Mt. Sterling

Day 20 - Benton MacKaye Trail

Our last day is finally here!!  Everyone was up and moving around at 7:30 and we were in a hurry to get moving.  Even though the forecast predicted rain, we woke up to sunshine and we were in a race with the weather.  Mt. Sterling, the highest point on the BMT at more than 5800 feet, was waiting for us and I wanted NoKey to get the view I think is the best in the Smokies.  We did a quick 5.8 miles in less than 2.5 hours to get to the top by 10:45 am.  We were definitely rewarded! 

Looking at the AT from Mt Sterling on a nearly perfectly clear morning! 

Looking at the AT from Mt Sterling on a nearly perfectly clear morning! 

From here, we got a few texts out to my family to let them know we would be done by 1:30 and shot off down Baxter Creek Trail for a 4000-foot elevation loss down to Big Creek Campground. 

Finally! We won't be walking in horse poo!! 

Finally! We won't be walking in horse poo!! 

We made it down the hill in 2 hours and finished the trail at 1:20 pm.  There were tons of people picnicking in the day use area, so we were able to get a photo of the two of us together at the terminus of the BMT with my homemade sign.  It was a great feeling to have sunny skies to finish this tough trail. 

We did it! 

We did it! 

I will be writing a recap of the BMT in a few days and sharing it with you all.  This trail had three very distinct sections, broken up every 100 miles or so.  It feels great to be back home in a temperature controlled environment with comfy beds, but two more trails await us this summer! 

Mt. Sterling Part 2, 11-5-11

I made my second trip up to the Mt. Sterling Fire Tower this year on another beautiful day. This time the trip would be a little longer, coming in at close to 20 miles.  Since this was the last day of Daylight Savings Time, I was up and on the road at 5:30 in the morning so we could start in time to not be pushing dark.  

The hike began at Pretty Hollow Gap Trail in Cataloochee.  On the way in to the trailhead, there were tons of elk in the fields, including a very large male with an impressive set of antlers.  The sun was just starting to shine in the valley with all the mist and fog, so it was truly an amazing site to see!  We started off up Pretty Hollow Gap Trail at 8:20 a.m. and in the first 0.8 miles didn’t gain much elevation.  We passed the horse camp at 0.2 miles and came to the Little Cataloochee Trail at mile 0.8.  The trail is still very much a wide road and gravel.  Horse poop is everywhere.  The large road continued upward to mile 1.6 where Palmer Creek Trail connects and goes to Balsam Mtn. Road.  Shortly ahead, campsite #39 had only one camper there for the night.  Who can blame people for not camping?  It was 28 degrees in Maggie Valley on Friday night!  Just past the campsite is where our real uphill began and continued on for about 6 more miles.  We crossed a few frozen foot logs, which were nice and slippery, and had a good creek crossing where my feet got a little wet.  The trail had narrowed considerably at this point to the size of a normal foot path and remained muddy and deeply trenched almost the entire way to the top.  Horse poop was everywhere as well.  When I hiked on the other side of Cataloochee in the early fall, we had remarked how we thought there’d be more mud.  I think we found it today!  

At about 10:45, we reached the top of this trail at Pretty Hollow Gap.  There was a lot of frost at the top of the hill and it was substantially cooler.  We took a short break and began the 1.4 miles left until we reached the fire tower.  Having hiked this portion of the trail previously, I knew what we were in for.  The trail wasn’t as steep as I had remembered and the climb up to the top went by quickly.  We were up to the tower in less than an hour and there was a huge group of people up there.  The views were just as stunning as before on this clear morning and it was a great time to take photos and take it all in.  We stayed at the top and had lunch before heading down the trail.  

Coming down Mount Sterling Trail was a little steeper than the route we’d climbed up on Pretty Hollow Gap.  The trail was rocky and covered with leaves, so you had to have careful footing, as well as keen eyes so not to step in horse poop.  The views all the way down the hill were amazing and elevation was lost rather quickly. There were only two switchbacks on this trail as well, so it was definitely nice to have the views in your line of site.  At 1:20, I reached the junction of Long Bunk Trail and waited on my friends.  Elise and Mary ran out the 0.5 miles and then back to complete this portion of trail for Elise’s map while Lyn and Lorelei continued on down Long Bunk.  

