Hiking Big Frog Mountain

[Jon Henderson]

I'm considering doing Big Frog this summer from Thunder Rock Campground. It looks similar to Mt. Guyot from Cosby that I did last fall, but with less elevation gain. I'm thinking of doing it this way (one day) because the forest service office said the road up to the trailhead was pretty rough and didn't think a passenger car like my Honda mini van could get up there. Anyway, any advice anyone could give me about road conditions, trail conditions, etc, would be greatly appreciated. The whole area just looks awesome from the road and it's lots closer to me than the Smokys.

[TNhiker]

I took my Hyundai sonata back on that road to get to the Licklog ridge trail back in there.....maybe 2 years ago...

it it was a rough ride and took forever to get back there....

I really dug the hike there...

i made loop of going up licklog ridge and camping upon big frog moubtain and then coming down that to rough creek and completing the loop....

i found the trails easy to follow but not all are signed (unless new ones have been put down)....

also--the cohutta wilderness is right next door and it's got some nice trails in it as well....

[Jon Henderson]

Thanks Tn! Big Frog in one day from Thunder Rock should be epic! I'm really looking forward to it.
jon

[Ashepabst]

you'd better do it soon, Jon. the summer weeds are getting high already and those Wilderness trails don't see a whole lot of use. a few Septembers back I used one of the lower Big Frog Trailheads and took Grassy Gap Tr to Wolf Ridge Tr, and back down Big Frog Tr the next day. Both Grassy Gap and Wolf Ridge Trails were an overgrown nightmare for long stretches. of course it's possible that these have been maintained recently, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that. The BMT probably gets more maintenance.

[Jon Henderson]

Thanks for the info, Ashe! Is the trail from Thunder Rock the Benton McKaye?

[TNhiker]

should be......

[Jon Henderson]

I just looked on the map, and I think the BMT intersects the route from Thunder Rock higher up on Peavine Ridge.

[TNhiker]

I just looked at sgt rocks book and it shows the BMT coming into the back of thunder rock campground...

[4shot]

I just looked at sgt rocks book and it shows the BMT coming into the back of thunder rock campground...

it does, just walked it a couple weeks ago. Trail condition was pretty decent in that stretch. But I would not wear shorts anywhere on the BMT at this time of year as there are always intermittent patches where the weeds are knee to chest high. I remember walking across one of the skinniest little ridges you will ever see coming down Big Frog. I also remember thinking that the climb up for a sobo would be pretty tough in that heat. one of the few climbs similar that i recall on the AT to this one would be the climb up out of the NOC.

[HICKS]

It's a very nice area. I did an overnight loop in Fall '13. We started at the parking area on FS 221. It was not a terrible drive from Thunder Rock but I don't think I'd try it in a mini-van.

Our route was Big Frog Trail up to the top of Big Frog Mountain the first day. There is a spring near the campsites but it was dry when we were there.

The second day we went Hemp Top / Wolf Ridge / Grassy Gap / Big Frog back to the parking area. We ran into a group of wild boar, I think it was on Wolf Ridge trail.

Both of these books cover the area:

https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Trails...ail+of+cohutta

https://www.amazon.com/Cherokee-Nati...erokee+skelton

[Jon Henderson]

Thanks for all of the info! So, is the most expedient route up Big Frog Mountain going up the road, then going up Big Frog trail? The BMT seems a more roundabout way up.

[Jon Henderson]

I just found Tim Homan's book at McKay's.

[Ashepabst]

yeah, you can cut off some miles if you follow FS221 up to the Big Frog Mountain Trailhead (trail 64). I did this drive in my Volvo (I believe it was 2010 when I was there) and had no trouble with the road. it was only a short jaunt on gravel roads up from the river.

Trail 64 was actually pretty clear when I was there --didn't have the same issue with pushing through weeds as on the other trails.

[Jon Henderson]

Thanks for the info, Ashe! That sounds promising!
Jon