FROG LEVEL
I
had last weekend completely free, and I originally planned to spend the entire
time hiking and camping. I flirted with
the idea of a backpacking trip along the Laurel Fork of the Doe River in
northeastern Tennessee. It was the
perfect time of year for that hike, because there are 26 stream fords along the
way. However, my camping friends were
all busy, and the weather forecast was rainy.
Ultimately I decided to settle for a dayhike.
Brenda
decided to join me, and wet met at the parking area for the Laurel Fork off of
highway 321 just east of Hampton, TN. We
left my car there, and took her car up past Dennis Cove to a remote trailhead
in the national forest near Frog Level.
Frog Level is a series of meadows along the Laurel Fork, about 4 miles upstream
from Dennis Cove. The road to the
trailhead is a one lane forest road that is gated just beyond a crossing of
Little Laurel Fork. I’d read that the
rough could be rough, and would require high clearance and possibly 4WD. Because of this, I drove Christy’s Honda
Element. The road was in great shape for
our visit. I could’ve driven the Prius
down that road. Of course conditions of these
roads can change, so it was still nice to have two vehicles with at least
moderate clearance.
Ray’s
Weather was calling for morning fog and drizzle, with gradual improvement in
the afternoon. The Weather Channel
forecasted a 60% of thunderstorms. As
usual, Ray was more accurate. We both
drove through rain and fog that morning, but it was mostly finished by the time
we reached the trailhead near Frog Level.
Apparently it had rained all night though, since all of the creeks we
passed were running full. That was a bit
of a concern. Laurel Fork is a big
stream – as big as some mountain rivers – and it has major flash flood
potential. The hike could become
dangerous if the water rose while we were in the upper gorge. That stretch of trail is primitive, and the
numerous stream fords are unbridged.
Our
plan was to follow the old road down to the Laurel Fork at Frog Level. We’d cross the creek for the first time
there, and pick up the trail downstream.
We’d hike through new territory for both of us down to Dennis Cove
Falls. Beyond the falls, we’d pass
through a gorge before reaching the Dennis Cove campground. A short road walk would take us through the
Dennis Cove community to the Appalachian Trail.
We’d follow the A.T. through another gorge before finishing the hike
along an access trail out to highway 321.
First
though, we decided to check out a series of waterfalls on Little Laurel
Fork. They aren’t mentioned in Plumb’s
guide to Tennessee Waterfalls, but a waterfall is noted on the National
Geographic Map. The map calls it Firescald Branch Falls, presumably because it is located
near the confluence of Firescald Branch and Little
Laurel Fork.
We
hiked upstream along Little Laurel Fork, following a decent path through
tunnels of rhododendron. We reached the
base of the first waterfall quickly.
It’s a nice cascade, though the stream is small. From there we followed a slippery, primitive
path upstream. We passed more falls and
cascades along the way. One had some
neat potholes, but the best part was at the confluence of Little Laurel Fork
and Firescald Branch.
Both streams have waterfalls there, right where the two creeks
join. Oddly, Firescald
Branch had quite a bit more water than Little Laurel Fork, even though it looks
like the two drainages are equal in size.
We
headed back down, and ran into two guys from Kingsport near the bottom. We were startled, as we weren’t expecting to
see anyone else in such a remote location on a rainy day. We chatted briefly, before returning to the
trailhead. We’d spent an hour and a half
on our little side trip, so I decided to modify our plan for the day. Originally I planned to hike upstream from Frog
Level. There’s at least one, and
possibly two or three additional waterfalls up there. The guidebook mentions Upper Laurel Fork
Falls, which is also shown on the map.
I’d also heard about a Campbell Falls and a Pat’s Falls. I suspect that some of these may be duplicate
names for the same feature. I doubt
there are more than 2 waterfalls upstream from Frog Level. Exploring in that direction would’ve added 2+
miles to our round trip, which would’ve taken at least an hour and a half. Since it was already noon and we had 9 miles
to go, we decided to get moving.
We
hiked back to the ford of Little Laurel Fork, which I was able to rock
hop. From there we followed the muddy,
occasionally flooded remains of the road to Frog Level. We crossed the tributary two more times
before reaching the first meadow. The
dogs had a blast there, running through the grass. At the edge of the first
meadow we walked down to Laurel Fork, which is quite placid. It’s a wide, lovely stream, running under an
impressive canopy of tall trees. The
first ford was wide and gentle, with water less than knee deep. From there we continued downstream, crossing
the creek frequently. There were six
crossings between Frog Level and Dennis Cove Falls, but all of them were easy fords.
This
stretch of trail featured pleasant hiking, with another large meadow and a beaver
pond along the way. There was one mishap
though. It occurred while crossing
through the meadow. I was hiking along,
minding my own business, when I felt a burning sensation at the top of my
calf. I immediately started swatting,
and caught a glimpse of a hornet before I turned it into a yellow smear on the
back of my leg. At first I thought I was
in a nest of yellow jackets, but there was only one. Although it was a single bee, it did more
damage than multiple yellow jackets have ever inflicted on me. An hour later, my lower left leg was red and
swollen, and it was tender to walk on.
At least the itching didn’t start until that night.
The
nature of the creek began to change near Dennis Cove Falls. The placid stream disappeared, replaced by a
rollicking mountain creek. The trail got
steeper, and we descended a rough side path to reach the base of the 30’
falls. We scrambled out onto some
boulders for photos and an ideal lunch spot.
Dennis Cove Falls used to be highly photogenic, but unfortunately a
large hemlock has fallen across the falls.
It doesn’t look like it is going anywhere anytime soon.
The
creek was raging by the time we reached the base of the falls. I began to wonder if the water was still
rising. It could have been, since Laurel
Fork drains a large area. That was a
concern, because there were 3 challenging creek crossings downstream.