Elise, Mary, and I started down Long Bunk Trail and immediately we ran into deep leaves and horse ruts.  This trail was definitely gorgeous, but technically a nightmare due to the fact that the ruts were deep and not visible underneath the leaves.  It was nice to have a good set of trekking poles on this trail because I stumbled pretty much the whole way!  The mud trenches going up and downhill on this trail were killer and much like quicksand. Your feet would get stuck, you’d stub your toes, and fall over.  Don’t forget horse poop!  You’re well acquainted by now! It was very obvious this trail was a road at one time, widening out close to the trailhead and home sites were definitively obvious near the creek crossings.  With 0.2 miles until the Little Cataloochee Trail, the Hannah Cemetery was on our left with more than 50 graves and a few very elaborate headstones.  

We all met up at the Little Cataloochee Trail and Elise and Mary went out to grab an extra 1 mile for Elise’s map, leaving Lyn, Lorelei, and myself to head on alone. This part of the trail was definitely the most rewarding.  Less than 0.5 miles down the trail, the Hannah Cabin had been moved and restored off the right side of the trail.  Continuing onward to mile 0.6 was the Little Cataloochee Baptist Church, which sat at the top of a hill and was beautifully maintained with a large cemetery. Continuing onward and now downhill for a bit, you pass through the former community of Ola.  There were lots of fence remnants and wash tubs out in the woods to see as you passed by.  Finally, at mile 1.6, you come to the Cook Cabin. The old applehouse stone structure is standing on one side of the creek and on the other the cabin, restored in the 1990s after years of vandalism.  From here, we had a big, but short uphill segment.  There was a lot to look at on our way up the hill, including lots of stone walls leading up to Davidson Gap.  After reaching the gap, it was all downhill until we hit the car.  

I ended up breaking away from Lyn and Lorelei after taking a break at the top of Davidson Gap.  The hiking went quickly from here, albeit muddy with the creek running in the trail at some points.  The last bit of Little Cataloochee Trail was a blur.  By the time I reached Pretty Hollow Gap Trail, I was flying downhill and reached the parking lot at 5:20 p.m.  Lyn and Lorelei were close behind at 5:45.  I had lots of time to wait on Mary and Elise, who came at 6:30.  

The sun set soon after we got to the car and the hike was perfect in it’s own way. I wish the mud and the horse poop hadn’t been so bad, but it is a heavily used area and the weeks leading up to our hike had been so beautiful that so many people had been out using the trails.  I truly enjoyed this hike and all the history that came with it. 

Big/Baxter Creeks with a view from Mt. Sterling - 8/28/11

On Sunday, a friend and I went to the Big Creek area of the Smokies, a place where we’d never been before.  Big Creek is absolutely stunning and truly seems unspoiled when it comes to places in the Smokies.  We both were instantly in love and have decided to go back to this area again very soon!

We began our hike from the Big Creek picnic area and it was a little chilly here Sunday morning.  Lots of shade and early morning meant for cooler temps, so it was great we were hiking to warm up a little!  We began our slow and gentle climb of Big Creek Trail, which is 5.1 miles.  The trail follows a former logging railroad, which was turned into a Jeep road by the CCC.  Walking went quickly up the gentle grade.  At 1.5 miles, we saw Midnight Hole, which is a deep and dark swimming pool used by hikers.  Even though the creek was running pretty low due to lack of rain, it was still pretty deep in some places.  At 2.3 miles we came to a very large, seemingly new bridge running high over the creek. There were tall walls of solid rock on the other side of the creek, which were actually blasted out at the time the railroad was put in.  We continued the gentle climb and passed Brakeshoe Spring at mile 2.8, which appeared to be dry.  Just shy of the 2-hour mark, we made it to our first trailhead at 5.1 miles.  We decided to go ahead up to the Low Gap Trail, 0.2 miles away, just for the sake of going.  Campsite 37 (hikers only!) lies between the two trailheads.  It was a gorgeous site right on Big Creek.  Plenty of water and easy terrain.  I think I know where I’d like to do an easy backpack!  

