Carver's Gap to Dennis Cove

[nitegaunt]

Just got back from a great three day hike from Carver's Gap to Dennis Cove. The weather couldn't have been better and we (my friend and I) had an awesome time. The balds beyond Overmountain Shelter were beautiful and it was just cloudy enough to not be seriously hot. We decided to leave the AT and hit the Laurel Fork trail for the last leg of the trip. I would highly recommend this route btw. When you get to where the AT crosses the gravel forest service road a few miles after Mountaineer Falls shelter you take a right up that road for a few minutes and you'll see a sign that says to trail #39. Go down that and then there will be a little intersection of trails and you take the one that says to Frog Level. Great piece of trail that holds tight with the water and ends up at Dennis Cove falls and finally Dennis Cove road. We had a swim there and got picked up at Kincora for the ride home. Just what I needed before school starts back.

[Tennessee Viking]

How bad were the fords? I have been about chest deep on some trips. The backed-up mud from the beaver dams doesn't help.

Laurel Fork is a great trail. I walked it from the Walnut Mtn Road end to Bitter End (your jump on point). It was barely blazed but fairly easy to follow even in the open fields. Also did a quick trip to Upper Dennis Cove falls. Then from the campground to the first Frog Level fields. I found an old railroad spike back in there on one trip.

The best swimming hole is Dennis Cove Falls.

[nitegaunt]

I guess since there hasn't been too much rain this summer the fords weren't bad at all. I've been there where it was about waist deep but this time it never went over the knees. My shorts didn't even get wet until I jumped in at the falls, haha! I heard that some of that used to be the old AT. Do you know if that's true?