Cumberland Valley Loop - Big South Fork

Gernt Trail 3.3
Gernt Overlook .3
O&W Trail 2.7
Coyle Branch Trail 2.1
North White Oak Loop 11.4
Groom Branch Trail 2.4
Total Miles: 22.2


Lora and I headed out for an overnight backpack at the Big South Fork.  We hiked the Cumberland Valley Loop and part of the North White Oak Loop which are all old road beds.  We started at the Cumberland Valley trailhead and hiked the Gernt Trail.  We did the side trip to the Gernt Overlook which is worth the time.  Great views and just a short side trail.  The sign says .3 one way but I think that is round trip.

After the Overlook, the trail drops down into the gorge to the North White Oak Creek.  With the cold weather, we got to see lots of icicles hanging off the rocks and frozen puddles on the trail.  It is a very pretty trail down to the creek.  Once at the bottom we took the O&W  trail along the creek heading East.  The first fording was of the Groom Branch.  Yes, the water was a little cool for the old fashion foot washing. It was a lot shallower than the North White Oak Creek ford that you would have to make to get to Long Ridge Trail that we saw there.

North White Oak Creek was up pretty high and made for some beautiful sights and some good swimming holes if you were up to it.  There were some good mud holes that we had to climb around too.

The next fording was of Coyle Branch, which was cool as well and a little bit wider.  There is a large area for a horse camp there where we turned and hiked the Coyle Branch trail up and out of the gorge.  The Coyle Branch trail was another beautiful hike with all the rock overhangs and icicles.  We bypassed the Leatherwood Overlook because the amount of miles we were already hiking.

We turned onto the North White Oak Loop trail and hiked it along the area that the wildfire had occurred some years ago.  We had many small creek crossings and wandered in and out of the Scott State Forest.  We ended up camping across one of the small creeks uphill into the woods.  According to the description it was around the 5.3 mile mark.  It was a cool night and we had to thaw the ice off the wood before it would burn.  We stayed warm by the fire and enjoyed the light of the full moon along with the stars in the clear sky.  We heard some coyotes during the evening.

The next morning we got up and continued our hike on the North White Oak Loop.  Once again we bypassed the White Oak overlook because of the miles.  The trail wondered along both sides of the gorge without any good views.  We did see two brave horse riders out just before we got to the Groom Branch Trail.  On  the Groom Branch trail we did see a wild looking growth in the top of hemlock tree.  It looked like a bush growing up there with lots of branches and the same needles.  First we have seen anything like that.  Over all it was a good hike.

On the way out we noticed a sign that said "Permits" at the Hitching Post General Store by the trailhead.  So we stopped in a found out that you don't have to drive all the way to Bandy Creek Visitor Center to get a permit to backpack in the Big South Fork.  That would have saved us lots of miles over the years.  They do serve food here and they are open on Sundays which is a rarity.  The owners Jim and Claudia also own the Big South Fork Lodge.  So stop by and see them next time your in the area.

Pictures:

Laurel Falls - CT

Lora and I did a day hike to Laurel Falls.  We headed to Dayton after church and went to the Laurel Snow Pocket Wilderness trailhead.  There were probably 35 cars at the trailhead so it was a popular day to hike.  There were rock climbers and hikers out.  We hiked up Richland Creek and over the Laurel Creek bridge.  The creeks were up and the water falls were looking good.  We did Laurel falls and then climbed up to the top of the bluff.  We got to do an old fashion foot washing in Laurel creek on the way to Bryan Overlook.  There were actually other hikers crazy enough to do the same.  On the way back to the trailhead we did some trail maintenance trying to cover up and block all the shortcuts that people have to make.  What is wrong with following the trail?

Pictures:

TTA Possum Creek

What a beautiful day for hiking. 26 degrees this morning. I met the Soddy Daisy and Plateau TTA  groups at the Heiss Mt Trailhead for Possum Creek on the CT. The plan was for the SD hikers to hike 2 hours in and then head back; the Plateua group was hiking to Imodium Falls and then back out.

