This is a trip report for a 4 day 3 night trip in Great Smokey Mountain National Park that started on Monday morning June 6th at 9:30 and finished Thursday afternoon at 12:30. The trip started and ended at Big Creek Ranger Station on the north side of the park and was done by myself and one other guy. We are both in good shape and in our late 20's. (it really hurt to just say that phrase late, kind of scary) This will also include a quick gear review of Asolo TPS 520 boots, a pair of Leki Trecking poles, the Steri Pen, and small plastic figure 9's for hanging my tarp.
This trip was inspired by an Blue Ridge Outdoor Article but had to be modified due to camp sites that were closed due to heavy bear activity. Here is a link to the article. http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/spe...t-trail-guide/ If you are not a BRO reader and you live anywhere near the Southern Appalachians you need to be. Pick up a copy at your local outdoor store or read online, its worth your time.
I am a fairly experienced backpacker and I write trip reports for most all of my trips and they can all be found in this forum. I write in hopes that they will help others looking for info on areas I've been but also to chronicle them for my own benefit; I usually make around 3 trips a year. I use a Claytor Jungle Hammock with a cinch buckle system and now figure nines for my tarp. My hiking partner also uses a claytor hammock but it is completely stock.
We made our shelter and backcountry reservations about 3 weeks prior to our trip. The number for this can be found on the GSMNP web page and is required for all backpackers. We did not however see any rangers or ridge runners on our trip. We did see one volunteer working trail maintenance.
Getting to Big Creek was very easy it is right off I-40 just as you cross into Tennessee and there are signs leading you the whole way there. There is not much at the ranger station but a few signs a porta-john and a do it yourself permit station with brochures and maps for sale on the honor system for a dollar. There is plenty of parking right there and the trail head is just a few yards from where we parked.
We started out on Chestnut Branch Trial which climbs steeply for 2.1 miles along a creek until it reaches the AT. We made good time getting up there and walked for a while with a group of day hikers. At the intersection with the AT we ran into a group of 9 boy scouts from Tennessee who we found out we would be spending the next 2 nights with. We hiked South along the AT still climbing, I believe we gained almost 4k feet in elevation that day. There is a side trail at Mt. Cammerer that leads to a fire tower in .6 miles. It was worthwhile detour for the views and just the sight of it. Up to this point the views were limited as we were mostly under canopy but there were a few spots with some big views. Our weather that day was perfect with almost no clouds and no rain at all. From Mt. Cammerer we continued on to Cosby Knob Shelter and arrived at about 5:30. We covered just about 10 miles on day 1.
The shelter was nice with 2 levels for sleeping and not much flat ground around the shelter. There were bear cables for hanging food and a privy. I don't have a lot of experience with shelters and enjoyed having a place to sit down and fairly clean surfaces to unpack and pack. We actually hung our hammocks from a tree and one of the columns on the shelter for the night and it worked great. It also gave the scouts and other hikers some extra room to spread out. As you can imagine the young scouts had plenty of energy and things to talk about and were up for quite a while and always seemed to have plenty to talk about or argue about. All in all they were very respectful and seemed to be enjoying themselves but my ear plugs were worth their weight in gold. The gnats were also real bad at this shelter and I collected a lot of bites at dinner and then promptly retreated for my mosquito netted hammock. Slept like a baby until at 6:30 I heard a blackberry alarm going off and thought man those scouts are getting a early start but I learned that blackberrys when turned off will turn back on if the alarm is set and it was mine. I had to jump out of bed after waking the entire shelter up and turn it off. I apologized for my stupidity and got up and ate breakfast and started packing and relaxed.
We didn't hit the trail until 9:15 but we had an easy day of 7.5 miles with none of the huge climbs like the day before. The hiking was great with views and then plenty of canopy hiking. Weather was perfect again and hiking along the ridge allowed for a nice breeze most of the day as well. One thing I did not like about this stretch of trail was the fact that they allow horses on the AT. As restrictive as the Smokeys are I think the AT should strictly be a footpath. The trail was rutted in many places from horse traffic and covered in horse crap which led to tons of black flies. I just feel that the AT is a footpath and horses belong on other trails, feel free to disagree with me.