We
headed that way, passing Lower Dennis Cove Falls just a short distance
downstream from the main attraction.
That one is small, perhaps only 10’, and more of a cascade or big rapid
than a true waterfall. From there, it
wasn’t long before we reached the first ford.
This was a different beast from the ones we had navigated that
morning. The creek was narrower and
deeper, with a much stronger current.
All three of the lower crossings have a cable strung above the creek,
but each one is at least 6’ above the water.
I’m not sure how that is supposed to help, unless you’re an acrobat.
The
first two crossings weren’t too bad.
Each had plenty of boulders to hold onto as we crossed. The biggest difficulty was the coffee-colored
water. It was impossible to see our feet
and the numerous obstacles on the creek bottom.
This was particularly problematic on the final ford. That was the deepest one. Brenda would call it crotch deep. I call it soul deep. Although it was deep, and the footing was
awkward, the current wasn’t too strong.
We made it across unscathed, and I took a couple of minutes to change
from my sandals into my boots. It was
nice to do the last half of the hike with dry feet!
From
there, an easy hike led out to the Dennis Cove Campground and Dennis Cove
Road. Unfortunately, we had to walk down
the road to continue our hike. The road
walk only took about 15 minutes though, and only two cars passed by during that
time. When we reached the Appalachian
Trail, we were surprised to see quite a few cars in the parking lot. The rainy weather had scared people off early
that morning, but there were plenty out and about now. In fact, we saw quite a few folks during the
remainder of the hike. Most interesting
was a couple, apparently on their way to the A.T. shelter near Laurel Fork
Falls, carrying sleeping bags and other camping gear in their arms.
The
hike from Dennis Cove to Laurel Fork Falls is delightful. The A.T. follows the route of an old
railroad, passing through several cuts in the mountain that were blasted with
dynamite. One bridge over Laurel Fork
uses the original stone supports from a railroad bridge. Along the way we passed a spur trail heading
down towards the creek just downstream from the bridge. I explored it for a short distance, but
turned back because it was getting late.
Beyond the bridge, I spotted a steep but plausible route down to the
creek in the vicinity of Middle Laurel Falls.
I’ve never been to that waterfall, which is rarely visited due to its
remote location deep in the gorge. We
didn’t have time to add that adventure, so I’ll save it for another time. We also skipped the steep climb up a
primitive trail to the summit of Potato Top.
Normally I don’t pass that up, since it offers nice views of the gorge.
The
steep descent to the base of Laurel Fork Falls was a bit slippery on the wet
rocks, but not too bad. Surprisingly, we
had the base of the falls to ourselves.
There were a few people at the top of the falls – apparently they had
managed the steep, treacherous scramble up to that point. Fortunately they left a few minutes later,
allowing us the opportunity to photograph the falls. I’ve taken many photos of this waterfall over
the years, but this is the first time that I was happy with the result. The high water level and good light
definitely had a lot to do with it.
The
rest of the hike was uneventful. Early
on we negotiated a narrow stretch of trail squeezed between the creek and a
cliff. Later we crossed the creek two
more times on bridges. The final
highlight was Buckled Rock – an impressive vertical cliff towering over the
creek.
We
reached my car a bit after 6pm, about 10 hours after we arrived at the
trailhead near Frog Level. Although we’d
spent an hour and a half on Firescald Branch, I was
still surprised that the 9 mile hike had taken 6 ½ hours. I drove Brenda back to her car at the
starting trailhead. Then I got a little
adventurous. I didn’t want to drive all
the way back to Hampton, which is completely out of the way. Instead, I decided to navigate a maze of
forest roads to take a more direct route out to highway 19E near Elk Park.
It
seemed like a good idea at first. Then
the fog set in. Before long, I could
barely see the road. I'm pretty sure I was on the edge of a cliff, too,
but I couldn't see it. Progress was
slow, but at least I didn't get lost. I might have, because I kept
passing side roads in the fog that I could barely see. Luckily after a
few miles I got a cell signal and was able to use the GPS on my phone. It’s
a good thing, too – otherwise I might still be driving around in there.
The
scariest part of the drive was coming down highway 181 from Jonas Ridge. It is a steep, narrow road with hairpin
curves. We were half way down when Kona decided she wanted to drive.
At first she crawled onto the floorboards in front of the passenger seat,
but then she wriggled over onto my feet. I was yelling at her to move and
braking and looking for a place to pull off, but of course there weren't any
options. I ended up stopped in the middle of the road, but that was
dangerous because someone could've come up behind me without warning at 45mph.
I started going again, and she moved and I couldn't reach the brake.
I was nearly in full panic mode, drifting down the road towards a cliff.
I reached down with both hands, grabbed fur, and launched her into the
back. Luckily we were moving very slow, so I was able to regain control,
and nobody came up behind us.
I
definitely plan to return to the Laurel Fork for more exploration. I want to hike upstream from Frog Level, at
least as far as Upper Laurel Fork Falls.
And I still want to get down to Middle Laurel Falls. Plus, there is an appealing backpacking trip
starting from Dennis Cove. It would be a
loop, combining the upper portion of the Laurel Fork Trail with the A.T. That hike has 26 creek crossings, so I’ll
need to do it when it’s warm and the water levels are low.
And
now, it’s time for the latest installment of, “My Favorite”. Today’s edition is my favorite frogs.
4)
Michigan J. Frog – A bit creepy, but he’s got some moves. http://youtu.be/evgEJlOPoeo
3)
Froghorn Leghorn – Technically a chicken, but his
voice sounds like Colonel Sanders, which is rather clever if you think about
it.
2)
Frog Level, TN
1)
Who else, but Kermit the Frog?
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