 15 hikers started down the trail wearing layers, gloves, hats. The water was flowing deep in all the creeks after 9 days of rain. The rock houses and bluffs all had water falling down them, could have taken an icy shower. Big Possum Creek was beautiful. The climb up the other side was steep but the views from the top of the ridge were clear. Layers started coming off. The sun was warm. 3 of our hikers stopped by the creek and turned back. We kept going. We got a phone call that one of those hikers was misplaced so two more turned back to help find the missing one. After word of this got up the trail 2 more turned back to help with finding the hiker. We were down to 8 hikers. We kept going. We hiked to Imodium falls to have lunch. The falls had more water coming over than any of us had ever seen.  According to the hike description from the CT we were 5.6 miles in. 4 of our hikers decided to hike out to the logging road for a shortcut to Retro Hughes Rd. Now down to 4 hikers, we started back to the trailhead. Were were moving on down the trail, stopping on the climbs to let the old heartrate slow down a bit. We met a hiker coming in; Firefighter from Chattanooga, new to the area, moved here from Miami. He said he had been looking on the CTC site and was hoping to do some volunteer work on the trail. We gave him some info and hiked on. Met up with a lady hiker going the same way we were. Found that she was also in the TTA  from Memphis and a seasonal interpretive Ranger Deena.

The other group had located their hiker, who had started back up the trail thinking the others had already started ahead of him. All was good.

We made it back to the trailhead in good time and the three guys headed toward Retro Hughes Road to pick up the ladies and I headed home.  11.2 miles. Woo hoo!

Pictures:

Sandhill Crane's - Dayton

Lora and I went down to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge to see the Sandhill Cranes.  They are having a festival this weekend and we thought that we should beat the crowd.  Lora had been told that there were thousands of them on the river and we had never gone to see them.  When we got there obviously there were not thousands.  We found out that the seven days of rain had made the river rise and the cranes had gone.  It was good to see the ones we saw.  We got to see three different hawks, one Blue Heron, and lots of smaller birds.  We did look the part with our camera and binoculars.  

Pictures:

Soddy Creek Section - Cumberland Trail

Cumberland Trail 12.1 Miles

Lora and I headed out to Soddy Daisy to hike the Cumberland trail.  We left a car on either end and hiked from Hotwater Road to Heiss Mountain Road.  We had not through hiked this section for the last three years even though we have both done trail maintenance in this area.

It was hot and humid today with some views blocked with the fog.  The trail was in good condition and we got to try out the two temporary bridges put in place over Deep Creek and Big Soddy Creek.  Thankfully they were there as the water was high and it would have been dangerous to cross without them.

Some of our pictures are a little foggy due to the weather.  This section contains multiple ecosystems and some of the most beautiful rock bluff areas on the trail.  There is alot of ups and downs with some being steep through the Gorges.  We saw lots of different birds and also some deer.

Pictures:

Big Island Loop

Pilot Wine Loop 1.6 miles
Big Island Loop 16
Pilot Wine Loop 1.6
Total Miles: 19.2

Lora and I headed to Big South Fork for an overnight hike.  We parked at the Station Camp East trailhead and hiked to the Big Island Loop from there.  We did this so that we would be on the river for a water source for that night.

Right off the bat, Lora found a wallet on the trail.  We figured it would be from a horse rider as there were about eight horse trailers in the parking lot.  When we got to the split for the Big Island Loop we met our first batch of horse riders and asked them if they knew the person we were looking for.  No, they did not know them.  We headed on.  The trail was muddy in places as any horse trail is.  The cold temperatures from the night before kept the mud hard and the puddles were frozen over.  We passed a couple of hunters that were hanging out at their van on Big Island road.  They didn't have any luck with deer hunting.

The trail swings around and meets the road again at the dead end.  We met the same group of horse riders at the dead end.  They headed out and we started the decent down to the river.  We took a break at the Big Island Crossing.  That trail was pretty much a creek and we took it down to the river.  It looked a little too deep to ford this time of year.  It started sleeting on us here and we hiked on.

