This blog covers my Smoky Mountain hikes; it also includes a link to pictures from one of my cross country ski ventures.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Hyatt ridge 1.8, Enloe Creek 3.6, Hughes Ridge 2.5, Dry Sluice Gap 3.3, Bradley Fork 5.5


We met at Food Lion at 7 and Sugarlands at 8. Two cars left from Sugarlands, with one being dropped at Smokemont and the other proceeding to the Hyatt Ridge trailhead.
Individuals making this hike included Mike Miller, Barbara Slover, Gary Niebart, Judy Collins, and me (believe that Jim Harb & Lowell Reid also went on it). Mike and Barbara left an hour earlier; we caught up with them. Judy & Barbara needed to pick up a trail that they had missed previously; the rest of us went down Bradley Fork all the way to Smokemont. Then we got into car ferrying; the car left at Smokemont was used to ferry drivers to retrieve the two cars at the Hyatt Ridge trailhead; then back to Smokemont. I was following Mike in his car and he was driving Judy's son's big SUV. I got behind traffic and lost him but fortunately Gary found me.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

7/16/05 Hike (18 miles)

Because of the expectance of heavy rain (we really got wet the preceeding Wed.), the 13th's hike was held on the 16th.

I was with Mike Miller and Gary Niebart. From the Cooper Creek trailhead in NC, Cooper Creek to Deeplow Gap trail, to Indian Creek trail to Martins Gap trail to Sunkota Ridge trail to Thomas Divide and the junction of the Newton Bald and Mingus Creek trails. From there the group split. Mike Miller and I went half way down Mingus Creek to the intersection with Deeplow Gap trail and then back to Cooper Creek
and the car.

y's hike was kind of blah; this will be brief. It too started in NC relatively close to Cherokee.

Hyatt Ridge Trail--1.8 mi--it was mostly up.

Enloe Creek Trail--3.6 mi., non-descript.

Hughes Ridge Trail--2.5 mi. Since I had been on this one going South (it was North today), those miles do not count for me.

Bradley Fork Trail--5.7 mi.

Chasteen & Bradley Fork--1.2 mi. (can't count it because I did it 2 weeks ago.

Above figures seem a little low--on my pedometer it was 16.2--that is a little high.

Trail heads seldom start the same place a hike is finished; this time I was involved in driving another's car from the head to the end (we had 2 vehicles at the head and one at the finish--3 of the fastest hikers had to move cars).

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

AT 10.4, Hughes Ridge 4.7, Chasteen Creek 4.4, Bradley Fork 2.2

I hiked with Mike Miller, Gary Neibert, Judy Collins, Barbara Slover, Lowell Reid, and Jim Harb.

From Newfound Gap, we went on the AT to Charlie’s Bunion and then on to Peck’s Corner, down Hughes Ridge and Chasteen Creek trails to lower Bradley Fork trail to Smokemont Campground – 20.7 miles. It rained incessantly as we neared Peck's Corner; we stopped in this shelter for lunch. Because the rain did not let up, we proceeded down Hughes Ridge trail; it was in essence a creek (gortex eventually failed in both boots).