I recently hiked to Mt. Sterling in the Smokies. We hiked into CS 36 on Big Creek on Saturday, then on to CS 38 at Mt. Sterling on Sunday via the Swallow Fork and Mt. Sterling Ridge trails. Hiked out Monday down the Baxter Creek trail. The hike into Big Creek is a pleasant one, the trail runs along the river for most of the way. The hike up Swallow Fork is nice, beautiful scenery and a couple of creek crosssing. The elevation change is steady, but not too steep. The hike down Baxter Creek was rocky and steep. We encountered several blowdowns that really slowed down our progress.
We dined on steaks Saturday night, eggs and blueberry muffins Sunday morning and burritos Sunday night. Monday breakfast was the remaining snacks we hadn't eaten.
The fire tower at Mt. Sterling was really neat. We encountered high winds which make the tower shake and sway, it was a little un-nerving at first. There was still a little snow on top of the mountain, enough for pics. The lowest temps we say were 38f which was disappointing. I had hoped for lower temps to test out my gear.
Gear used: WBBB, WB Traveler, Hammock Gear full length 0 degree, and 3/4 20 degree UQ. My friend's sons slept on Walmart blue pads in their sleeping bags. I used my diy down TQ made from an old REI down sleeping bag. Tarps were Speer Winter, Backwoods Day Dreamer 4 season and a clone of the same.
All in all we had a great time. Multiple vids posted below. I don't have editing software at this time to combine them all. Thanks for reading and watching.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks