Slate Creek eventually leads to Brush Creek, but because Brush Creek meanders greatly, the trail no doubt paralleled the general direction of the creek without following its every twist and turn. Maintaining a generally southwesterly direction, the traveler would soon come to Lulbegrud Creek which led to the village of Eskippakithiki, but by this time the traveler would be walking through the cultivated fields that supported the village population, so the creek would not be required for navigation. Eskippakithiki was sited in the midst of a fertile plain surrounded by less hospitable hill country, so it was a natural site for settlement. The village stood at the midpoint of the trail between the Licking River and the Kentucky River.

A relatively short overland transit to the southwest led the traveler to the Kentucky River, although he might choose to take a southeast course over the rolling countryside to the village of Ah-Wah-Nee. Obviously, if the traveler was carrying trade goods or family with him, the canoe trip to Ah-Wah-Nee from the junction of the Red River and the Kentucky River would have been the preferred route. Ah-Wah_Nee was a good resting and meeting point for travelers preparing for the long trip down the Kentucky River to Cumberland Gap. Once the travel left the familiar surroundings of Ah-Wah-Nee, the Kentucky River meandered through many miles of relatively inhospitalble mountain country.

It may be noted that is possible to choose to take an overland route to the south of Ah-Wah_nee, but navigation is markedly more problematic, with few watercourses to provide guidance and respite from the heavily forested countryside. Overland, many a traveler who was unfamiliar with the countryside no doubt wasted many hours turning up the wrong hollow and finding himself blocked, have to retrace his steps to find another route. One must also keep in mind that hundreds of pounds of trade goods, children, and senior citizens are much more easily managed in canoes, rather than on the relatively treacherous trails through the forest, especially in less than ideal weather.