New Miles Hiked: 16.9
Total Miles Hiked: 28.9
Total Miles Hiked: 28.9
2-4 April, 2021
Pack weight: 30.8 pounds with 2 L water + 3 days of food (too heavy!)
Took the long holiday weekend to do a 3-day / 2-night lollipop backpack over on the NC side of the park. Completed 3 new trails (Jonas Creek, Bear Creek, Whiteoak Branch) and finished off the bottom of Forney Creek trail AND got a bonus mile on the bottom of Noland Creek trail down to campsite #66!
The route for this trip had me parking at the end of Lakeview Drive (aka the Road to Nowhere) at the tunnel that begins the Lakeshore Trail. Day 1 in Red: Lakeshore trail to Whiteoak Branch trail to Forney Creek trail to campsite #70 (Jonas Creek). Day 2 in Blue: Jonas Creek trail up to Welch Ridge trail to Bear Creek trail (with a side trip to High Rocks) to campsite #75 (Poplar Flats). Day 3 in Green: down Bear Creek trail to the junction with Forney Creek; turned right down Forney Creek to the junction with Lakeshore and then back up Forney Creek to Whiteoak Branch trail, then down Whiteoak Branch to Lakeshore and out. That last little bit maneuvering was to leave no gaps. As a bonus (not shown on the map above) on the way out I stopped at the parking lot for Noland Creek trail and did the 1 mile from Lakeview Drive down to Fontana Lake and campsite #66 and back.
Couldn't have asked for better weather for this trip! Sunny and warm during the day, so the hiking was comfortable, but not too warm. Chilly at night - nice weather for a campfire, but it was hard to crawl out of the sleeping bag in the mornings.
Day 1. 6.2 miles
The trailhead for this hike is outside of Bryson City, NC at the end of the Road to Nowhere which has a long and interesting history in Smokies lore. There's still a billboard just outside the park boundary that says "Road to Nowhere - Broken Promise." The tunnel under Tunnel Ridge is cool and creepy with all of the graffiti. The pavement continues for a hundred feet or so after the tunnel and then the real trail begins.
There were lots of connections to prior hikes on this trip, including an anniversary hike that Sarah and I did on the Goldmine Loop and Tunnel Bypass trails a couple of years ago. Passed those trail junctions early on and then started on new trail miles.
Not much in the way of wildflowers yet over here. There were a few things that were just getting started, but the profusion has yet to begin. Here we have a Carolina Vetch, Trailing Arbutus, Little White Violet, and Solitary Pussytoes.
At the Lakeshore Trail - Whiteoak Branch trail junction I turned north on Whiteoak Branch toward Forney Creek trail. Whiteoak Branch trail goes up and over a ridge and then down the other side. Pretty steep at times, but luckily not very long.
Serviceberry Trees (Amelanchier arborea) were in flower here and the trail was littered with their white petals.
Reached the junction with Forney Creek trail and turned right (north) toward Springhouse Branch and Jonas Creek trails.
The junction with Springhouse Branch trail at backcountry campsite #71 was another connection for me. I did the Forney Ridge - Forney Creek loop a few years ago and Springhouse Branch is a connector between those two trails. Campsite #71 is cool. HUGE with lots of possible tent spots and lots of relics from the days when it was a CCC camp, including the giant chimney.
I continued on north here along the Forney Creek trail, sometimes right along the creek, and sometimes climbs up to the ridge above the creek. LOTS of Dog Hobble encroaching on the trail here.
Jonas Creek trail and backcountry campsite #70 are at the spot where Jonas Creek runs in to Forney Creek, although the campsite is on the other side (west) of the creek from Forney Creek trail. There is a bridge over most of Forney Creek which is wide and fast at this point.
Campsite #71 (Jonas Creek) is a big site with several possible tent areas and two sets of bear cables. It was kind of windy and I knew it was going to get pretty chilly at night so I opted for a tent site tucked in near a patch of Rhododendron. Water is available from creeks on all sides of the campsite. Had a small campfire, ate dinner (Good-To-Go Pad Thai - really yummy!), a glass of merlot, and finally went to bed around 9 pm after it got really dark and the fire had burned down.
Day 2. 12.3 miles
Temps were in the mid-20s when I got up with the sun the next morning. Bundled up and was plenty warm (I had a long-sleeved athletic shirt, a short sleeved hiking shirt, fleece jacket and puffy jacket on, along with hat, gloves and a buff!). Oatmeal & coffee for breakfast, although my stove was reluctant to get going in the cold weather so it took a while to get breakfast done.
