Jones Branch & King’s Mountain Road hike - Duggar Mountain Wilderness

[Firedog]

Plans for this outing include exploring along Jones Branch Road, proceeding to King’s Gap Mountain Road where an old gold mine is located, and searching for a cave where Indian Joe once lived.   Participants should pack a lunch and something to drink.  The meeting time and location for this outing will be 8:00 a.m. at the Pinky Burns Trailhead located on Cleburne County Road 55.  For more information, or if you plan to participate, contact Ben DeMayo by phone at 770-834-2661, or by email at bdemayo223@yahoo.com

[squidbilly]

Cross country to Kings Gap Road from Jones Branch Road?

[Firedog]

I'm not sure. That's all the details I got. I'll try to find out and let you know.

[Firedog]

Had a great day for hiking. Started out exploring some old building foundations just NE of Burns TH on top of the hill. Not sure what was there, house , mining office just not sure, but still interesting. The old foundations look to be old poured concrete with stucco finish. The building had a suspended concrete porch with steps. Appeared to have piers in the back and several large rooms all underground. The basement rooms, below grade, had window boxes outside the walls for light and in the top of the walls there were iron piped through the walls. not sure if they were for water or used as conduit. I just can't get an idea of the period this was used and for what. I know some of the people that lives in the area for years and they don't know either.

Then down to Jones branch road. Checked out two old dam sites along the creek. They are now opened but still curious why they were there. The strangest thing is there are concrete drain collection boxes all along JBR. They connect to concrete pipe under the old road to keep the road from washing. Yet, there are several creek crossings that are not bridged but have old site mixed concrete poured on the ground on each side of the creek to fortify the banks of the crossing. I've just never seen that before on old woods roads. JBR, by the maps was not a throughway that I can tell. I'm just guessing that the road hasn't been used in about 50-75 years, generating the question about the concrete and period it was installed.

Continued on a couple of miles to Indian Cave Shelter (what I've always heard it called) more like a large prospecting dig. Deffinitely not natural. The shelter goes back about 20 feet into the mtn. This spot gets used a good bit with plenty of evidence such as stored firewood, a makeshift table, plenty of trash, ect. Across the hollow is another prospecting hole. I was there with Dr. DeMayo form West GA College. he is a Physics Professor but is studying Geology. He collected some rock samples and explained what he thought they were, but would let me know exactly after he carried them back to school. This dig, still had some drilling holes, four that I could see. I stuck a stick into one about 3-4 feet. These holes are about 1.5-2 inch holes. I'm not sure what they were looking for, gold, Iron, or what, but it makes me curious just the same.

Did a little bushwhacking around a small mountain adjacent to Dugger, then back to Jones Branch and back to BTH. Drove over to Kings Gap Mtn Road and checked out the old gold mine and supposedly Rabbit Joe's Cave. Found several entrances but not sure if they are connected to each other. Both are next to each other. If you go from Co Road 55 onto KGMR, as soon as the private land stops and the road starts in between two hills, the old gold mine can be seen on the east side of the road. It has some iron bars over the opening now. You can go backinto the mine about 100' or so and there are several cuts to each side. About 100' in there is what appears to be a place where roof fell in but you can walk up the dirt pile and see the opening continue into the shaft further. There is a current of air blowing through so there is another opening somewhere, but not sure where.

Just north, a couple of hundred feet is Rabbit Joe's Cave. It has a very unique opening and I can't tell if it is all natural as well. There are sign of pick marks inside and it doesn't go in but about 20 or 30 feet but is still very interesting, just the same. If you get over this way and have some time to kill, check these spots out.


 

[stevebo]

Fire dog, I've been to "Rabbit joes cave"-----there s a geacache hidden some where inside.  I never found it, but the cave was so interesting, I didnt mind!  So, who was rabbit joe?  Thats not a story I'm familure with.  (I recognized it by your description)  I love that whole area--so many things to explore!   If you're going to do some more hiking in the area, and would like some company, let me know!    Also, last time I was on jones branch, we found an old chimney (between the jones branch ford and the indian cave.  Its still standing, (about 5 feet of it is anyway)  No other signs of a cabin there or anything like that.  Have you ever seen anything like that along JBR?  If the leaves are on the trees, it would be invisable.  I would love to know the history!   (I've got the gps coords ------let me know if you want them)

[squidbilly]

Steve, I found that geocache, it's  a micro (Bison tube). I don't remember the exact location, it was so long ago. It seems like the name was a clue to the hiding place.  The same guy that placed that one, put another one on Red Mountain.  I don't remember the chimney ruins on JBR.

I spent yesterday In Dugger, exploring a different route in.  I parked at Liberty Hill Lake and hiked in around the lake over a ridge on an old logging road  to the East Fork of Dry Creek. After crossing another ridge, I reached the West Fork and explored it upstream until I reached the point I had previously explored from the West. The Southern parts of both branches, and the confluence are on private property, so I didn't go there. There are many old logging roads in the area. One even follows Dry Creek, fording several times as the terrain dictates until it eventually connects to JBR.
 

[weathermansam]

Steve, I found that geocache, it's  a micro (Bison tube). I don't remember the exact location, it was so long ago. It seems like the name was a clue to the hiding place.  The same guy that placed that one, put another one on Red Mountain.  I don't remember the chimney ruins on JBR.

I spent yesterday In Dugger, exploring a different route in.  I parked at Liberty Hill Lake and hiked in around the lake over a ridge on an old logging road  to the East Fork of Dry Creek. After crossing another ridge, I reached the West Fork and explored it upstream until I reached the point I had previously explored from the West. The Southern parts of both branches, and the confluence are on private property, so I didn't go there. There are many old logging roads in the area. One even follows Dry Creek, fording several times as the terrain dictates until it eventually connects to JBR.
 

The chimney ruins aren't on JBR, they're just off the pinhoti not far from the trailhead. 

[squidbilly]

 Sam, I thought Steve was speaking of some other ruins. We've all seen the foundation, chimney and steps on the hill near the trailhead.

Steve said:  " Also, last time I was on jones branch, we found an old chimney (between the jones branch ford and the indian cave.  Its still standing, (about 5 feet of it is anyway)  No other signs of a cabin there or anything like that."

[weathermansam]

Ah, my bad, missed that.