Tygarts Creek flows from the west, but turns north
at Olive Hill, Ky. To a walker or horseback rider 
traveling from east to west, it is not readily apparent 
which fork is the more efficient route to the west.

The more northerly Upper Tygart branch carries a bit 
more water flow, and the valley it has created is somewhat 
wider than the valley created by the Soldier branch 
to the south.

In contrast, the traveler who has followed Triplett Creek 
upstream to its headwaters has a somewhat easier choice. 
One branch of Triplett Creek flows from the base of a 
substantial ridgeline that geologically separates it from 
the easterly flowing waters of the Upper Tygart branch 
of Tygarts Creek.

A second branch of Tripletts Creek emanates from a narrow 
east-west hollow that points directly at the headwaters 
of Soldier Branch. There is no substantial high ground 
to impede easterly travel from Triplett Creek into the 
Soldier Branch valley. Once the traveler has tried both 
paths, the logical choice 
becomes obvious.

The distinct advantages of the one trail over the other 
is somewhat masked by the routing of modern highways. 
Route 60 climbs the north-south ridgeline at a moderate 
grade over the course of about two miles. The traveler 
must make a conscious effort to appreciate the 
significant change in altitude as the ridgeline is 
traversed. On foot, the change is dramatically obvious.

The advantage that the Soldier Branch has is not immediately 
apparent because Rt. 174 also climbs a grade between the 
Soldier Branch valley and the Triplett Creek valley. 
But one has only to glance to the north of the highway 
to see that there is a narrow east-west valley below the 
highway which the road builders did not take advantage of. 
Why they did not is unknown, but it may have had something 
to do with the sitting of the railroad that was surveyed 
through this section in the 1880's. The original wagon 
road/trail may have been displaced by the railroad 
right-of-way.