New Miles Completed: 19.4
Total Miles Hiked: 20.6
25-26 July 2019
My map on the TN side is pretty well filled in, but still have lots of trails to do on the NC side. This week I did a nice 20 mile loop from Clingmans Dome down into the NC side. Started at Clingmans Dome, hiked down Forney Ridge trail to Springhouse Branch trail to Forney Creek trail and stayed the night at campsite 70 (Jonas Creek). Then hiked up the rest of Forney Creek, and up the Clingmans Dome bypass trail and down the Clingmans Dome "trail" (paved walkway). I've been to Clingmans Dome and out to Andrews Bald several times, but never checked those sections off of my trail list.
I arrived at Clingmans Dome parking area in the middle of the day on a beautiful summer's day... And this is what the traffic looked like. EVERY parking spot was taken and traffic was backed up a half mile down the road. I found a spot to park along the side of the road and hiked up the last bit to the parking area.
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| Clingmans Dome road on a beautiful sunny afternoon |
My trip started here at the Forney Ridge trailhead, just off of the Clingmans Dome parking area. This is a very busy section of trail because of Andrews Bald, and LOTS of folks were on the trail both headed down, and headed back up.
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| Forney Ridge trailhead @ Clingmans Dome parking lot |
The trail from Clingmans Dome down to Andrews Bald was reconstructed several years ago and now includes lots of rock steps to replace the badly rutted trail of old. Just 0.1 mi below the parking lot there is a trail junction: Forney Ridge trail continues left out to Andrews Bald and beyond, while the Clingmans Dome bypass trail goes to the right.
Along the side of the trail (and all over Clingmans Dome) the Filmy Angelica is starting to flower. The bees & wasps LOVE this plant and congregate on the flowers. This is a high-elevation specialist and is also known as the Mountain Angelica.
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| Filmy Angelica in flower |
Below the constructed rock steps the Forney Ridge trail flattens out for a bit on its way out to Andrews Bald. 1.1 miles below the parking lot is the junction of the Forney Ridge and Forney Creek trails. This is where I would come back up tomorrow.
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| Forney Ridge - Forney Creek trail junction |
Andrews Bald is a popular destination for good reason. Any time of year you can get amazing views down into the NC side of the park. You can see range after range of mountains, and all the way down to Fontana Lake. It's an especially amazing place in late June when the Flame Azaleas, Mountain Laurels and Rhododendron are all flowering.
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| Exiting the Spruce-Fir forest out onto Andrews Bald |
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| View from Andrews Bald |
Below Andrews Bald the traffic on Forney Ridge completely disappeared. I didn't see another soul from here through the end of the day. Because of the warren of trails across Andrews Bald there is a sign directing you to the real Forney Ridge trail at the bottom of the bald. And the trail from here down for quite a ways was as much a creek as a trail - rocky and full of water!
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| Forney Ridge trail sign at the bottom of Andrews Bald |
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| Forney Ridge trail / creek - it was WET! |
Forney Ridge in mid-summer after good rain may be one of my new favorite trails! The wildflower display was amazing!!! So many beautiful high-elevation species in flower. The walking was slow and tough because of the water and rocks and roots, but the lush growth and all of the wildflowers made it very well worth it. Some of my favorites include the Turk's Cap Lily, the Pink Turtlehead, the Yellow Fringed Orchid, and the Crimson Bee Balm.
Forney Ridge trail drops through the Spruce Fir forest and then into a drier oak / rhododendron / mountain laurel forest as it passes by Buckhorn Bald and approaches Board Camp Gap and its junction with Springhouse Branch trail. Through this lower section there are LOTS of American Chestnut stump sprouts, a few of which reached 6 inches in diameter and up to about 15 feet tall. The story of the demise of the American Chestnut is one of the saddest invasive species stories there is. The character of the North American eastern deciduous forest was forever changed by the accidental introduction of a fungal disease from Asia. You can read more about this story at the American Chestnut Foundation site.
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| American Chestnut stump sprout |
As usual, human trails are often used by wildlife as well. I saw lots of bear sign like this, some of it old, but some quite fresh. I did see a bear Friday morning along the Forney Creek trail - he flashed across the trail in front of me, more than happy to get away from me.
