Deep Creek 3.9n & 3.6n, 4.3pd, & 1.0n, 0.7pd, + Juney Whank Falls & Deep Creek Horse Trail parts pd

Picked up John Kennerly and Duane Simmons at 7:00 at Lakeside Market; we proceeded to Food Lion and picked up Janetta Baker at 7:15. At 8:00 we arrived at SVC and John suggested that we see if those doing other trails to Deep Creek Campground were there; to my surprise Lowell Reid and his passengers Mike Miller, Tom Wainner, Richard Ryburn and Manfred Grotewere were there. (Pam Reddoch and Ellie Doughty were taking Sunkota Ridge to Deep Creek and had left at least an hour earlier because their hike was a long one.)

We proceeded to our trailhead and started our hike at 8:15. We completed the 3.9 mi. to Campsite 53 at 10:35 and talked to three campers. (Somewhere along here I wondered if I had turned off my lights but assumed that I must have.) We arrived at Campsite 55 at 11:15 having completed the two upper sections of Deep Creek Trail that I had not done (3.9 & 3.6 mi. sections); we then had a leisurely lunch (see 1st pic). Shortly after we resumed hiking on the portion of Deep Creek that I had previously done, John went back to retrieve his glasses. Duane took Martins Gap at Campsite 57; Janetta and I waited there and proceeded with John's arrival. The entire Deep Creek trail follows quite close to the creek (2nd pic). At 1:49 we reached the Loop Trail junction with Deep Creek; the next 1-mi. section of Deep Creek was all that I needed to complete its entire length of 14.2 miles. John took a picture of Janetta and me after we completed it at 2:10. We were very close to the Deep Creek Pavilion at this point; Janetta and I proceeded while John went on the Deep Creek Horse Trail. Because Janetta had not done the Juney Whank Falls trail we did it. We met John John and we did the last section of the Deep Creek Horse Trail with him.

The three of us arrived at the Deep Creek Pavilion at about 2:30; that was 2 hrs before our bus pickup. Pam and Ellie arrived shortly, then Duane. Lowell, Tom, and Mike arrived, followed shortly by Richard and Manfred. All of us then had about a 60 min. wait for the bus. We were picked up at 4:30 and proceeded through Bryson City and Cherokee to the GSMNP. We first passed Lowell’s and Pam’s vehicles and the driver turned around shortly after passing mine and dropped the four of us off. My fears were confirmed; my lights had not been turned off. We flagged down Lowell and sure enough he had jumper cables; my goof resulted in no more than a 10-15 min. departure delay. (We were extremely lucky in my screw-ups timing; tomorrow I will purchase an auxiliary starting battery.) We proceeded back to Maryville and I dropped off my passengers and arrived home at ~7:00 p.m.

Despite the battery problem, this was a great day; I completed 8.5 new miles out of the ~15 miles hiked. All of the 14.2 miles of Deep Creek Trail hiked were new ones for Janetta; they were also new ones for John on his second map.

Caldwell Fork 0.8n, Boogerman 3.9n, Caldwell Fork 0.5n, Big Fork Ridge 3.2n, Big Fork Ridge 3.2pd, Caldwell Fork 0.5pd, Caldwell Fork 1.9n, Caldwell F

We had intended to do this hike yesterday but at 6:15 a.m. BZ called since the weather conditions did not look too good. We decided to do the hike today; although BZ Lane, Cecil Rowe, & John Kennerly could do it today, Bob Bolinger had a prior commitment. I picked up Cecil at 7:15 at his home and John at Tyson Park at 7:20. We arrived at Exit 440 at ~8:15; BZ arrived within 5 minutes and we proceeded to Exit 20 in NC. We got started on the Caldwell Fork Trail at 9:30.

In 2 hrs we completed 4.7 mi; Boogerman had a bit of climb. (At the turn of the century the Cataloochee area was well populated; here my fellow hikers are standing by a stone fence that extended ~100 yards. In the next picture Cecil is standing within a hollowed-out maple; bears climb up these during hibernation but he did not see any.) In 15 min. we completed 0.5 mi. of Caldwell Fork and set out on Big Fork Ridge; we completed this 3.2 mi. section at 1:20. Here my compatriots (John, Cecil, & BZ) are standing by the trail sign; it is in this area that tourists come to see Elk at dusk. In 1.5 hr. we retraced our steps and completed Big Fork Ridge again. It was back to Caldwell Fork to repeat a 0.5 mi. section, then a new section of Caldwell Fork (1.9 mi.) and a repeat section of Caldwell Fork (0.8 mi.) At 3:45 we arrived at my vehicle.

John drove the backroads through the Park as I iced my knee; I started driving just before we arrived at I 40. This was a very good day for me; I had 10.3 mi. of new miles and only 4.5 mi. of repeat ones. My compatriots are all trying to complete their second 900 miles of trails and/or trying to help me complete

Alum Cave 5.0pd, Bullhead ~0.2pd, Bullhead 6.4pd, Old Sugarlands 0.4pd

Bob Bolinger was the only one able to do the Cataloochee Trails that we aborted Wed. Because I thought just the two of us in that remote area was contraindicated, I suggested that we work on trails that he needed. He suggested (1) Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte (one that both of us had done previously but one that he might take some Boy Scouts on and hence wanted to note conditions) and (2) Bullhead--one that he had not done but one that I had done ~1-yr. ago.

