Whats your favorite loop?

[blue indian]

I guess I should mention that I am NOT a shelter person and would only use the AT as a connector trail/ for the views.

I was looking at this loop as well...any comments?

day 1: Noland creek to cs#64
day 2: Spring house branch to Forney Ridge trail to Clingmans Dome. After visiting the dome take Forney Creek trail down to cs#68 or 69
day 3: cs#68 or 69 back to Spring house branch (or white oak branch) back to the car.

THe only hang up I can see is that the last day would be really long. What do yall think?

[HooKooDooKu]

This looks like a nice loop. Are their views on Mt. Sterling?

If you're brave enough to climb the 60' fire tower... yes.

Because this tower gets fewer visitors than Shuckstack (just off the AT about 4 miles north of Fontana), the wood and platform are in much better shape.

[HooKooDooKu]

I guess I should mention that I am NOT a shelter person and would only use the AT as a connector trail/ for the views.

I was looking at this loop as well...any comments?

day 1: Noland creek to cs#64
day 2: Spring house branch to Forney Ridge trail to Clingmans Dome. After visiting the dome take Forney Creek trail down to cs#68 or 69
day 3: cs#68 or 69 back to Spring house branch (or white oak branch) back to the car.

THe only hang up I can see is that the last day would be really long. What do yall think?

If you're worried about a long last day... my first comments are:
1. Don't return via Spring house branch. That's a 4 mile 1,700' climb. Do Whiteoak and the tunnel instead.
2. Since you'll get to see some views from Andrews Bald, skip Clingman's Dome. Go strait from Andrews Bald to Forney Creek. You will save 3 miles and a 900' climb. You can always drive to Clingman's Dome parking lot at a later time.

I did a similar loop last year with kids...
Start at Clingman's Dome Parking Lot. Hike down Forney Ridge and Springhouse Branch to CS64.
Next day, back-track Springhouse branch all the way over to Forney Creek to CS69.
Third day, continue up Forney Creek and return to Clingman's Dome parking lot.
Toss your pack in the car, then hike up to Clingman's Dome observation tower with just a water bottle.

About the only things different from your suggested loop is you miss Noland Creek between CS65 and CS64, and no option for hiking thru the tunnel at the end of "The Road to Nowhere".

[HooKooDooKu]

Which campsites did you stay at on the Big Creek loop?

My guess would be a single over-night stay at Laurel Gap shelter. That makes for two 11 mile (ish) days.

The two night alternative would be CS37 (mouse infested, so keep a close eye on your food bag even during the day) and CS38 (lots of bugs because of the beebalm? plants if you stay in the open field under the tower). But that would make for 5 / 12 / 6 mile days. A shorter alternative is Swallow Fork rather than Gunther Fork making for 5 / 6 / 6 mile days.

[Joey]

Lakeshore Trail to Eagle Creek BC 90-Eagle Creek to Spence Field then the AT to Fontana

Beech Gap Trail from Roundbottom to Hyatt Bald and McGhee Springs -Enloe Creek Trail to Hughes Ridge - AT Balsam Mtn Trail back to Roundbottom

[blue indian]

If you're brave enough to climb the 60' fire tower... yes.

Because this tower gets fewer visitors than Shuckstack (just off the AT about 4 miles north of Fontana), the wood and platform are in much better shape.

Ive been up to Shuckstack and that tower made me nervous. I kind of froze about half way up (it was really windy up there) but i eventually went all the way to the top. THe view was amazing

[blue indian]

If you're worried about a long last day... my first comments are:
1. Don't return via Spring house branch. That's a 4 mile 1,700' climb. Do Whiteoak and the tunnel instead.
2. Since you'll get to see some views from Andrews Bald, skip Clingman's Dome. Go strait from Andrews Bald to Forney Creek. You will save 3 miles and a 900' climb. You can always drive to Clingman's Dome parking lot at a later time.