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| Fresh bear scat on Forney Ridge trail |
All of the trails on this loop seem to be fairly lightly used, but by their very nature of being narrow trails on steeply sloped ridges, there was a LOT of erosion where the trail was slipping away downhill leaving a network of roots to traverse.
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| Trail erosion on lower Forney Ridge trail |
After nearly 4 hours of hiking, taking it slow because of trail conditions and to take a lot of pictures, I arrived at Board Camp Gap which is the end of Forney Ridge trail and its junction with Springhouse Branch trail. I couldn't believe I had only come 5.6 miles, and was only about half-way to my destination!
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| Forney Ridge - Springhouse Branch trail junction |
Springhouse Branch trail between Forney Ridge and Forney Creek trails traverses a couple of ridges and follows Bee Gum Branch on its way over to Forney Creek. The trail does a little up, a little down, is narrow, and this time of year at least, pretty overgrown. I was wading through dog-hobble...
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| Springhouse Branch trail overgrown with Dog Hobble |
Not much remarkable to say about Springhouse Branch trail - maybe because by this time of the day I was just trudging along and wading through the overgrown underbrush. The trail tends to stay on the ridge above Bee Gum Branch, so you can hear the creek, but don't get many views.
Right at the end of Springhouse Branch trail where it junctions with Forney Creek trail is backcountry campsite 71. This is the site of an old CCC camp, and there's plenty of evidence of it, including an amazing old chimney still standing in the middle of the site! The campsite is big and open with LOTS of spaces for tents and a few separate fire rings. Lots of neat history to explore and artifacts to enjoy.
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| Backcountry campsite 71 |
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| Springhouse Branch - Forney Creek trail junction |
From here I just had 1.2 miles up Forney Creek to the Jonas Creek trail and campsite 70 which was where I was spending the night. This lower part of Forney Creek trail was also overgrown in places. Sometimes you are right next to the creek, other times on the ridge above it. The trail has obviously been re-routed a few times in a few different places too. Sometimes this was quite obvious with signs and logs across the old trail, and other times not quite so obvious... I missed on of the re-routes and took the old trail through a very steep, rutted section for about a 1/2 mile.
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| More Dog Hobble encroaching on the lower Forney Creek trail |
I finally reached the Jonas Creek trail, and crossed over Forney Creek on a nice bridge to reach campsite 70, my home for the night. Phew - I was beat!
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| Forney Creek - Jonas Creek trail junction |
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| Bridge over Forney Creek at Jonas Creek trail junction |
Backcountry campsite 70 at Jonas Creek is very nice. The Jonas Creek trail runs directly through the campsite. There are a couple of different fire rings / bear cables, and several other flat spots for tents. The site is large and open and sits at the confluence of Jonas Creek and Forney Creek, so it's surrounded by the sound of running water. I set up my hammock, made dinner, sat in the sun and read for a while before turning in around 10 pm.
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| Backcountry campsite 70 - Jonas Creek |
Friday morning I got up and got breakfast and coffee, packed up and got ready to go. I was a little apprehensive about the day. I knew that there were several un-bridged creek crossings on Forney Creek and we had a lot of rain in the previous few weeks so the water was high.
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| Five of the unbridged water crossings on Forney Creek trail |
The water crossings turned out not to be a big deal. For the first two I stopped, took off my boots, put on my water shoes, waded across, stopped, and put my boots back on. That got old, so after the first couple I just walked through, boots and all. So I had wet boots for the rest of the day... The first two crossings were about thigh-high (the bottom of my shorts got wet, but not all the way up to my waist), the next two were about knee-high, and the others could be rock-hopped.
From Jonas Creek back north the Forney Creek trail generally follows Forney Creek, but is not always right next to it, and is often on the ridge-side high above the creek. The trail is sometimes rocky with river rocks, sometimes smooth and fern-lined. The primary foliage along the trail is Rhododendron and Dog Hobble. There are lots of switch backs as the trail ascends the ridge, and lots of rock walls on what was once a railroad bed for the pre-park logging industry.
