THE
DARK TOWER
Our
Spring Break trip plans went through a lot of changes, but one thing remained
constant – Christy wanted to do a backpacking trip in the Smokies. I considered a lot of options,
but kept coming back to Mount Sterling.
The fire tower on the summit provides one of the best views in the park,
and there is a campsite just below it.
It had been 15 years since my last visit, and I was itching to go back. My only prior visit to Walnut Bottoms was
even more distant – approximately 1996 or 1997, if I recall correctly.
I
considered doing a loop from Cataloochee, but ultimately decided to approach it
from Big Creek. We would hike in from
the Big Creek Trailhead to Walnut Bottoms on Friday afternoon. I figured it would be manageable with a late
start, since it is an easy 5 mile hike. On Saturday we’d hike the Swallow Fork Trail
up to Pretty Hollow Gap. Then we’d
follow the Benton McKaye Trail up to the summit of
Mount Sterling. We’d camp there Saturday
night and get up early for sunrise on Easter.
On Sunday I’d hike down the Baxter Creek Trail to Big Creek to get the
car. That’s a 4,000’ descent in 6 miles,
with most of the downhill in the middle 3 miles. Christy’s knees don’t like long, steep
downhills. She would hike separately out
to Mount Sterling Gap. That is still a
2,000’ descent in 2 ˝ miles. That would
still be steep, but it would be a lot less than going down Baxter Creek and she
could take it slow. Once I got the car,
I would drive back up to Mount Sterling Gap and pick her up.
We
secured our permit 3 weeks before our trip and claimed the last two spots on
Mount Sterling. We made it out of
Charlotte at 1:30 on Friday, but it was the beginning of holiday weekend and
traffic was already terrible. The three hour drive to Big Creek took four, but that wasn’t all
bad. The last hour was through a
downpour that was NOT in the forecast.
Surprise! By the time we reached
the trailhead the storm had dwindled to a drizzle. We might not make it camp before dark, but at
least it wasn’t pouring.
We
still had light rain, and temperatures in the 40’s made for an unpleasant start
to the trip. Incredibly, Christy and I
had both misplaced the waterproof covers for our backpacks. Luckily the rain was light and only a few
things got damp.
The
Big Creek Trail follows an old railroad bed / road. It’s double-wide for the first few miles,
before narrowing. Early on we passed
high above Big Creek, which was raging.
It would be considered a river in most parts of the North Carolina
mountains. Hundreds of yellow wakerobin trillium kept us company early on.
We
passed Midnight Hole, a stunning swimming hole, before reaching Mouse Creek
Falls. Here, Mouse Creek tumbles 30’
directly into Big Creek. It’s a lovely
scene, and highly photogenic. Despite
the persistent rain and waning daylight, I dug out the tripod for photos.
We
crossed a slippery bridge over Big Creek to reach Walnut Bottoms. We found a lot of tents – apparently the
unexpected rain hadn’t deterred anyone.
Pretty much all of the campsites were taken, so we set up in a spot that
was the far end of a site occupied by a single tent. The rain had finally stopped, but everything
was wet. While I was setting up the tent
Christy worked on dinner. She rehydrated
and heated up chili that she had made, which was perfect for the
conditions. It was wet and chilly, but
we didn’t see any point in attempting to build a fire since it was late and
everything was wet. Instead we went to
bed early since we had a tough hike planned for Saturday.
It
was cold the next morning, which encouraged sleeping in. Originally, I had considered hiking to Gunter
Fork Falls that morning. However, that
waterfall is a 6 mile round trip from camp, and it requires
several creek crossings. The first
crossing, of Big Creek, is difficult and potentially dangerous when the water
is up. The water was definitely up, so I
decided to skip it.
We
had eggs, bagels, and coffee for breakfast.