I did a similar loop last year with kids...
Start at Clingman's Dome Parking Lot. Hike down Forney Ridge and Springhouse Branch to CS64.
Next day, back-track Springhouse branch all the way over to Forney Creek to CS69.
Third day, continue up Forney Creek and return to Clingman's Dome parking lot.
Toss your pack in the car, then hike up to Clingman's Dome observation tower with just a water bottle.

About the only things different from your suggested loop is you miss Noland Creek between CS65 and CS64, and no option for hiking thru the tunnel at the end of "The Road to Nowhere".

This looks good.

First off, I wanted to do Spring House Branch bc I havent hiked it yet, but I also havent hiked White Oak branch either. But I have done the tunnel, but have no problems walking it again. IT was cool.

Second, I heard there were no views from Andrews Bald so thats why I was wanting to hike up to Clingmans.\

Im taking someone whos never backpacked in the Smokies so Im trying to give her a little taste of everything the Smokies has to offer while hiking new trails for myself.

[TNhiker]

if you have the stamina to climb up to 68-----i found this to be a nice site (i also dug 69).....

68 has a waterfall at the upper campsite (there's a lower campsite as well).......

also, if you're in this area----i would take the little manway off of forney ridge trail and go see the old boiler.....

gives some historical factor to the area you'll be hiking in.........

[blue indian]

if you have the stamina to climb up to 68-----i found this to be a nice site (i also dug 69).....

68 has a waterfall at the upper campsite (there's a lower campsite as well).......

also, if you're in this area----i would take the little manway off of forney ridge trail and go see the old boiler.....

gives some historical factor to the area you'll be hiking in.........

I havent been that far up on forney before. I spllit off at jonas creek last time i was in that area. I will be sure to stop at one of those campsites though

[blue indian]

ok, so I might do this loop. What do yall think? And these mileages are approximations..

day 1: Big Creek trailhead to cs#37 (5.3 mi)
day 2: cs#37 to Gunter Fork -> Balsam Mnt -> Sterling Ridge to camp at cs#38 (11.5 mi)
day 3: cs#38 -> Baxter Creek -> Big Creek trailhead


Ive never been to this side of the Park. It looks rich in water features and a view at Mt. Sterling fire tower. And no real major climbs except for Baxter Creek which we should be going down..

[HooKooDooKu]

ok, so I might do this loop. What do yall think? And these mileages are approximations..

day 1: Big Creek trailhead to cs#37 (5.3 mi)
day 2: cs#37 to Gunter Fork -> Balsam Mnt -> Sterling Ridge to camp at cs#38 (11.5 mi)
day 3: cs#38 -> Baxter Creek -> Big Creek trailhead


Ive never been to this side of the Park. It looks rich in water features and a view at Mt. Sterling fire tower. And no real major climbs except for Baxter Creek which we should be going down..

What goes down must have gone up...
In this case, Gunter Fork is a 2,200' climb.
Of course that compares to the 4,000' decent of Baxter.
That means you've got a 1,800' climb spread over the rest of the trail.
Big Creek isn't flat land... 1,500' of climb from the trail head to Gunter Fork... but that's spread over 6 miles.

But over all, sounds like a great hike...
Day 1, travel to GSMNP & hike 5+ miles.
Day 2, hike 11.5 miles (primary climb) (jumps to over 12 miles if you don't haul water to CS38)
Day 3, hike 6 miles and travel home

Be prepared for lots of mud along Sterling Ridge. Because the trail is relatively flat, it doesn't drain the way hill-side trails do. As a result, there's lots of mud in certain places and at times you will not be able to avoid it.

Also note that the water source for CS38 will be over 1/3 of a mile PAST the campside (down hill). It's located on a side path that starts about 0.2 miles past the camp site.
When I was recently on Sterling Ridge, there was plenty of water for the couple of miles just past Laural Gap Shelter. But about 1/2 way to the intersection with Swallow Fork trail, you run out of mountain above you to provide seeps to pull water from.

