.
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And of course I had to get some flower pictures.
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Got some cool pictures of the mountains around with the rubble that was left
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Timothy's good eyes also caught a view of the Flag Point lookout tower.
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Also he saw the surprise of a waterfall in the distance. Probably can't see it in this picture, but next time you're up at lookout mountain maybe a pair of binoculars are in order.
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We had a lot of fun even without getting up close on a waterfall. Found some cool things and got some epic views.

justpeachy
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by justpeachy » June 30th, 2016, 3:30 pm

Cool report! It's fun looking for old stuff in the forest. :)

We were up on Lookout Mountain on Saturday and we had three ground squirrels circling us, hoping for handouts.

Limey
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by Limey » June 30th, 2016, 4:05 pm

Great report, but what I want to know is, did you really take the Goat over that crappy road off 2730? That last stretch before getting to High Prairie is a real doozy, unless someone has improved it.

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Chip Down
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by Chip Down » June 30th, 2016, 6:37 pm

justpeachy wrote:It's fun looking for old stuff in the forest. :)
It really is! I get excited about the weirdest stuff, if it's super old, or just out of place. Made this TR a little more fun.

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woodswalker
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by woodswalker » July 1st, 2016, 7:48 am

Such an awesome area. Glad you got to explore it. I can't believe you were able to get through on the 2730. I'm known for taking my car up some gnarly roads in that area, but after walking a small section of that road once, I decided against it. Thanks for sharing your trip.
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merelunacy
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Re: A Journey to Lookout Mountain and Beyond

Post by merelunacy » July 1st, 2016, 8:56 am

justpeachy wrote:Cool report! It's fun looking for old stuff in the forest. :)

We were up on Lookout Mountain on Saturday and we had three ground squirrels circling us, hoping for handouts.
Thanks! Haha, that's a bit amusing you were up there. A couple of ground squirrels looked pretty fat too. It was a few years back that I found out why it's so bad to feed them, wish more people understood.
Limey wrote:Great report, but what I want to know is, did you really take the Goat over that crappy road off 2730? That last stretch before getting to High Prairie is a real doozy, unless someone has improved it.
Haha, no the goat would never have made it. Matter of fact the truck almost didn't make it. We were about ready to turn around when we saw the parking lot for the trailhead. The last stretch was the toughest because it was pretty much all muddy pot holes.

On a different trip to Badger Lake, Timothy actually got the Goat through FR 4891 and camped next to the lake. It was funny that people couldn't figure out how the Goat made it there. A true testament of Timothy's driving skills.
Chip Down wrote:
justpeachy wrote:It's fun looking for old stuff in the forest. :)
It really is! I get excited about the weirdest stuff, if it's super old, or just out of place. Made this TR a little more fun.
Cool! Yeah those pylons are going to be there for a long time. They are right next to the road too.
woodswalker wrote:Such an awesome area. Glad you got to explore it. I can't believe you were able to get through on the 2730. I'm known for taking my car up some gnarly roads in that area, but after walking a small section of that road once, I decided against it. Thanks for sharing your trip.
Woodswalker
I would definitely not send anyone down that road unless they have a lifted 4WD truck and a chainsaw. There were many spots where the trees were cut back barely enough, so it goes to reason a bigger truck would need to do some trimming. Our truck is small enough that we got through the narrow sections, but was incredibly close on some of the rocks as we passed through. Absolutely a gnarly road! It was a real test of Timothy's driving skills and on the truck. I was doing deep breathing exercises pretty much the whole time. lol

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