Mt. Sterling 2.3pd, Mt. Sterling Ridge 1.4 & 3.9pd, Balsam Mtn 0.9pd, Gunter Fork 4.1n, Camel Gap 1.0pd, and Big Creek 5.8
On March 13 BZ Lane called to see if I was interested in doing Gunter Fork instead of going to the annual Wed. Hikers Chili Lunch. Gunter Fork can be hellacious in wet weather, and because we have had quite a dry spell, BZ thought that the time was opportune and I agreed. I then called Bob Bolinger and he too wanted to go. I met BZ (~60 min.+ drive for me) and Bob at Exit 440 at 8:00 a.m. I then followed them to Exit 451 and we proceeded to Big Creek Campground; at this point I moved my gear into BZ’s vehicle. We then proceeded on a gravel road to Mt. Sterling Gap, ~10 mi. South.
We started on Mt. Sterling Gap at 9:00; this trail is mostly climb and we took it easy and covered this 2.3 miles (map says only 1.8 but my pedometer and Brown Book say 2.3) in 73 min. By 12:47 we had had a 15 min. lunch and completed Sterling Ridge (3.9 mi.). By 1:10 we completed the 0.9 mi. section of Balsam Mtn Balsam Mtn trail. At this point I took a pic of BZ and Bob at the trailhead for Gunter Fork (this trail was my objective for the day—BZ of course has completed all trails but for Bob all trails that we covered today were new ones for him). Prior to getting on Gunter Fork there were numerous warnings about not taking this trail in wet weather (Swallow Fork suggested). In part because of water concerns, and possibly because upper part of Gunter Fork is very narrow, this trail is not heavily traversed. The second pic is the cascades ~1.8 mi. from the finish of this trail. From this point on we had, as stated in the Brown Book, "many unbridged stream crossings." However, except for very last one (which was crossing Big Creek—prior ones were crossing Gunter Fork), we were able to rock hop ~6 and put our water shoes on for the last one (that was Big Creek itself which Gunter Fork feeds into). In my prior rock-hopping experience I doubt if the rocks were anywhere near being that large. The last pic shows BZ and Bob standing at our completion of Gunter Fork Trail.
We then completed 1.0 mi. of Camel Gap Trail at 3:00 and 5.8 miles of Big Creek Trail at 5:15. The latter trail was probably an old logging road; it was very boring but easy. However, for the end of a long day and ~19.4 mi. hike (my pedometer indicated 19.2), the easiness was truly appreciated.
Had BZ drive my car so I could ice my knee; the ~10 miles to his car on this windy gravel road seemed ultra long this time. On the first part of the road that is out of the park, some homes are kind of rough and some are nice summer ones. A little long-haired white sort of chased us and BZ was careful to avoid him; on the way back as I followed BZ and Bob, the little white dog was there again. If I did not own Winston (my Airedale Terrier), I would have picked him up for apparently he was abandoned; how can a human (perhaps an infra-human in this case) be so cruel? I followed BZ and Bob to Carvers Restaurant (the establishment that grows and sells many types of apples, plus other things, the store part being a frequent stop for hikers) near Cosby; we had a very nice dinner. After a few cups of coffee, I had a 90 min. drive back to my home.
We started on Mt. Sterling Gap at 9:00; this trail is mostly climb and we took it easy and covered this 2.3 miles (map says only 1.8 but my pedometer and Brown Book say 2.3) in 73 min. By 12:47 we had had a 15 min. lunch and completed Sterling Ridge (3.9 mi.). By 1:10 we completed the 0.9 mi. section of Balsam Mtn Balsam Mtn trail. At this point I took a pic of BZ and Bob at the trailhead for Gunter Fork (this trail was my objective for the day—BZ of course has completed all trails but for Bob all trails that we covered today were new ones for him). Prior to getting on Gunter Fork there were numerous warnings about not taking this trail in wet weather (Swallow Fork suggested). In part because of water concerns, and possibly because upper part of Gunter Fork is very narrow, this trail is not heavily traversed. The second pic is the cascades ~1.8 mi. from the finish of this trail. From this point on we had, as stated in the Brown Book, "many unbridged stream crossings." However, except for very last one (which was crossing Big Creek—prior ones were crossing Gunter Fork), we were able to rock hop ~6 and put our water shoes on for the last one (that was Big Creek itself which Gunter Fork feeds into). In my prior rock-hopping experience I doubt if the rocks were anywhere near being that large. The last pic shows BZ and Bob standing at our completion of Gunter Fork Trail.
We then completed 1.0 mi. of Camel Gap Trail at 3:00 and 5.8 miles of Big Creek Trail at 5:15. The latter trail was probably an old logging road; it was very boring but easy. However, for the end of a long day and ~19.4 mi. hike (my pedometer indicated 19.2), the easiness was truly appreciated.
Had BZ drive my car so I could ice my knee; the ~10 miles to his car on this windy gravel road seemed ultra long this time. On the first part of the road that is out of the park, some homes are kind of rough and some are nice summer ones. A little long-haired white sort of chased us and BZ was careful to avoid him; on the way back as I followed BZ and Bob, the little white dog was there again. If I did not own Winston (my Airedale Terrier), I would have picked him up for apparently he was abandoned; how can a human (perhaps an infra-human in this case) be so cruel? I followed BZ and Bob to Carvers Restaurant (the establishment that grows and sells many types of apples, plus other things, the store part being a frequent stop for hikers) near Cosby; we had a very nice dinner. After a few cups of coffee, I had a 90 min. drive back to my home.
posted by Wendell Liemohn at 10:29 PM
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