We broke camp at 11:30 and considered immediately stopping for
lunch. Instead, we hiked up the Swallow
Fork Trail a couple of miles. It’s a
pleasant trail, passing some large trees and nice cascades on Swallow
Fork. The first half of the trail was
easy, except for a minor tributary that we had to wade due to the high water levels. A
bit later we stopped in a sunny glade for lunch. Afterwards, we started a long, steep grind up
to Pretty Hollow Gap. There we met three
young women from Wisconsin that were backpacking over Spring Break.
From
there, the final mile and a half on the Benton McKaye
Trail was a pleasant stroll along the ridgeline. A short distance below the summit we reached
a junction with the Mount Sterling Trail, which climbs up from Mount Sterling
Gap. That is the route that Christy
would descend on Sunday. From here we
saw lots of dayhikers that were eager to enjoy the
sunny weather and expansive views from the fire tower on the summit.
We
arrived at the summit around 4pm. After
the crowds at Walnut Bottoms, we were surprised to find the camping areas
deserted. We’d had to settle for a
marginal spot Friday night, but on Saturday we had our choice. We considered one of the more private sites
in the woods, but ultimately chose the spot in the meadow immediately below the
fire tower. We set up camp, and Christy
relaxed while I hiked down the Baxter Creek Trail .4 mile to the spring. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the filter
with me. I ended up doing that stretch
of trail 4 times – well, 5, if you count the hike out on Sunday morning. At least the spring was flowing nicely and it
was easy to fill up.
By
the time I returned to camp (the second time) the dayhikers
had all departed. One other group
arrived from Walnut Bottoms. They were a
friendly couple from Huntsville, AL.
Oddly, nobody else showed up that night.
Apparently, some of the people that had booked sites on Mount Sterling
had changed plans.
I
finally climbed the fire tower to take in the view. The tower is rickety, and it was really windy
once I climbed above the level of the surrounding trees. The 360 degree view
of the Smokies, Plott Balsams, and Newfound Mountains
from the top makes it worth it though.
From there I spotted Mount Cammerer and Cosby
Knob in the Smokies, the FAA tower on Snowbird Mountain, and the grassy bald of
Max Patch.
We
had an early pasta dinner before heading back up the tower for sunset. It was a nice one, with just enough clouds to
create some nice color. Afterwards we
built a campfire and watched the moon rise behind the tower. That made for a spooky scene! I took a few nighttime photos before letting
the fire die and heading to bed.
EASTER SUNRISE
We
got up at 7 on Easter and bundled up for the cold walk back to the tower. The wind was howling, and we only climbed
high enough to get a view of the colorful eastern horizon above the trees. The sun eventually emerged in the middle of a
band of clouds. Afterwards we were eager
to return to the tent to warm up. We
napped for another hour before getting up.
I made pancakes, eggs, and coffee for breakfast before we broke camp. After a chilly start, it was another pleasant
day that promised nice conditions for the hike out.
The
Baxter Creek Trail is one of my favorites in the Smokies. The first mile follows a high ridgeline
through a mossy spruce / fir forest.
Eventually the trail began to drop in earnest. The next few miles are less enthralling, as
this stretch of trail is all about getting down to Big Creek. The highlight was the occasional large tree,
and a few lovely patches of spring beauties in bloom. The low point was a couple of huge trees that
had fallen across the trail. I had to
take off my pack to get over the second one.
The
final two miles of the Baxter Creek Trail passed through a riot of
wildflowers. Entire hillsides were
covered with trilliums, spring beauties, trout lilies, wild geraniums, and
more. The hillsides were lush and green,
and water was flowing everywhere.
Eventually those small streams led me to Big Creek, which was still
raging. This part of the trail was a
delight, and I was a little sad when the parking lot came into view.
I
made fast work of the drive up to Mount Sterling Gap, as I was a little behind
schedule and I didn’t want to keep Christy waiting. I found her waiting at the trailhead. We had a celebratory post-hike beer before
driving back down the mountain and on to Knoxville. We had a very late lunch of tacos, chips and queso, and beer at Sunspot before heading off for our next
adventure.
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