4th of July Mega Trip
LyttleBryan July 16th, 2010
Man, where do I even start a post like this? I guess the beginning is as good as any! Right before the 4th of July, I had a big change in my life. The company I work for offered me a full time position. I’d been working there for well over a year, and this was going to be a big step up for me. To celebrate the new position, and take advantage of unlimited vacation one last time, I decided to take a nice long vacation in the Smokies. Our plans start originally as an AT hike from one end of the park to the other. Unfortunately a rock slide on US 129 forced us to re-evaluate. We decided on a large loop around the Eastern half of the park. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say. Below is the route that Julie and I covered over the course of the 5 days:
I don’t blame you if reading all of the routes we took is too hard to follow. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out all of the trails we touched when I was writing this up. In order, the trails we covered were:
- Baxter Creek Tr
- Mount Sterling Ridge Tr
- Balsm Mtn Tr
- Beech Gap Tr
- Hyatt Ridge Tr
- Enloe Creek Tr
- Chasteen Creek Tr
- Bradley Fork Trail
- Dry Sluice Gap Tr
- The Appalachian Tr
- Hughes Ridge Tr
- The Appalachian Tr (again)
- Low Gap Tr
- Big Creek Trail
It was an experience, and I learned a lot about what I’m capable of. I also learned a lot about some different parts of the park I’d never been to before. For instance, I learned that if you’re going to be going up to the AT ridge multiple times on a trip, don’t plan to do 13 miles a day. that was an important lesson. Another important lesson was that Baxter Creek Trail is the most awful trail in the entire park. Bastard Creek Trail was the name we ultimately decided upon for it. I’m sort of glad we got that one done on the first day, but it did kind of start us off on a rough foot.
Our favorite part of the trip was definitely the AT. There’s something so great about being up on a ridge like that being able to look down both sides. Not to mention the views that seemed to stretch forever. It was truly amazing.
I won’t go into the day-to-day of the trip. I’ll let the pictures do that. Some thoughts I will add though. The Eastern side of the park could really use some TLC. In a few of the photos you’ll see what just looks like weeds/plants and sunbeams. Believe it or not, that’s actually what the trail looked like. Some maintenance is definitely needed, and needed big time! Laurel Gap and all of the AT shelters were in great shape. The campsites we saw and stayed at were pretty nice, and mostly empty. Definitely less trafficed than “my side” of the park!
I’m really looking forward to my next big backpack in the park. Currently it’s scheduled for Labor Day weekend!
-LB
4th of July Backpack 7-4-2010
- Backpacking
- Comments(2)
wow – what a trip! well done, and great pics. I’ve done the Baxter Creek trail too, but I came DOWN – I’d hate to try going up! What software did you use to plot your trek and to get the elevation profile? Looks nice.
hey Bryan – thanks for stopping by my blog. I looked at the Natl Geo software – looks pretty good, and not too expensive. I think I’ll have to put that on my shopping list. I just bought the new park maps – they’re nice because they’re so much more detailed than the old map, so you get a better sense of where things like campsites are on the trail.
You’re way ahead of me on mileage – I’m closing on in 200, but most of my trips are short day trips or 1-nighters. I’d love to take off for a long trip like your 4th of July mega-hike!
I love your pictures! You’ve got a great eye. I’ve really enjoyed following your treks. Keep it up!