A couple of miles above Jonas Creek you reach backcountry campsite 69. The campsite is right of the side of the trail and has kind of a run-down feel to it. There are several different fire rings and a couple of bear cables, but it's very bare and didn't seem terribly inviting.
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| Backcountry campsite 69 on Forney Creek trail |
A couple of miles above this, I was kind of confused when I reached the "campsite 68" site pictured below complete with the old style metal sign campsite marker. According to my map I shouldn't have been at campsite 68 yet, but here was the sign and right behind it a campsite, right at a spot where the trail takes a hard left. It's a very small site with room for just 1 or 2 tents, and a set of bear cables. It does sit right on Forney Creek and has a trail that runs out the backside that seems to follow the creek.
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| Backcountry campsite 68 - part 1 |
Maybe half a mile above this site you come to what shows on the map as the "real" campsite 68 complete with the newer style wood post campsite marker. There was a trail coming up along the creek into this campsite that I assume must connect with the old campsite below. This campsite is also small with room for very few tents, but it sits right at the base of a really awesome water slide! I can imagine this is a super popular swimming hole when the weather is hot.
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| Backcountry campsite 68 - part 2 |
From campsite 68 on up Forney Creek trail gets much steeper as it climbs up toward Clingmans Dome. The trail returns to the rocky, wet, and sometimes narrow and eroded character. This section was tough both mentally and physically, but I slogged on.
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| Upper end of Forney Creek trail - rocky and wet |
Near the upper end of Forney Creek trail, almost to where it meets the Forney Ridge trail, there is an unmarked side trail that leads out to an old abandoned steam engine left from the logging days. The beginning of this side trail is close to a pretty distinctive looking rock, so it wasn't hard to find. The trail is faint, but pretty clear if you're looking for it. It took me about 15 minutes from the Forney Creek trail out to the site of the steam engine, so I would guesstimate it's about a half-mile. The trail is generally easy to follow and stays on a pretty even elevation. Along the way, and around the steam engine are lots of other pieces and parts that were left behind. It's amazing to me to imagine what this area looked like in the 1920s and 1930s when it was actively being logged, and how different it looks now. Evidence of the park's history lies rusting away in the woods.
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| Abandoned steam engine from logging operations |
From here it was just a little further to the end of the Forney Creek trail at its junction with the Forney Ridge trail that I had passed yesterday on my way to Andrews Bald.
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| Forney Creek - Forney Ridge trail junction |
From here I headed back up the Forney Ridge trail, retracing my steps from yesterday, back to the junction with the Clingmans Dome Bypass trail. I've been up Clingmans Dome many times on the paved "nature trail", but had never done the bypass trail, so I took this opportunity to knock it out. It was just another 1/2 mile, right?
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| Clingmans Dome Bypass - Forney Ridge trail junction |
The bypass trail is rocky and rutted, and climbs steeply paralleling the paved trail.
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| Clingmans Dome Bypass trail |
The bypass trail tops out at the Appalachian Trail just 0.3 mi from the Clingmans Dome tower. From here I turned right (northeast) on the AT toward Clingmans Dome.
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| Clingmans Dome Bypass - Appalachian Trail junction |
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| View to the north from the AT near Clingmans Dome |
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| White blaze of the Appalachian Trail |
I love, love, love the Appalachian Trail, and the sight of a white blaze always fills me with joy. I especially love the AT through high elevation sections like the Smokies, with the smell of the spruce-fir forest, the views the go on forever, and the rocks that are the spine of these great mountains.
The AT passes directly by the Clingmans Dome tower. I stopped to climb the tower one more time - it was a good day for views, with relatively little haze. Lots and lots of folks had made the walk up the paved trail to see the views from the tower on this beautiful summer day.
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| Side trail from the AT to Clingmans Dome tower |
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| Selfie from Clingmans Dome tower. |
I hiked back down the paved trail to the parking area, and then another half mile back down to my car parked on the side of the road. I was tired - that was a tough section, but so beautiful and challenging! Glad to be getting to spend some time on the NC side, on some sections of trail that are less well-traveled.
Til next time, happy hiking!
