Smokies, Greenbrier Pinnacle Off Trail, 11-20-93

Greenbrier Pinnacle was one of the first hikes I did with the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. Despite many return visits, and many new variations, I never really took good notes on any of the trips, at least not enough to make a good story out of. So instead of typing up a single trip report, I’ve combined notes from all my trips into a single record. This will include four ascents up and down the old fire tower access trail (now the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway), two trips up the Cat Stairs off trail route with descents of the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway, and one trip up Ed’s Devils Den off trail route where we also descended the Pinnacle manway. Finally, I’ll also include a trip with the SMHC led by Mike Harrington where we started up the Cat Stairs route to Barnes Cemetery and Copeland Divide. But on this trip instead of going up the Cat Stairs, we continued down the north face of the Pinnacle to reach the Old Settlers Trail via Soak Ash Creek. A similar trip with Ed, but going up Soak Ash and down Little Bird Branch, will have its own write up.

The Greenbrier Pinnacle manway is one of several trails removed from the park trail map just before I moved to Tennessee in 1993. Some of these trails including Blanket Mountain and Bunker Hill were removed after their fire towers were dismantled and because there was now no high impact feature to justify maintaining the access trail. In the 1993 SMHC handbook Elsie Dodson described the Greenbrier Pinnacle Trail as “taken off the most recent NPS map.” Here’s my description of that 1993 club trip.

11-20-93 Greenbrier Pinnacle #1

10 miles, with SMHC group about 20

We had a beautiful clear day for this 10 mile hike. The first 1.5 miles are a steady climb along an old access road, the next 3.5 are a little steeper along the remains of a very old jeep road to the old tower site. The entire route is probably runnable, but would be tough. The foundation of the tower and another building are still in place, but the tower was removed 10-12 years ago. Along the trail there are two good overlooks with views into Greenbrier Cove and toward Guyot. I talked to one guy who once hiked along Pinnacle Ridge to Guyot, but he said it was extremely difficult. I'm starting to recognize some of the SMHC regulars and will probably join the club if they send me an application.

Greenbrier Pinnacle vista 2006, Steven Miller.

3-10-02, Greenbrier Pinnacle #2

10 miles, w/ Jean

We did this hike before wildflower season, but when the high country trails were still too snowy to hike. We found the old manway in good shape all the way to the overlook. The lower third climbed through rhodo, while the middle third was in open forest, and the final third in rhodo. I noted a nice sandstone outcrop near a stream crossing about 0.3 mile in. There was a piped spring about 2.9 miles in with a small pool of water. Just down the trail is a great overlook of LeConte at about 3.1 miles. We saw two old barrels at the switchback just beyond the overlook. The tower footings were intact, and there was a concrete cistern and rock wall foundation near the tower site. We saw two other hikers plus two sets of people with backpacks digging ramps on the lower trail.

3-16-03, Bird Branch & Soak Ash Creek with SMHC

8.5 miles, SMHC led by Mike Harrington

My next hike into the area was a SMHC trip led by Mike Harrington. The hike did not go to Greenbrier Pinnacle, but started on the old road to Barnes Cemetery and Copeland Divide that is the approach to the Cat Stairs, the main off trail alternative to the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway. Jean was on this trip along with Charlie Klabunde and Ronnie McGaha.

We started from the Old Settlers Trailhead and walked up the Ramsey Cascade Road to the manway leading to the Barnes Homesite. I took route notes on a field sheet and later got GSP data from Mike, though the GPS data didn’t quite match the field mapping drawn on my sheet. My early attempts at compiling GPS data were hampered by a lack of strategy. I now GPS an entire route and save it as a field file. I then add the route to a master map, and try to edit the master map for clarity. It’s also been helpful to include a picture of the master map with my images that shows the latest route highlighted in order to quickly refresh my memory on which trip went where. The manway to the Barnes Home site and Copeland Divide is shown on the1931 and 1949 park maps.

Barnes Cemetery 2006, Steven Miller.