Since most of Sterling Ridge is relatively level, I personally would tank up on the water soon after Laural Gap just so I don't have to hike the extra 2/3 mile (round trip) to get water at the camp site.

Oh, and I almost forgot... the mice at CS37. The only place I've ever stayed and wound up with a hole in my food bag. The bag was hung on the bear cables, but it was resting against my pack (the mice can climb the bear cables). Not sure if it was over night on the cables they went for my food bag or while it was on the ground while preparing meals and just didn't notice them. In any case, because of the popularity of this campsite (it's got room for 20), it has a mouse problem.

[blue indian]

Thanks for all the input HKDK. Apparently thats a popular part of the park because most of the sites are taken up almost all weekend. I guess I will keep checking to see if anything changes.

Or maybe I could reverse the loop at stay at CS#38 the first night.

[blue indian]

Thanks for all the input HKDK. Apparently thats a popular part of the park because most of the sites are taken up almost all weekend. I guess I will keep checking to see if anything changes.

Or maybe I could reverse the loop at stay at CS#38 the first night.

Or we could stay at cs#36, but thats primarily a horse camp. But cs#37 is booked up all weekend

[PatmanTN]

I have never been on Jenkins trail but I did watch a video and it looked the trail was in very bad shape is this so ? Thanks

Tim, sorry for the late reply I just saw this.... yes Jenkins is usually overgrown by summer unless you happen to catch it right after a maintenance. But I consider the solitude of that trail a worthwhile trade-off. Strangely I've met many experienced smokies hikers that don't care for Jenkins Ridge Trail but I really like it and have done it one direction or the other about 12 times now.

[PatmanTN]

Which campsites did you stay at on the Big Creek loop?

blue indian, I've done variations of that loop with many different camps. On the most recent trip i stayed on mt sterling and that made day 1 about 17 miles ( i needed to be home by a certain time on Sunday and so front loaded the miles) Here is video I did for another site of just that loop: https://youtu.be/7pvZ2FH-CZ8

Also if anyone wants to see a sample of the view from the top of the mt sterling firetower, check it out...

[PatmanTN]

whoops, also meant to tell tim that on the loop we're discussing you could camp at laurel shelter to make the mileage split more equitable

[HooKooDooKu]

Or we could stay at cs#36, but thats primarily a horse camp. But cs#37 is booked up all weekend

CS38 is usually the problem site trying to get a reservation on that loop. CS37 usually isn't that difficult because it has that capacity of 20.

When and how many people are you looking at? I see where CS37 is only full for next Friday and Saturday, then again the following Thursday and Friday. Otherwise it looks wide open. You can stay at CS36, it's pretty wide open except for the 25th.

[blue indian]

CS38 is usually the problem site trying to get a reservation on that loop. CS37 usually isn't that difficult because it has that capacity of 20.

When and how many people are you looking at? I see where CS37 is only full for next Friday and Saturday, then again the following Thursday and Friday. Otherwise it looks wide open. You can stay at CS36, it's pretty wide open except for the 25th.

Me and one other are looking to get out the weekend of the 24th.

Another option I am considering is extending the trip another night and staying at Laurel Gap shelter on Saturday.

If we stay at Laurel Gap shelter, are we required to sleep inside the shelter like on the AT?

[HooKooDooKu]

If we stay at Laurel Gap shelter, are we required to sleep inside the shelter like on the AT?

Yes... and since there's no thru hikers at Laurel Gap, there isn't even an applicable "over-flow" rule to allow tents/hammocks at the shelter.

[PatmanTN]

Been in a hurry lately and didn't read the whole thread earlier ....I see the questions I answered were much more fully replied to by HooKooDooKu. lol, well done!

Hey what does HooKooDooKu mean anyway? I run onto folks from Birmingham pretty often in these parts...I wonder if we've met?