Solo Backpacking Trip Report: Connector Trail, Savage Gulf Natural Area

This is the Connector Trail, the Super Bowl of trails in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area. All the other trails in the park are merely a warm-up for this, "the most challenging and strenuous trail" in the system, according to the state's official trail description. This trail carries the hiker through the depths of the three gulfs and across four suspension bridges, before ascending steeply out of the bottom to cut through the rocky Coppinger Gulf and terminating at Hobb's Cabin Campground high on the plateau. As its name implies, the trail makes connections with many other trails in the park.

This was my second time making this trek. In my pen-and-paper journal entry from last year, I wrote that I "swore I would never backpack that trail again." Well, never say never, right? Being no worse for the wear after discovering the trail wasn't quite as bad as I had remembered, I feel at ease now with having disgraced my honor in this particular instance.

A there-and-back hike beginning at the Stone Door Ranger Station, I hit the trail at 9:15am (only 15 minutes behind schedule, or what I like to call "ahead of schedule"). The rain from the night before had dissipated, but the clouds lingered, making for somewhat clammy conditions. That was ok, though, as the weatherman had assured me earlier in the morning that sunshine would be in abundance this afternoon.

 Laurel Gulf Overlook



From the ranger station, it is one mile to the Stone Door. This is a narrow gap in a huge rock lined with stone steps leading down into Big Creek Gulf. I've read that perhaps Indians used this as a passage in and out of the gulf. Now, is it possible to visit the Stone Door and not take a picture - even though there's a million pictures of it online? Um, no.

Great Stone Door

The Stone Door Trail hands off to the Big Creek Gulf Trail, and from here it's 0.9 miles down a steep and rocky gorge to the intersection with the Connector Trail. Wet leaves filled the gaps between the rocks like grout between tile, and thus began a day filled with much slipping, tripping, and stumbling. The sun wasn't out yet, but it was on the way, so I had been told.

Between the second and third suspension bridges is a side trail leading down to the Historic Cator Savage Cabin. If I remember right, this is a replica of the original cabin belonging to Cator Savage, the fellow for whom this recreational area is named after. I visited it last year, but I wasn't about to descend any further than I had to on this day. Instead, I admired it from afar.

  Cabin in the Decatur Savage Historic Site

The final suspension bridge is crossed 1.9 miles out from Hobb's Cabin Campround, my home for the night. At this point, the going gets tough. For me, the next mile would be the most strenuous part of the journey. I had weighed my pack at home, and it registered just north of 50 pounds. I kept telling myself that it was only 50 pounds, and, heck, I do lunges with more than twice this weight, so what's the problem? I think the main problem is that I don't do lunges for five hours.

The trail actually became a little friendlier - perhaps I should say a little less cardio-intensive - once I reached the rocky slope of the Coppinger Gulf, though I was still slipping and sliding. I was coming to terms with the fact that the sun wasn't going to come out and dry things up.

  Treacherous footing through Coppinger Gulf

Looking across Coppinger Gulf



I strolled into camp at 2:40pm, or nearly 5.5 hours later. Last year I somehow made it in only 4 hours - I have no idea how. I completed all the camp chores, ate my noodles, and brushed my teeth before nightfall. I would now only have to wait by the fire for two hours before taking my medicine and going to bed. The wood was wet and proved difficult to burn. After watching the fire die out on three separate occasions, I decided it wasn't worth the aggravation. It wasn't terribly cold so I put my feet up on a log, essentially turning my camp chair into a makeshift recliner, and watched the clouds only now beginning to break apart. I was tired and my calves were sore. More than once I dozed off in my recliner, the howls of nearby campers faithfully snapping me back into the realm of consciousness. By 8pm, the sky was completely clear. As Bob Uecker might say, the weatherman was just a bit off on the forecast.

I retraced my steps on Saturday, getting started on the trail again at 9:15am. The sun was shining and would help with the drying process, though my slips and stumbles continued unabated.

Sun peeking into Coppinger Gulf

The hike out seemed to be slightly more taxing than the hike in, though that was likely because the first day had pretty well worn me down. I kept a steady pace all day and actually completed the trail 10 minutes quicker. This might be best explained by the large number of Boy Scouts rappelling at the Stone Door. These kids were all around the base of the Stone Door as I was gasping for breath while ascending the Big Creek Gulf and telling myself I would never, I mean never, again hike this trail. I remembered the old deoderant commercial that would instruct viewers to never let 'em see you sweat. Well, too late for that, but I didn't want these little guys to think the trail had whipped this "old" man. So instead of stopping here to rest, I perservered up and out the Stone Door, pausing momentarily to gulp in what was surely to be my last breaths only when safely out of site. Now atop the Stone Door, the 1-mile trail out to the parking lot was like a victory lap. It was a nice cool down indeed - a leisurely, level walk to finish off another successful, but grueling, trip inside the Savage Gulf. Total 2-day mileage ~ 17.4.

     Along the Connector Trail