Today's route was up Jonas Creek trail to Welch Ridge and then down Welch Ridge. I was a little reluctant to get going because I knew that I had a bunch of unbridged water crossings coming up right off the bat on Jonas Creek trail. So for about the first two miles of Jonas Creek I hiked in my water shoes with my pants rolled up above my knees. I didn't want to have to stop and change shoes every few minutes so I just went with it. Needless to say, the water in Jonas Creek is toe-numbingly cold this time of year. Also - lots of nice little cascades and waterfalls on this section of Jonas Creek.
Jonas Creek trail has two different sections: the first 2-3ish miles follow the creek closely, have lots of water crossings (some of which might be rock-hops in summer or fall, but definitely are NOT in spring), and have a reasonable elevation gain for comfortable hiking. Once you leave Jonas Creek for the last time you leave the water crossings behind and start in on the switchbacks. The trail gets much steeper. As you are approaching the top and nearing Welch Ridge there are some good views off to other ridges this time of year when the leaves have not come out yet. That last little bit was tough, and I didn't think I was ever going to make it to Welch Ridge!
But, of course, eventually I did make it to Welch Ridge trail where I turned left (south). Another connection to a hike I did last year with Steve and Andy down Welch Ridge, over Cold Spring Gap, and then up Hazel Creek. So this 4 mile chunk of Welch Ridge trail was a repeat for me. I really like Welch Ridge trail - it traverses the ridge and offers nice views to the ridges on either side. There is some ridge walking, but luckily the trail usually traverses either side of the knobs. There are some significant ups and downs though, so it's not an easy trail. But good payoff.
I reached the junction with Bear Creek trail in early afternoon. I only had about 3 miles from there down into my campsite for the night and plenty of daylight left so I decided to take a side trip out to see High Rocks again. It's just 0.3 miles from the Bear Creek junction down to the High Rocks trail and then another 0.3 miles up (and I do mean UP!) to High Rocks itself.
Junction of side trail to High Rocks from Welch Ridge trail.
High Rocks is the site of an old fire tower with amazing views down toward Fontana Lake. It sits on an aptly named rock outcrop at an elevation of 5,188 feet above sea level. The only remnants of the fire tower are the four cement blocks that were the foundation. The keeper's cabin is still there, but is slowly falling on itself. There is an old chair and someone has also drug an old bed frame out of keeper's cabin an apparently used it to sleep on. There was a blue tarp left, and the remnants of a small fire in a crook of the rocks. :-/
I spent a good hour at High Rocks - had a snack, took off my shirts and basked in the sun (and got a little sunburned), and did some reading from the Little Brown Book. Among other things, the LBB says that in 1976 a park employee reported seeing a Mountain Lion near High Rocks! It sure would be perfect habitat, and locals will always tell you that there are still Mountain Lions in the Smokies even though there hasn't been any real evidence of one for a very long time. Of course, every little sound I heard after reading that sounded like a Mountain Lion was stalking me! Lol...
I reluctantly packed up and left High Rocks to head back down to Welch Ridge and then down Bear Creek trail toward backcountry campsite #75. Not a whole lot to say about Bear Creek trail. This time of year it's a pleasant hike through the woods. The leaves are off the trees so there are views down in to the valleys as well as off to other ridges. It is occasionally deeply rutted, but easy walking for the most part. I noticed a lot of quartz on this trail which was really pretty.
About 3 miles down from Welch Ridge I reached backcountry campsite #75 (Poplar Flats) at the spot where the trail connects with its namesake creek. The LBB says that this is also a horse camp and that there is a picnic table. The horse rail has fallen down and the picnic table is gone (sadly). But it is a reasonable campsite with one primary tenting area just above the creek with one set of bear cables (1 of the 4 cables was broken).
I followed the same ritual from the night before: collected some firewood for a small, cheery campfire. Made dinner (Mountain House Chicken & Dumplings - also yum) and hot chocolate, and had a glass of merlot to wind down beside the fire. I was in bed by about 8:30 this time.
Day 3. 10.4 miles
Again I was reluctant to get out of my warm sleeping bag and face the chilly morning. Temps in the 20s again. Coffee & oatmeal for breakfast and then on my way.
Bear Creek trail follows Bear Creek from campsite #75 down toward its junction with Forney Creek trail. When the trail is close beside the creek there is lots of Dog Hobble, lots of big round rocks, and some occasional very muddy/mucky spots. Sometimes the trail rises up to the ridge above the creek. All in all, a nice trail beside a beautiful mountain creek!