Not far down the trail we had two other horses pass us and neither one of them looked like the ID in the wallet.  Soon afterwards two horses came toward us and both of them were looking on the trail.  One happened to be the guy we were looking for and he sure was happy to see us.  We found out that he was part of the first group that we met, but the guy went by his middle name not his first name.  He was part of a group of eighteen which we met at the Burke cabin, which is an old cabin that they keep in good repair and is used on a regular basis.  It has two bedrooms and a large loft along with a main room with a fire place.  The horse riders really wanted us to stay there for the night.  They said it was the best place on the river to stay.  They just don't understand backpackers.  We hiked on.

We played tag with the riders again before we stopped for the night.  We were just shy of Station Camp crossing.  We set up on the side of the river and enjoyed a peaceful evening by the fire.  Late into the night we got to hear the owls talking. 

The next morning we went about a quarter of a mile to Station Camp and checked out the crossing there.  It too is way under water.  Then we did the climb back to the top of the plateau.  At the Slaven Cemetery we walked to the road and went to the Chimney Rocks which are right by the cemetery and beside the road.  Two really cool rock formations.  After that we got back on the trail.  The trails crosses Station Camp Road and then Big Island Road.  Lots of rock formations to look at.  We passed by the Indian Rock House, which is a really cool place to visit, because we had just visited it last hike here.  From here we hiked on to the car.  The mud had thawed which made it more interesting.

Another great overnight hike at the Big South Fork.

Pictures:

Sequatchie Valley Institute

My hiking partner was on shift today so I visited the Sequatchie Valley Institute  They were having an open house and craft sale. They also offered hiking their trails. The Institute is all about sustainable living.

Got there around 11 and followed the host up the trail from the parking lot. It was a mile to the main house called Moonshadow. There are many other structures on the property. Built out of rocks, clay, straw and logs powered by the sun built by folks during workshops on sustainable living. I toured the grounds, checking out the organic gardens, greenhouse full of cacti, orchard, and the main house. The crafts were set up inside the main house. It is heated by solar and a fireplace. They collect rainwater too. There were lots of talented folks showing their crafts of wood, glass, paper, and more.

There are 400 acres belonging to the Institute. I walked back to my car, got my pack and hiking stick, got directions from the host and started up the ridge. I was heading for the rock house on the top of the ridge. They had it marked with ribbons so it was fairly easy to follow even with all the leaves on the ground. It was pretty steep climbing. When I reached the top i explored the rock house taking in the views of the Sequatchie Valley. Beautiful! Found another hiker at the top who had "found an alternate route up" (goat trail). We hiked down together, He agreed my route was easier.
It was a beautiful day to be in the woods and explore a really interesting place.

Pictures:

AT- Wayah Bald to Fontana Dam

Wayah Bald to Rocky Bald 8 Miles
Rocky Bald to Jump Up 14.2
Jump Up to Brown Fork Gap 11
Brown Fork Gap to Cable Gap 6.1
Cable Gap to Fontana Dam 6.9
Total Miles: 46.2

Well we finally got another five day section of the AT in.  We started back at Wayah Bald where we left off last time.  This time we actually had a view from the tower as last time we were clouded in.  It was around two o'clock when we headed out.  We stopped by the Wayah Bald shelter to check it out and then headed on down the mountain.  We crossed 1397 and started climbing Copper Ridge Bald.  The Cold Spring Shelter is right on the trail.  They have just finished remodeling it and it looks good.  We really appreciate the trail maintainers and volunteer workers.  We climbed up Rocky Bald and took the side trail up the rock to see the views.  Then we hiked down to the campsite just down and on the left with the spring at it.  This was night one right at eight miles in.  We saw some giant grasshoppers, a turkey, and one hiker in this section.  We heard owls that night as we set up camp and were sitting around the campfire.

