by Tony Robbins
I set out after work on Thursday, December 31, at 4 PM for the Thunder Swamp Trail (TST) in Pike County. I hiked the first 11.8 miles to Painter Swamp into the new year. My goal for the long weekend was to do the entire TST system and associated side trails.
Shortly after setting up camp, I heard a large splash in Painter Swamp. I didn't know what it was until the next morning, when I heard a Canadian goose fly off honking. Shortly afterward, I heard a grouse flying in, buzzing just over my rain fly to land directly behind me.
On Friday, I set out with just my RIBZ pack, leaving behind my backpack and hammock, to hike the Big Bear Swamp Loop and Coon Swamp Loop. Near the end of the Big Bear Swamp Loop, I ran into a hunter who apparently had never been on the loop before. He asked me about the trail and where it led to. I informed him it was a loop and the distance he’d have to travel to go all the way around. After returning to camp and making a delicious freeze-dried meal, I set out to explore part of the trail around Painter Swamp. I discovered the dam you have to cross to be broken and not crossable.
On Saturday morning, I packed up and headed southwest to the lower loop, backtracking through some of what I had hiked in the dark. It took the better part of the day to arrive at this ominous 70-foot water crossing. When I first arrived, I wondered how in the heck I was going to get across. As you can see, there is a big gap from the shore to the first exposed rock. I could plainly see that some of the dam had washed away, leaving a large span to get across without any exposed rocks or stepping-stones. I looked around, hoping to find some rocks I could place in the cavity, but I came up empty-handed. So I started probing the water with my hiking pole to see exactly how deep the underlying rocks were submerged. I found they were only a couple inches under the surface, so I decided to go for it. I managed to get onto the dam with dry feet only to discover that all the exposed rocks were unstable and icy. I carefully set out across the dam to get to the first of 2 bridges and cross it to find yet another damaged portion of dam to cross. You can see the second bridge, but you cannot see the other side, so even if I had gotten to that bridge, it might have been even more difficult to get to shore. I decided to turn around and head back. There is a spur trail that goes across Saw Creek much farther south, but you have to go through a swamp and I didn’t want to risk yet another impassible crossing.
After I got about 1.5 miles from the dam, I ran into 3 hikers. I asked them if they were planning on crossing Saw Creek, and they said they were. I informed them of the condition of the dam. They pulled out their map and pointed out the spur trail. I told them why I chose not to go that route, and they said they would continue on and cross that bridge when they got there. I bid them good luck and a Happy New Year and continued on back to my vehicle.
As I neared the trailhead parking lot, I could hear country music and thought I was imagining things. I then noticed 2 colorful tents about a hundred yards to the left. I could hear singing, but I couldn’t see anyone. As I continued on, I spotted a large dog, with a stick about 6 feet long in its mouth, coming down the trail toward me. About then, I heard someone yell, “The dog is friendly!” only to have the dog pause in front of me, growl, and then continue on with his big stick. I stopped to talk to 2 young fellows, each with an armload of split firewood. Afterward, on the way to the parking lot, I found 2 pieces of firewood the guys dropped. I decided to stand them on end in the middle of the trail in hopes their friendly dog would go back to retrieve them.