We made our way back down to the Swallow Fork Trail and got ready for our big climb of the day.  The first 1.5 miles or so were gentle like Big Creek Trail.  We walked along quickly and the trail was just gorgeous.  Lots of greenery and the sounds of the creek made for an awesome walk in the woods.  Add to that the fact that the weather was mild and the sky was blue, clear, and cloudless.  We made it to the foot bridge at Swallow Fork and the water was just gorgeous.  About 0.5 miles further, we reached our first unbridged crossing at McGinty Creek, which was very low and easy to rock-hop. Now, the true climb was to begin.  Looking to your left, you can see remnants of an old campsite that hasn’t been used legally since the early 1970s.  It was flat, lush, and next to the creek.  Looking across the creek, you could tell that the old railroad used to run over there as well.  The climb was never difficult, but was constant and just enough to keep you moving.  At mile 3.1, the trail takes a sharp right turn to go up the side of the mountain.  They really need a sign here because we continued straight and ran into some backpackers who’d done the same.  They let us know that it just goes straight down and stopped looking like a trail after you got to the bottom.  There were only a few sticks at the junction, looking more like light blow-down than blocker to keep you on the right path.  

From here up to mile 4, the climb was steeper, but again never difficult.  On this last stretch we did end up seeing some wildflowers for the first time that day.  There were pink turtlehead and what I think was whorled wood aster.  After one last push up the hill, we’d made it to the Mt. Sterling Ridge Trailhead at Pretty Hollow Gap and stopped for lunch under the blue sky.  

After lunch, it was a short 1.5 mile climb to campsite 38 at the base of the fire tower. The short climb was a bit rocky, but ended on a gentle ridge line on a grassy knoll area. Through some of the trees, we could see a view down into Maggie Valley and the promise of amazing views from Mt. Sterling kept us going.  We met back up with the backpackers, after leapfrogging with them at Pretty Hollow Gap, at the junction of Mt. Sterling Trail and continued up the short 0.4 miles to the tower.  When we got there, the skies were clear and the views were stunning.  We climbed up the 6 flights of narrow and steep stairs to the platform and had 360-degree views of at least 5 ridge lines into NC and all of the Smokies, as well as Max Patch to the east.  We took a lot of photos and then made a careful climb down the stairs to the Baxter Creek Trailhead, a trail where we’d lose 4100 feet of elevation in 6.1 miles.

About 0.3 miles down the trail we came to an illegal campsite with trash in the “fire pit” at the junction of the water source for campsite 38.  People wonder why there were signs up saying aggressive bears are in the area…  We continued the steep climb downhill through forests full of large, dead fir trees and dead hemlocks.  The forest was interesting on this trail, as all the large trees were dead, but the ground was usually covered by thick mosses and ferns, keeping the landscape green.  Two miles down the trail we came to a switchback with a sign pointing us in the right direction of the trail, as Big Branch Manway intersects here.  We also saw lots of galax along this part of the trail.  We continued downward into a rhododendron tunnel that was extensive.  When there were breaks in the rhodo tunnels, there would be chestnut snags to the sides of the trails.  It was encouraging to see sprouts from the root systems, but also sad knowing that the blight would get them too as soon as they grew large enough for the bark to split.  We continued down the mountain in the strangely green dead tree forest.  With about 1.75 miles to do down the trail, it started to level out a bit and the large boulders we’d seen at Big Creek were back, as well as a few very large rock walls that had been blasted in the days of the railroad.  We’d crossed several very dry creek beds in this flatter portion of trail and a few wetter seeps, but nothing that wasn’t easily rock-hopped.  Very suddenly, you can hear the water of Baxter Creek and evidence of CCC trail work is everywhere with rock walls.  

The end of the trail definitely snuck up on us with lots of people at the picnic area watching their kids play in the creek.  We crossed the bridge and were at the trailhead at about 4 p.m.  We saw lots of picnicing families and thought about grabbing us a few hotdogs and chips before we left.  Big Creek is definitely a gem in the Smokies and I can’t wait to return!