LyttleBryan October 10th, 2011
cout << "Hello World!";
Okay, that was the programmer in me speaking. I apologize for not posting in so long. It's been over 2 months since my last post, and Memorial Day was my last personal post. I've been on a bit of dry spell for posting, but that's not to say I've been on a dry spell for everything else. I've actually been very active, including a trip to Bolivia, South America! I just haven’t been posting those stories. Maybe it’s the wedding planning (which is going great), or everything else I have going on, including fundraising for The Ultimate Hike, a fundraiser for CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. All of that aside, I do apologize for not posting.
I did want to take some time to post about a recent mega backpack I went on with a few friends in the Smokies. Our trip lasted 5 days and covered just over 60 miles in the Hazel Creek area of the Smoky Mountains. My companions on this trip were my friends Adam and Tim, with Julie joining us on the 3rd day for the remainder of the trip. Overall it was a great trip, with great weather, and a lot of fun was had.
We started on Wednesday from the Lakeshore trail head at Fontana. This was the last stretch of Lakeshore Trail that remained unexplored, and it didn’t disappoint. It was a beautiful section of rolling hills that had just enough uphill to make things interesting before a nice break of down hill ensued. Unfortunately it was on this stretch of trail that my boots started hurting. They weren’t new boots, but they had waited until a long backpack to begin the pain, and the pain was intense. More on that throughout. Just after lunch time we made it to campsite #90 at Eagle Creek. #90 is a nice large campsite that’s prone to “boat campers” throughout the season. The low lake in the Fall usually means it’s empty though, and we found ourselves alone. We had a relaxing lunch on the flood plane deemed “Barkenhinge” by Adam. After lunch we continued on and the day was mostly uneventful as we enjoyed the views and history of the area. We made it to campsite #85 in the early evening and setup camp. Unsurprisingly we were alone. The campsite was nice, but nothing too spectacular. There was a lot of churned earth from hog activity, but they never made an appearance.
Thursday (day 2)was set to be our shortest day with little progress made going up Hazel Creek and a large side trip to Bone Valley Trail. On our way there we passed campsites #84 and #83. #84 was small and quaint, while #84 was massive. I’d stay at both campsites readily, as they were both nicer than #85 we had stayed at the night before. I’ll admit, Bone Valley did not disappoint. It’s regularly regarded as the most remote trail in the Smokies. It’s a shame that it is, because it’s a great trail. The 4 water crossings made things interesting, and while I managed to rock hop on my way down, I just crock hiked it on the way back and went through the water. The graveyard and cabin at the end of the trail are really spectacular and worth seeing. After our little side trip to Bone Valley we continued on to campsite #82. It was a nice wide campsite with sections above and below the trail. I would gladly stay here again. We got to camp very early, around 2pm. It made for a very relaxing afternoon with plenty of time to clean up in the creek and find fire wood. The only odd thing to occur was several rounds of gunfire throughout the day. We attributed it to rangers hunting hogs, but who knows?
Day 3 saw our first real climb of the trip as we made our way up Hazel Creek to Welch Ridge. Hazel Creek Trail got much nicer when it went from “gravel road” to “trail.” I’ll be honest, I didn’t much like Hazel Creek until that point. It was just, well, a gravel road! Once we got to Welch Ridge, we were treated to what quickly became one of my favorite ridge lines in the park. It was a bit windy and cold, but just really spectacular in feel. After Welch Ridge we made our way down Bear Creek to campsite #75, and my darling fiance, awaited us. It was a nice, small, campsite with plenty of firewood. Definitely one of the nicer of the trip. I recommend it. We caught her up on the happenings, and I got some much needed sympathy for my heel, which was throbbing constantly at this point. Still, seeing Jules warmed my spirit.
Day 4 of the trip we were treated to the best views of the trip, and the worst trail I’ve ever hiked in the Smokies. Making our way up Bear Creek was a bit rough. It was a climb, but the wind was howling so it made it hard to take breaks without getting cold. Once we were to the top we continued on Welch Ridge to High Rocks Trail. Now High Rocks Trail isn’t in the Little Brown Book, so we weren’t sure what to expect. What we got was the best views of Lake Fontana that I can remember. Truly spectacular! Unfortunately it was all downhill from that point! We made our way to Cold Spring Gap Trail and, well, I’m going to struggle remembering the trail because I blocked it out. The trail was essentially a creek bed with large rocks that goes straight down. Seriously. It was awful and I intend on never going back. Ever. The day was the longest we had, and it wore on us. Julie didn’t have her trail legs yet so she was getting tired, and the blisters on my heel had burst on one side and was now openly bleeding. It was rough. To top it off the “early stop” campsite we had (#85) was full of fisherman and not welcoming. So we had to push on as to campsite #86, which we feared would be full of fisherman as well. We were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t full, and the site was really nice. It had a lot of room, and the soft pine needles made for a very warm feeling campsite. We slept well that night, and were ready for the final day.
We didn’t have any new trail left by day 5, it was all backtracking. We made our way at a steady pace, and by the time we had got to the car I had tears on my face from my heels. One side was still openly bleeding, and the other had a hard knot to it. Writing this now one looks like zombie meet and the other looks like a bone deformity. Healing is the most frustrating part because I can’t do anything. Needless to say I won’t be wearing those boots again!
It was a great backpack, and I got to spend a lot of great time with friends. I highly recommend this circuit to those with the stamina and time. Especially this time of year! The pictures are all below.
Also, We passed a lot of campsites on this trip, so I wanted to take some time to share my thoughts on them.
- #90 – A very large campsite along a beautiful creek. It’s very beautiful here, but the water access means it’s prone to boat campers who bring in a lot of stuff. Best time to go is when the Fall and Winter when the water is low or it’s too cold for boating. Firewood seemed scared.
- #88 – A newer site that’s set back from the trail a good distance. It’s in a quiet area and the few times I’ve been past it, no one was there.
- #86 – A large campsite right on the creek. It’s popular with fisherman, but seems large enough to support everyone. Finding a restroom was a bit of a haul though.
- #85 – A small site that splits the trail. Bugs seemed to be a big problem and there was a lot of obvious hog activity. When we came back through on Saturday it was so full that it was almost funny. Wouldn’t stay here again unless I had no other options.
- #84 – A small site right at the Jenkins Ridge Trail intersection. Very small and well worn. I’d stay here if a bit begrudgingly. There was also about 8 picnic tables lined up next to it.
- #83 – There’s 2 sections to this site. The giant dirt section from what I can only assume is over use. And the giant grassy section on the other side of a small hill. The grassy section was nice, and definitely large enough to support may folks.
- #82 – A nice site that splits the trail. While it’s large, all of the fire rings seemed nicely secluded.
- #75 – A small cozy site right on Bear Creek. I liked this site, but it probably wouldn’t be that great it if were full. Given that it’s non-reservation, this could happen.
Hazel Creek Backpack 10-1-11
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