We got to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter at 2 pm well ahead of the boy scouts. The shelter was similar to Cosby and had 2 sleeping levels, bear cables, and a privy. There was really no where to hang around the shelter due to undergrowth. I read in the trail log that this shelter had some serious bear activity including a bear stealing a thru-hikers entire pack which it didn't look like he ever recovered. I did read of one hanger who stung up under all the food and packs. I hung inside the shelter from the rafters and my hiking partner used his claytor as a bivvy in the shelter. We took a nap relaxed and ate an early dinner. The privy was very nice here and didn't smell at all and was much nicer than Cosby's. We also had a group of 3 hikers and a group of 2 hikers join us in the shelter that night.
The boy scouts were up for quite a while again and the earplugs were great once again. I was up at 6 the next morning and ready for a much longer day. We hit the trail right at 7 backtracked on the AT for a short way to the intersection of Balsam Mountain Trail and started down. Our end point that night was the top of Mt. Sterling. Once off the AT the trail was much narrower but still very easy to follow and well marked. We saw very few boot tracks and tons of bear, deer, hog, and racoon tracks. We only saw one person from leaving the shelter until we were back at our cars the next afternoon, quite a change from being in packed shelters with teenagers. We made it to Laural Gap by 11 am and had covered about 6 miles. We continued on and ate lunch at about 1. (side note the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff was excellent the night before for dinner) The trail was never too steep all day until the last section that was straight uphill to campsite 38 at Mt. Sterling. No big views today until the very end and it rained off and on all day. It was also very foggy from when we left until about 10. The rain wasn't bad and it had to be raining pretty hard for it to get through the canopy. Everything was remarkably green and beautiful. The trail was very muddy and at times very rocky as well. Water was readily available and I forgot to mention was also available right next to both shelters we were in.
We got to campsite 38 at about 330 or 4, and had covered about 13 miles. Campsite 38 is a hangers dream with plenty of places to hang and not too many flat spots for tents. We did have bear cables again which was nice. There is also a fire tower on Mt. Sterling that is an old steel and wood structure that you can climb up. The wind blows very hard above the trees as you can imagine and the wood was wet so watch your step if going up. It was still cloudy and the views were limited once up there but watching the clouds roll in was very cool. They were actually coming from east and west and then once the clouds heading west got over the ridge they were caught up in the eastern wind, very cool to see but again not much in long range views. After dinner we went back up and had even less visability and then the rain started again. It rained most of the night and for a good bit of our hike the next day. It was also cold that night and was 51 at 8 if I remember correctly. I had long underwear on that night and slept comfortably with a wal mart ccf pad cut for length from my shoulders to knees and a 30 degree down marmot bag.
We were back on the trial just after 8 with 7 miles left to get to the car. Packed up in the rain and started downhill. The trail was rocky and we crossed a bunch of small streams to fill up at. There was a sign for water at the campsite but we didn't follow it i think it was .4 miles away. The trail was rocky again and from what I could tell had a stretch through what looked like old growth forest to me. We saw a few small salamanders and almost everything had moss growing on it as I don't think much sun gets to this trail. This was Baxter Creek trail and it eventually took us down to big creek which was beautiful. The trail ended in the campground that had nice bathrooms with flushable toilets but no showers. There was a nice bridge over big creek so no rock hopping for wading to cross. From the camp ground we had a walk down the gravel road back to Big Creek Ranger Station. We got back to the car at about noon just in time to see a big branch break off a tree and fall on a car parked about 5 spots down from us. Left a nice dent in his hood.
I really like having the trekking poles which we demoed from Diamond Brand in Hendersonville, NC. I think they made the up hills a little easier and I didn't get the usual pain in the front of my knees on the downhills. If it helps save my knees I think they are a worth while investment.
The Steri Pen was quick and easy to use and I didn't get sick and avoided the chemical taste of aqua mira so that was a win to me.
The figure 9's were also great and made putting up the tarp much quicker and made it more easily adjustable.
After the first two day I would have given my new Asolo boots an A++. I had about 10 miles on them before this trip. At one point though I caught them on a root and it made my toe point straight out and dug the back of the boot into my left achilis. It didn't huch much at first but on the end of the third day it was really bothering me. It didn't hurt as much the fourth day but I could tell there was a bruise there. I think it will just take some more testing to see if the problem persists because other than that my feet felt great, far far far better than they did after the Art Loeb trail last year in my old boots.
All in all it was a great trip and my first in the Smokeys. I can't wait to go back. This trip could literally be done without carrying a map b/c the trail was so easy to follow and marked perfectly at every intersection. Any novice could navigate this trip without any problems. I literally did not look at my compass one time. I will post some pics and if you have any questions just let me know.
Happy Hiking,
Yosef
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