DAY TWO
We got up in the morning knowing that we had 12 miles to make today.  When we got to Tellico Gap we found a couple of trucks with hunters and dogs.  They were hunting bear and as we started up the trail we heard the dogs doing there tracking.  We listened to them for quite some time as there path was heading the same as the trail.  We climbed up to Wesser Bald and climbed the lookout tower.  It was another beautiful 360 degree view.  We had to get a picture of all the moss growing on the trees by the tower.

We stopped for lunch and while we were visiting, I heard a noise in the leaves.  I asked Lora to be quite and we listened as it got closer.  A gray fox walked right up to within ten feet of us.  He stared at us for a while and did the head bob thing.  After he didn't get anything out of us, he turned around and went back down the side of the mountain.

After lunch we came to the "Jump up" or boulder outcropping that had a great view of the valley below.  We passed a father with two sons doing a backpack.  We continued the steep descent down to the NOC.  We saw a building that was right off the trail which we first thought was a shelter and then decided that maybe it was a fancy hunting blind.  Later on down the trail we found the Rufus Morgan Shelter.  When we got to the NOC we were tired of going downhill.  The NOC is seasonal so the store and restaurant is the only businesses open in the winter.  We were going to use the restroom facilities across the river but we found those locked as well.  We crossed the railroad tracks and start the climb out of the river gorge.  This is when we thought about the water that we were going to get at the NOC.  Well, we counted on the spring at the campground before Grassy Gap.

We passed another couple hiking the other direction.  The lady had sprained her ankle and was hopping slowly down the trail.  Not a good day for her.

When we got to the campground we realized that there was no water.  Our next choice was to keep going until we found some.  We finally found a spring coming out of a rock area across the trail.  We filled up and then the hunt was on for a flat spot with our headlamps on.  After we climbed the "Jump Up" there was a flat spot next to the trail and we called it a night.  Our twelve mile day had turned into a fourteen mile day.  No fire, just rest tonight.

DAY THREE
We slept in this morning.  We had cut our eight mile hike today down to six miles so we slowly got ready and climbed toward Cheoah Bald.  We stopped at the Sassafras Gap shelter and filled our water up.  Cheoah Bald, the last time I was up here with Dad and Steve was a beautiful cloud.  This time you could see for miles and miles.  The sun was shining and the views were wonderful.  We took us a good rest before we descended to Locust Cove Gap.  We passed some more bear hunters and their dogs.

It was lunch time now so we studied the map and trail descriptions.  We were feeling good and there was a piped spring at Stecoah Gap.  It would only be an eight mile day, nine if we went to the next level spot.  Off we went!

After the major descent into Stecoah Gap we were pretty much tired out.  We went in search of our piped spring.  We searched and searched to no avail.  Finally we broke out the map and found the 2.5 miles to Brown Fork Gap shelter the next water.  We started the climb and came across two backpackers coming down the trail drinking beer.  Wow, they are good!  After talking to them, they told us there was beer just ahead on the side of the trail.  No, I did not run Lora over......it was more of a push.  After my beautiful wonderful beer, I was in happy land hiking up the trail wondering why Lora was not so happy.

There is one hell of climb to get up to Brown Fork  from Sweetwater Gap.  It was killer after a long day.  We got into the shelter just as it got dark enough to use a headlamp.  Our short day had now been eleven miles.  We did a campfire and watched the shooting stars for a while before bed.  

DAY FOUR
We slept in and then enjoyed breakfast around the fire.  We packed up and hiked about three miles then took a break at Cody Gap.  After a short nap we continued our hike.  We stopped for lunch and if someone would have hiked by us he would have though that we were in a wreck.  Our shoes were off, our packs scattered, and we were laying by the trail fast asleep.  The last couple of days had caught up to us.  We only had six miles to do today to get back on our schedule so we took advantage of it.

Cable Gap shelter kind of sneaks up on you.  Your walking the side of a mountain and all of the sudden there it is.  We set up camp, gathered wood, and collected water.  It wasn't long before we had a fire going, dinner done, and watched the stars come out.  We slept well again, except for the one visitor that got my full attention in the middle of the night.  I heard it coming from the shelter and walk around the tent.  It walked away for a few steps and then nothing.  I listened and listened.  I knew I needed to use the bathroom now, but I waited.  Finally I unzipped the tent to find that it was gone and we were all alone.  It had to be a bear with as heavy and loud it was walking.

