AT from Hot Springs, NC to the Smokies

It was early December when Johnny and longtime hiking pal John Cox left Hot Springs, NC, southbound on the Appalachian Trail.  They made the short uphill walk to Deer Park Mountain shelter, and set up the first camp.  They gathered plenty o' wood for the long dark night, but it wasn't quite as cold as they thought it would be.

Winter Skies offer Clear View of the Smokies from Max Patch

The hiking got a little tougher as they made the long slug up to Bluff Mountain on a cooling day, eventually making Walnut Mountain shelter, after a 9 miles on the trail.  The wind was howlin' up there and thus began a 40 plus hour period of subfreezing temperatures, which qualifies as a "Freeze-out" hike.

Johnny and John at the Walnut Mountain shelter

Sunset from Atop Walnut Mountain

The wind was howling the next morning as they continued south, passing some open views from balds being restored.  It was a lot of ups and downs getting to Max Patch, where the views were incredible and so was the wind.  Beyond the fields of Max Patch, the cold sunny day led them 13 total miles to Groundhog Creek shelter, where we once again had the shelter to ourselves. That is the upside of winter hiking, you have the backcountry to yourselves.  (I saw one other hiker in 4 days on the most popular trail in America)

                      Johnny and John Cox at Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail

The sun soon sunk after getting to the campsite. The two gathered wood aplenty for the cold night, where temps dropped to single digits.

      Plenty of wood at the shelter                  View of John at a warming fire

Next day we pushed it south nearly 12 miles, passing I-40, then making Davenport Gap as the sun was lowering on another cold day in the Southern Appalachians.  After this hike, I completed the goal of hiking the entire part of the Appalachian Trail where it traverses through or near Tennessee, a total of 280 miles.

Iron Mountain Trail

Unnamed Creek in the Cherokee National Forest

May is a great time to backpack fishing for trout.  Recently, Johnny and buddy Steve "Devo" Grayson embarked on a 4 day trip to Unnamed Creek in the Cherokee National Forest.  This Unnamed Creek is one of Johnny's favorite haunts and he refuses to divulge its location to even the webmaster.

The first afternoon was sunny, then major storms moved in, and Johnny got bombed by lightning, thunder and heavy rain, but he still managed to get some fishing in, between rounds of hanging out under the tarp.  That night, it was drip, drip, drip under the tarp.

Next morning, Johnny got a fire going then cooked pancakes for breakfast, along with coffee, then headed up to the Yellow Birch Campsite. 

     Johnny vying for trout on Unnamed Creek

After a respite, he once again tackled Unnamed Creek, this time keeping three for the frying pan.  Devo showed up later at the camp, and he went for a late evening session, snagging one dink.  Good thing they weren't relying on him for dinner!

               Yellow Birch Campsite                               Brown Trout that were eaten

The next day was cool and sunny, a perfect mountain day.  Johnny and Devo headed upstream to one of Johnny's favorite campsites, White Pine Campsite, nestled in white pine woods next to a clearing next to Unnamed Creek.  Nary a person came by.  Along the way, the pair spotted a colony of pink Lady Slippers.

                 Pink Lady Slippers                          Devo takes trailside photo

The day proved both beautiful and productive, with many trout caught, some ending up in our bellies.  What fun!  The third night was cool, too.  We arose at dawn, enjoying one last mountain morning, before returning to the trailhead, at the lower end of Unnamed Creek, passing beaver dammed side streams, which also held trout.

     Fish Eye View of Unnamed Creek                  Devo fishes from beaver dam

Gentry Creek/Rogers Ridge

Streams, Balds and Tri State Corner on Northeast Tennessee

    Gentry Falls             Bryan scrambles past Gentry Falls      Painted Trillium

 After camping along the creek, we headed into the high country, following unmaintained trails up to Rogers Ridge.  We weren’t sure we were going the right way until we got there.  But once atop, the views were spectacular.  The bald stretched a long ways. 

Atop Rogers Ridge

 We kept cruising higher, just taking in the atmosphere, then we ran into some fellows from Kingsport, TN and they led us to Tri State Corner, the point where Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina come together.

      Bryan and Johnny at Tri State Corner

 We returned from Tri State Corner to our fellow Tennesseans, and they made us lunch.  We visited around the fire, then headed back down Rogers Ridge, taking more wildflower pictures before heading back to the trailhead.

    Bryan takes pictures near Gentry Creek                             Wood betony

Unaka Wilderness/Dicks Creek Hike

Hiking Tennessee’s Unaka Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest

It was a warm spring day when I left Rock Creek Campground in the Cherokee National Forest near Erwin, Tennessee.  I soon crested a ridge then dropped into the Dicks Creek drainage. I followed the stream until I found Dicks Creek Falls, by listening for the roar.  The fall is hidden by rhododendron.  From there I headed over to Limestone Cove, then took the Limestone Cove Trail up nearly 2,500 feet to the upper reaches of Unaka Mountain, where red spruce grow in abundance.

 I found a campsite in a gap near a spruce grove.  Water wasn’t too far.  I surprised at the chill up there.  Of course, the leaves were weeks behind those at home in nearby Johnson City.  The high country, with its fragrant evergreens was very nice.

     Campsite near junction of Limestone Cove and Stamping Ground trails

I then made then descent from spruce country along Rattlesnake Ridge, dropping 2,500 feet in 3 miles.  Many views opened on the descent, especially in the dry, south facing piney areas.  Before long I left Unaka Wilderness and was back at Rock Creek Campground.

Big Laurel Branch Wilderness
A Mix of Fall and Winter on One Three Night Trip

 Bryan Delay and I set forth on the Appalachian Trail near Shady Valley, TN.  Bryan was finishing his quest to hike the entire Tennessee portion of the AT, from Damascus, VA to Fontana Lake Dam, on the south side of the Smokies.  It was cold and the trees were turning.  The chill air brought snow and we stopped at Double Springs Gap shelter, where a fire warmed us through the evening, despite the strong wind.

Icy precipitation continued the next morn, as we kept southbound, reaching the Iron Mountain shelter 8 miles later.  The snow was still flyin’ as Bryan went to get water.  I was at a fresh fire when Bryan returned with a bag of snow!  The spring was dry!  We gathered and melted water for snow, grateful for the snow, which provided us with aqua.  We kept laughing about going to “gather” water, in the form of snow to melt for food and drink.  The fire was warm but the incessant wind kept blowing smoke in our faces.

The next day dawned clear, the snow melted as dropped in elevation. We enjoyed the far reaching views from the crest of Iron Mountain, including the Vandeventer shelter, which we spurned for a campsite in a gap below the shelter.  A cold clear night ensued, but the winds were nil.  We kept southbound the next day, passing through the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness, circling around Watauga Lake, then climbed Pond Mountain, where we were disappointed had no water.

So we dropped on down to Laurel Fork, my second favorite stream in the world, and camped there.  The 14 mile day left us whipped.  We camped on the banks of Laurel Fork, enjoying the milder temperatures.  The final day we walked up Laurel Fork back to my waiting vehicle.  Bryan had then completed his goal of hiking all the AT through Tennessee.

Fall Trip in Citico Wilderness

This Place is a Gem of the Southern Cherokee National Forest