I met Bob at Sugarlands Visitor Center at ~8:20. (I got there a little early to make use of a 50% discount I had because of a donation to the Great Smoky Mountains Association; three books were the result.) We both drove to the Cherokee Orchard Rd with the intent of leaving his vehicle in the parking lot for the Rainbow Falls Trail; unfortunately we had to leave his vehicle ~1 mi. from this because of ice on the road. We then proceeded in my vehicle to the Alum Cave trail head on U.S. 441.

We started ~9:30; our fingers were cold for the first hour; the temperature was ~20 degrees. At ~11:00 I put on my Stabilicers and Bob put on his facsimile of same (after noting how ice walking was somewhat easier for me, he said that he was going to order the ones that I wore from LL Bean). There was a lot of ice on this trail. (I did not have my camera; Bob hopefully will have some great pictures which will be added later.) Those who have previously done this trail realize that there are a number of "cable holds" where the trail is somewhat perilous. Unfortunately the cables appear to be placed more for summer hikers; in the shade where the ice was quite evident, there were no cables. At this time of year Stabilicers (or some facsimile) are a must unless you are foolish enough to really like to take chances!

We arrived at LeConte ~12:00 and ate lunch; we proceeded down Bullhead ~12:30. There were a couple of icy sections but not nearly as bad as Alum Cave. We completed Bullhead and the 0.4 mi. section of Old Sugarlands and reached the parking area ~3:00. Since the road was closed when we left Bob's vehicle, we had to walk a little over a mile on the road that was now open to traffic.

It was a nice hike; although it was a nice conditioning hike for me, it was particularly a good one for Bob since he hiked 5.9 new miles of trails.

Hike Aborted

Arrived at Cecil's house at 7:15; a new fellow (Dwayne) was going with us. We picked up John Kennerly at Tyson Park and went to I 40. When we were in the Newport area the weather did not look good; at this point we went on to US 321 and drove towards the Park. Here the weather looked a bit better and we subsequently went back to I 40 to give it one more try. Again the weather looked quite iffy. We stopped at the NC rest stop and talked to a woman there; we then decided to abort the hike.

Juney Whank Falls 0.7n, Indian Creek ~1pd, Stone Pile Gap 0.9n, Thomas Divide 2.1pd, Indian Creek Motor Trail 1.8n, Thomas Divide 2.1pd, Thomas Divide

Although I still have the two upper sections of Deep Creek to do (3.9 & 3.6) as well as a 1-mi. section close to its terminus; I will get these in one swoop (I’ll also be repeating a 4.3 mi. section of Deep Creek). Today was a bits and pieces day at Deep Creek; it was also a day that we spent more time in transit than we did on the trails. Nevertheless, it was a good day for I got 4.5 new miles (and put ~180 miles on my little SUV).

I picked up Cecil Rowe, Bill Woodrick, and Bob Hutchins at the Lakeside Market (~1.8 mi. from my home) at 7:30. Although Cecil is working on his second map, all in essence did the hike to help me on my quest. Instead of going my usual way on U.S. 321, we went via Sevierville and Pigeon Forge; Cecil and Bill thought it was a little quicker. Not sure what time we passed Sugarlands Visitor Center; it took close to 1.5 hrs to get to Newfound Gap. It was 30 degrees there with a considerable wind chill. At ~10:00 we were at Deep Creek and started on the trail to Juney Whank Falls (1st pic); we finished the new loop trail in ~15 min. The temperature now was in the 50's. We then did a section of indeterminate length of Indian Creek; at 11:07 we had finished Stone Pile Gap trail; although the latter had a 500’ climb in its short length, it was not difficult. At 12:05 we finished the section of Thomas Divide; it had a 1,000’ climb in its 2-mi. distance. After a 15 min. lunch break we completed the 1.8 mi. Indian Creek Motor Trail; it did not take us much longer to do the latter in reverse even though there was ~800’ climb. If you look closely at the second picture you’ll see a little streak of white near its center; Cecil and I believe that is snow from the parking area (or just below latter) at Clingmans Dome.

Bill and Bob did not do the motor trail and moved my car to the terminus of Thomas Divide; I did not realize it until today that I had not apparently done that section previously. It was fortunate to have trail vets with me. Bob drove my vehicle to Metcalf Bottoms as I iced my knee. I then drove and dropped my cohorts off at Lakeside Market; I arrived home ~4:45.

Gold Mine 0.8pd, Cane Creek 2.1pd (& return), Cooper Rd 1.8pd (& return), Cooper Rd 1.7pd (& return), Gold Mine (return)

I met Dennis McAdams at the entrance to Foothills Parkway in Walland at 8:20; we proceeded in his car on the Foothills Parkway to the Top of the World exit. Unfortunately we did not have a Brown Book with us but we found the general area of the Gold Mine trailhead on the map; I then recognized where I had parked last May. We then parked and walked down the road to the trail. Since this point is technically on private land, it is not marked well. We got underway shortly before 9:00.

Because my ballpoint refused to write I did not record specific times; however, Dennis and I tend to move quite fast despite a slight rain (we both donned our ponchos). We finished the 1.8 mi. section of Cooper Rd close to noon; at this time we had a little snow and I donned my coat for our lunch break. Although we only stopped 15 min. for lunch, it was ~35 degrees; my fingertips did not get warm until we had almost finished 3.5 mi. of Cooper Rd. Both the snow and rain finally stopped. With very muddy trousers, we got to the Gold Mine trailhead and Dennis’s car ~2:30.
Although I did not cover any new trails in today’s 12.8 mi. hike, Dennis McAdams added 6.4 to his list.