Tuxachanie Trail Navigation Notes

The whole thirteen mile trail is dead easy to follow – except for one section between mile markers 9 and 10.  Going west-to-east (i.e., Airey Lake to P.O.W), here are the things to watch for, the turns to make:

1. Just past Duck pond, the trail tees into a grassy road.  Go left.  You'll see some white blazes in that direction, and a few little metal signs with yellow arrows in the opposite.  Yellow arrows = horse trail.  Follow the white blazes.
2. About a hundred yards along, the trail splits off to the right.  Again, follow the blazes.
3. A quarter mile later, the trail joins into a horse trail/road.  Go right.  (When coming from the opposite way, this can be a little hard to pick out.  There's some blue marking tape, but it is not entirely obvious.)
4. The trail spits off to the right from the horse path at a set of low bridges.  They're in bad shape but passible.  Follow the blazes, follow the bridges.
5. A quarter-mile later you'll reach the "horse camp," which has a picnic table and hitching posts.
6. There are two obvious exits to the horse camp: left for the trail, and right for the horse path.
7. A quarter mile along, the trail splits: TAKE THE LEFT.  There is a white blaze just visible in this direction, but it used to be unmarked.  There is also a horseshoe on the same tree, which can be confusing.  Anyway, take the left and you'll soon pass mile marker 10 and be heading down into the Tuxachanie Creek bottom.  It's all clear from there.

Going the opposite way (P.O.W. to Airey), things are a little more obvious, except for that one turn-off a quarter mile after the low bridges.  Just to make things painfully clear:

• Continue on the Tux Trail past that "Y" (#7 above), into the horse camp, across the bridges, left onto the dirt road, and a quarter-mile.
• When things turn uphill, look for a path off left into the brush (#3 above).
• Follow that path, and merge onto a grassy road.  It's a slight turn to the left; the wrong alternative is a hard right (don't do that).
• A hundred yards along, take a right where the trail exits the road.  There'a a hiker sign there.
• The trail will cross the dam holding back Duck Pond, and you'll know you're home free.  You'll be at Airey lake in 3-1/2 miles.

This mile-long section of the trail had me stumped for years, and led to several fiascos and *ahem* negative experiences.  It's all marked currently, but the markings are pretty thin and that can change with any windstorm or control burn.  Hopefully these notes will help first timers out.  FWIW, yesterday I ran into a guy at the horse camp who was having a little trouble too.

One more beginner navigation tip when starting from the P.O.W. camp: After crossing over the lake dam, there's a confusion of trails and roads before the trail really begins.  Just hang right on those (i.e., toward Tuxachanie Creek) and you'll soon settle onto the trail and come to a signpost pointing the way to Airey Lake.

Here, have the obligatory picture.  More later.

The name of the place is "Desoto National Forest," but in fact it's largely a pine savannah – i.e., grassland without much shade.  Bring a hat, bring sunscreen.