Toward the bottom of Bear Creek trail there are some bridges that cross the creek, presumably from the logging days when it was a railroad bed. Very close to the bottom of the trail three creeks come together: Welch Branch, Bear Creek, and Forney Creek, which makes for a big, wide creek! Absolutely beautiful.
At the spot where Bear Creek trail junctions with Forney Creek trail I saw my only wildlife (other than LOTS of birds) - a really pretty whitetail deer who stood still long enough for me to get a picture.
From here on out I did some backtracking to cover some trail sections that I wanted to get out of the way. So I turned right (southeast) on Forney Creek trail for 0.4 miles down to its junction with Lakeshore Trail and then retraced my steps back up the Bear Creek junction. Then I took Forney Creek trail north for 1.1 miles to meet up with Whiteoak Branch trail.
Once I reached the Forney Creek - Whiteoak Branch trail junction, I had completed the lollipop and would be backtracking for the rest of the day to get back to my car on Whiteoak Branch and Lakeshore trails.
I took a short side trip out to the Woody Cemetery. From the Whiteoak Branch - Lakeshore trail junction I followed Lakeshore Trail southwest for just a little ways til it crossed the creek, then took an unmarked side trail up to the cemetery. In the Smokies, cemeteries are ALWAYS at the top of a ridge and usually a fairly steep ridge. The Woody Cemetery is no exception. Along the way there was a clearing with this ginormous picnic table along the still flattish part of the trail. The cemetery is fairly large - maybe 50 graves? As is typical most of the grave markers are just stone slabs and any markings on them have long since worn away. But some of the gravestone had been replaced with modern markers. One set in particular was heartbreaking. There were eight stones that simply said "Infant Freeman"... Can you imagine? There is a good blog post about the Woody Cemetery on GoSmokies here.
Made it back to the tunnel a little after noon and was happy to get to my car and take off my backpack! It was Easter Sunday and there were LOADS of people arriving to day hike and to see the tunnel.
So that completed my lollipop backpack, but I had considered the possibility that since I was so close I might go ahead and do the 1-mile section of Noland Creek trail that is close by. That would save me time when I next come through this area to finish off the Lakeshore Trail and Noland Creek-Noland Divide trail, a trip I hope to do early this summer. I still felt pretty good, and knew that I could do this section without my pack so I decided to go for it.
I did the short drive from the tunnel over to the Noland Creek trail parking just over the highway bridge that crosses Noland Creek. There is a short access trail from the parking area down to the actual trail.
Here where the access trail reaches the actual Noland Creek trail you can either turn left (south) toward Fontana Lake or right (north) and go under the bridge and on toward the rest of the Noland Creek trail. I turned south toward Fontana. It's only a mile from here down to the lake and campsite #66.
Most of this part of Noland Creek is an old road. Wide and even and gravelly. It follows Noland Creek and crosses the creek on several very large sturdy bridges.
Great views of the beautiful Noland Creek from the bridges.
Near the end of the trail it turns from old road to muddy single track trail along the edge of the creek. This section is littered with trees and branches presumably deposited when Fontana Lake is filled and the water level rises above the current creek bank.
A BIG beautiful chunk of whitewater near the very end of Noland Creek where it meets Fontana Lake. A couple of locals I met along the way told me that when the lake is full the water covers this rapid. I could hardly imagine how different this area would look when the water is up!
I had always been confused by backcountry campsite #66... If you look on the map, there is Noland Creek trail that leads right to it (what I was on at the moment). BUT if you look at the campsite reservation system it says it's a "boat-in only" site. What??? But now I understand. During the winter when the water is down you CAN hike to it, but during the summer when the water is up the last bit of trail leading to the campsite would be covered with water and you wouldn't be able to get to the campsite. So it's seasonally accessible by trail, but always accessible by water.
I never did see an actual campsite marker like there usually is, nor did I see any bear cables. But this sign is at the end of the trail and there is a fire ring close by.
View of the inlet of Fontana Lake from the end of Noland Creek trail / campsite #66.
A little further along the shoreline is this magnificent construction! If I was going to stay in this campsite, this is where I would stay. There's a big semi-circular rock wall and a large rock fire pit, all up on a flat spot above the lake with a great view. Very nice.
It was a really great weekend to be out hiking. Other than right around the tunnel and trails close by I hardly saw any other hikers. Great weather, good trails, awesome views, and lots of time to just be quiet with myself.
Looking forward to more trips and maybe (hopefully!) wrapping up this quest this year. I've got the rest of the trips I need to do mapped out. Just need the time to do them.
Til next time, happy hiking!
