Three Forks route from Campsite 44
Three Forks via Camposite 44 (two routes). Hike to Campsite 44. Find the spring easliy located 40 yards downhill from the fire ring. Hike downhill for 1/2 mile (there is a faint easily followed trail with cairns along the way down). In about 15-20 minutes you will come to the Right Fork of Raven Fork. Turn left and go downstream (very easliy wadable) for 1 mile. Don't even try to rock hop...just go in...but be prepared! You will have four log jams to crawl over. The stream you are on will intersect with Middle Fork (on your right) then within 10 yards is the Big Pool. Not as "big" as the legend though. Left Fork joins where Right Fork and Middle all come together to form Big Pool. It is about 40' by 15'. I went from Campsite 44 along the top of Breakneck Ridge to Raven Fork (coming out just below Big Pool) then I returned to C44 via Right Fork. Easy hike to the top of Breakneck but within a 1/4 mile off the top you will hit lots of rhodo to the main Raven Fork. In fact I found a fishing net in a tree along the way! If you chose to return to Campsite 44 going up Right Fork, as you came down to begin with, make sure you put a cairn at the spot where McGee Sprinsg Branch meets Right Fork so you will know where to turn off the creek. Someone has put orange flagging at a small creek 300 yards below McGee Springs Branch perhaps thinking that was the correct route but it is NOT....that is the WRONG drainage to ascend. In fact you know you are at the correct drainage to ascend when you see the McGee Springs Branch flowing into Right Fork about 100 yards below a waterfall. You can see the small waterfall just upstream from where you will turn right off Right Fork. It took us from 9:00 am to 3:00 to get to Big Pool via Breakneck Ridge and from 4:30-7:00 to make it back up via Right Fork. My advice is to be prepared, be safe and have fun.
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----Jeff Wadley
Living in Tennessee...wishing I was in ELY, Minnesota!
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02-22-2009, 11:50 PM
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