The trip was too early for good wildflowers, though we saw lots of buds and some spring beauties, pussy toes, violets, and bloodroot. The manway was well defined all the way to Copeland Divide. Here the route to the Cat Stairs and Greenbrier Pinnacle splits off to the right, but we kept straight down the north side of the Pinnacle. The forest was clear and open through the entry to Soak Ash Creek all the way to a junction with the Old Settlers Trail. My notes include advice from Chris Hamilton to stay out of the upper end of adjacent Snakefeeder Branch due to rough cliffs.

It was a long ways back to the cars via OST, but that is one trail that always seems longer than it should be.

11-8-03, Greenbrier Pinnacle #3

10 miles, SMHC Trip led by Jean and Doris Gove, ~20 hikers

I joined Jean for what we expected to be an easy hike to the old fire tower site. We found the old trail to be in good shape to the overlook, then slightly overgrown beyond it. My hike notes were very brief, and again I did not take a GPS track of the route. Jean ended up sweeping, and spent the entire climb with one very slow hiker who nonetheless had enough wind to keep talking all the way up the mountain. Doris didn’t stop for a break, and so the main body of hikers had reached the tower, eaten lunch, and started back down when Jean and the last hiker reached the overlook. It would have been too long a wait for the hiker to go up to the tower, so we turned him around, which did not make him happy. However, he was fine hiking downhill amid the pack, giving Jean a much less stressful descent.

11-13-05, Greenbrier Pinnacle via the Cat Stairs #1

7.3 miles, SMHC group of 17

The hike started about 100 yards down the Ramseys Cascade Road and then turned off onto an old farm road to the left. The road remained easy follow to the Barnes Homestead. We came to a bog, then the cemetery, and then an old chimney. The route had received recent work to keep it open.

From the Barnes homesite we continued on the old manway to Copeland Divide. Here we turned east, and away from the route used on Mike Harrington’s 2003 traverse. We followed a narrow ridge crest which became progressively steeper, but we could still see short sections of old trail. Some sections were exactly on the crest. The Cat Stairs begins at a small, sharp saddle at the base of a tall rock wall. It was imposing, but made a good lunch spot.

The Cat Stairs from Bobby Trotter.

The first move on the climb up the rock wall was the most difficult. The route was left of the main crest and required a wide stem move to climb it. Bobby Trotter got a good shot of me here that won the club’s “People in the Outdoors” category for the photo contest. There were a few other tricky spots further up, but the route was clear up through the rhodo and heath. There was only one other move as tough as the first one. We found the ridge crest to flatten dramatically at the top. Then there was still a very faint trail through thick laurel before reaching the intersection with the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway, but the final section required some crawling.

On the manway we went a short distance to the overlook. The return was back down the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway, and then back to the Ramsey Cascade Trailhead. My notes do not mention a trip to the fire tower site. Overall, the trip was easier than I expected, partly because of the fearsome reputation of the Cat Stairs, and partly because the route was reasonably easy to follow. I thought that Jean would like the route and hoped to take her there soon.

4-9-06, Greenbrier Pinnacle via the Cat Stairs #2

7.4 miles, w/ Jean and Steven

On this trip I did the same route as the SMHC trip that previous fall with Jean and our friend Steven. This time I measured the start of the Barnes manway as about 0.5 mile up the road from the Old Settlers TH. We followed the old farm road to the Barnes homesite, and then on to Copeland Divide. There was poor manway to the base of the Cat Stairs, where we had lunch at the base of the stairs.

Leaving the Barnes Cemetery, 2006, Steven Miller.

There was some ice on the stairs, but the main issue was that Steven was not comfortable with the exposure on the route, especially at the start, and on the main rock band. But we made it through the climb and began the thrash through the underbrush toward the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway. We saw another party in the woods who were looking for the head of the stairs. We got off route looking for them. In turn we surprised them, which also led to some confusion. 

At the Greenbrier Pinnacle Overlook, 2006, Steven Miller

Steven sent us copies of some of his pictures, but we took slides of the trip. Somehow I still had no GPS info for the Cat Stairs or Pinnacle. My notes do not mention a trip to the fire tower site.