DAY FIVE
This was our final day.  We had 6.9 miles to Fontana Dam.  Another beautiful morning and a hiking we went.  I did have to make contact with our shuttle as there was no service last night.  After a few different attempts, I finally got to leave a message for them.

Somewhere before Walker Gap we came across a thru hiker.  As he was talking he said that he had got caught in the Smoky's in a snow storm.  Lora of course said that she had read in the news paper where a hiker had to be rescued by helicopter from the AT and he said yes, that was him.  Solo has a journal that you must read of his survival in the shelter.  He went to sleep in the shelter to wake up to over four feet of snow when hurricane Sandy went through.  Check out his link!  He was now finishing the trail with two very injured feet and with a very positive attitude.

We began the long decent down to Fontana Lake.  By the time we got to the bottom the knees and feet were hurting a bit.  Another mile and a half and we made it to the dam where Mom and Dad were waiting for us.

We did a late lunch at the NOC and then they took us to our car.  We walked back out to the tower so that they too could see the view that they missed the last trip.

Pictures:

Roaring Creek - Cumberland Trail

Lora and I headed out to hike the Roaring Creek segment of the Cumberland trail.  This trailhead is in Graysville off Brayton Mountain Road and is a two mile section that has not been connected yet to any other section of the trail.  We met the Plateau Chapter of the Tennessee Trails Association at the trailhead.  They had just finished the hike.  The trail follows Roaring Creek and then turns uphill and ends currently at an overlook of Graysville.  From the overlook you can see the mountains of East Tennessee and the Soddy Nuclear Plant.  We got to watch a hawk flying over while we were eating our lunch.

Pictures:

Map:

Pilot/Wine Loop Trail - Big South Fork

Day One:
Pilot / Wines Loop 8.2 miles
Day Two:
Pilot / Wines Loop 5
Dome Rockhouse 1.2 miles
Pilot / Wines Loop 1.6
Bronco Overlook trail 1.8 miles
Total Miles: 17.8

Lora and I headed out for an overnight hike.  We went to the Big South Fork area and hiked the Pilot Wine loop plus a little extra.

We started out at the Station Camp East trailhead and hiked counterclockwise.  We passed a quite a few horse riders out this time.  The last time that I hiked this trail with Troy, we missed Pilot Rock.  I was determined not to miss it this time.  Once again as we hiked through the rock wall section when the trail turned steeply downhill off to the right, I pulled out the trail description.  There is no trail to Pilot rock.  There may have been at one time, so Lora and I headed straight out the ridge and BANG, there it is.  You cannot see it from the trail, but a few yards in and there is a huge rock sitting on top of the ridge.  I was excited to find it this time!

After Pilot rock we headed down to Grassy branch where we followed the horse trail off down stream to find a place to camp.  If you stay to the right and go upstream on Williams branch there is a place in the woods that makes a good campsite.  We did some exploring in the area after we set up camp and collected firewood.  We heard a couple of owls that night.

The next morning we got up and started the steep climb out of the river gorge.  The leaves that were still hanging on were green or red making a pretty picture.  There were so many leaves on the trail that we didn't hear much wildlife let alone our conversation with each other.  When we came to the second connection with the Big Island Loop we meet some horse riders that were trying to figure out what to see today.  We told them about stuff in the area and they too took the trail to the Dome Rockhouse.

The Dome Rockhouse is like a large room in a cave with a large opening.  It is really cool with the rock being different colors in the dome part.  After that we hiked back to the Pilot Wine Loop trail and made it back to the parking lot. 

We dropped the packs and hiked the Bronco Overlook (Station Camp East Overlook) trail.  This is an easy walking trail through the woods to a good overlook of the Big South Fork Gorge.

Pictures: