I was lucky to be able to hump a 24 day food load into the Big Frog/Cohutta wilderness of TN and Georgia and pull an expedition trip in the truest sense of the word---long, uninterrupted, no resupply, all over the map---cold and hot and wet and dry---and even had some 10 mile days with a 90+lb pack (like Days 4 and 8 and 11 and 16).
Here's the trip report of my latest swaray into the backcountry---which could also be called The Three Rivers Trip as I connected Ocoee River to Jacks River to Conasauga River---and back again.
To see all trip pics go here---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backp...ta-Expedition/
COHUTTA
EXPEDITION
IN
24 DAYS
TRIP 197
April 22 to May 15, 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
**45 CREEK CROSSINGS
**14 BACKPACKERS SEEN
**FIRST BACKPACKERS FAMILY OF THREE
**JACKS RIVER CROSSING AFTER A 10 MILE DAY
**20 CROSSINGS OF THE CONASAUGA RIVER
**GOD'S ANUS 9 MILE DAY ON HICKORY CREEK AND EAST COWPEN AND HICKORY RIDGE
**DEANNA AND VAN ON JACKS RIVER
**BMT THRUHIKERS FIDDLEHEAD AND ROOT BOY ON BIG FROG MT
**3 DAYS IN A DELUGE ON FROG MT
**57 HOUR CONSECUTIVE RAINSTORM
**TRAIL HOBO JACOB ON WEST FORK 303 TRAIL
TRAILS
Entrance Thunder Rock on Ocoee River
BMT South
**West Fork Rough Creek**
West Fork 303 Trail Up
Rough Creek 70 Going West Up
Big Frog Trail 64 Up
**Low Gap**
Grassy Gap Trail Southwest
**Bear Pen Gap**
Wolf Ridge Trail Up
Chestnut Mt Down
FS 62 Roadwalk West
Beech Bottom Trail to Jacks River
Jacks River Trail One Crossing Upstream
**Rough Ridge Creek Camp**(2)
Rough Ridge Trail Up
**Crooked Dogwood Gap**
Rough Ridge Up to Cowpen Jct
**Cowpen Mt**
East Cowpen Trail South to 3 Forks Mt
FS 64 Roadwalk Southwest to Betty Gap
Conasauga River Trail Down 18 Crossings
**Connie/Panther Camp**
Conasauga River Downstream
**Crossing 19 Camp**
Connie River Backtrack to Bray Field
Hickory Creek Trail Up
**South Fork Hickory Creek Camp**
Hickory Creek Up
East Cowpen Up Southeast
Hickory Ridge Trail Down Crossing Jacks River
Beech Bottom Trail Up
**Beech Creek Secret Camp**
Beech Bottom Backtrack to Jacks River
Jacks River Trail Upstream 2 Crossings
**Jacks/Penitentiary Camp**(2)
Penitentiary Trail Up
**Rockwall Gap Camp**
Hemp Top Trail North
**Top of Frog Mt**
Wolf Ridge Down to Pace Gap
FS 221 Roadwalk Northeast
Big Creek Trail Up
**Peter Camp Creek**
Big Creek Up to Bark Legging Gap
Grassy Gap Trail Northeast
**Low Gap**
Big Frog Trail Up
**Tongue of the Frog**(4)
Big Frog Trail Down
Fork Ridge Trail 69 Down
Rough Creek 70 Down
**West Fork Crossing 3 Camp**
West Fork Trail Down
**West Fork Camp**
BMT North to Thunder Rock and OUT
My backpacking trip begins in Tennessee in Thunder Rock campground on the Benton MacKaye trail as it passes next to mighty Ocoee River for several hundred feet before climbing hard on 8 switchbacks out of the river valley.
After a 5 mile hump with a 90-95 lb pack I reach my first day's destination next to the West Fork of Rough Creek in the Big Frog wilderness---and I'm still on the BMT. My tent of choice is a Hilleberg Keron 3---and for me it's the perfect solo backpacking tent---even at 8 lbs 10 ozs.
I leave West Fork Camp on Day 2 and get off the BMT and hump up Rough Creek trail #70 west to jct the Big Frog trail and head to Low Gap. On Day 3 I take the Grassy Gap trail (still in the Big Frog) to Bear Pen Gap and along the way take a break to look at my map. All trips start with and sometimes end with a map.
This is Bear Pen Gap on Wolf Ridge trail and the place Grassy Gap trail ends (on the left) to intersect Wolf Ridge. If you follow Wolf Ridge up behind the pack you'll eventually reach Big Frog Mt at 4,240 feet. I climb Wolf Ridge up a half mile and veer off the ridge on the Chestnut Mt trail.
Day 4 is a big 10 mile day as I leave Wolf Ridge and take the 2 mile Chestnut Mt trail down to Big Frog FS road 62 and roadwalk about 2.5 miles to Beech Bottom trailhead and find this wonderful sign and could not agree more---keep your whining noisy toys out!! I'm now out of the Frog and into the Cohut!!
The first backpackers I see are on the Beech Bottom trail and it's a guy named Joe with his two daughters. They are heading out of the wilderness while I'm going in and will soon cross Jacks River to the Rough Ridge trailhead.
Beech Bottom trail drops me to Jacks River in 4 miles and then I cross to the Rough Ridge trail side and begin my Nut journey up the steep trail called Rough Ridge. After most of the tough climbs I reach a favorite campsite in Crooked Dogwood Camp which has a creek flowing thru it. Home sweet home.