Big tree along the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway, 2006, Steven Miller.

8-17-08, Devils Den

6.0 miles, w/ Jean and Ed

Jean and I joined Ed to scout a hike that he had proposed for the SMHC. We would hike to Devils Den, then explore the ground above it. Basically, we would climb a ridge through Devils Den to join the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway and return to our cars via the manway. Jean took pictures, and I finally recorded a GPS track for our trip.

From the Ramsey Cascade Trailhead, we crossed the first bridge, and then very quickly went off trail to the north on an old settler road. We soon lost that road, but we went left again and found another decent manway. We followed the manway to a small ridge, then ascended on the ridge.

We passed a tall “Pulpit” like outcrop that Ed called Buzzard Rock. We continued up to 3375’ which marked the start of Devils Den, which turned out to be a small flat area perched below the small knob. The August foliage was too dense to see much, but Ed was able to follow evidence of old farms even in this small, isolated valley. The valley was obviously popular with bears. I saw more bear scat here than I ever had in my life, with the possible exception of a spot on the western end of the John Muir Trail in Pickett State Forest.

Buzzard Rock on Devils Den.

At the “den” the old trail ended, and we went directly up the next ridge. The climbing was very steep. We were able to work around the rockiest sections, but there was one area where short legged Jean had some difficulty. But the rhodo and laurel were not too thick, and we got to eat some early blueberries. We hit a final easy flat stretch before intersecting the Greenbrier Pinnacle manway about three hours after we’d started. We turned left on the manway to have lunch. My GPS map shows we did not go to the tower site.

On the descent we did a little light clipping on the manway. There was lots of rhodo, laurel, and hemlock closing in on the upper section. Our pictures show one massive snake on the return.

Snake seen on our return hike.

We saw one hiker on Greenbrier Pinnacle. Some hikers we talked with on the Ramsey Cascade Trail had just seen a bear, but we could only hear it rattle through the underbrush.

1-22-12, Greenbrier Pinnacle #4

10 miles, w/ Jean and the Henns

On this trip we went off trail with Ed, Claudia, and our friends from the Barkley, Karl and Kathy Henn,  along with their son Kyle. The Henns had just finished the Smoky Mountains 900 miles and were looking for some new things to try. We caught a break with a sunny morning in a long spell of nasty weather.

The Henns at the trailhead.

The Greenbrier Pinnacle manway was still in good shape. Karl and Cathy thought it was better than some official park trails. The group was a bit slow, so Jean and I did some clipping as we walked along.

The group at the former lookout tower site.

We passed several nice cliffy spots along the trail, and one overhanging “lunch break’ sized rock. We could also see several remaining rock retaining walls. But our favorite spot was very open forest with a grove of huge poplar in the center section.

Big tree in the middle section of the manway.

We ate lunch at the overlook, then went up to the tower site. There was a large metal trash can along the way. At the site was an old junction box. The chimney from the old lookout’s cabin has toppled, but the cistern was still intact. We had good winter views on most of the trail.

Cistern at the firetower site.

Mountain Masochist (VA) 50 Mile Race, 10-23-93

I’m probably a compulsive record keeper. The trip reports that I have typed up for this blog come from a series of notebooks I’ve kept on my travels since I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1976. Over the years I’ve lost a few sets of notes and/or the maps that went with them, and in some rare cases I went on long trips without keeping a journal. But my records for my most of my major trips are intact. One notable exception is the 1993 Mountain Masochist 50 miler. This was only my second ultramarathon finish, but for some reason I did not make a detailed journal entry for the race, and I have no pictures from it.

This report was typed in 2023, so much of the details are long forgotten. For background, I used my entry and result sheets for the race. The race results are published in the archives of Ultrarunning, along with a race report, presumably by David Horton, and brief notes from three other runners. Mountain Masochist now has “new” race directors and the information on their web site does not go back into the 1990s.

1993 was my first year in Tennessee, and I was having some trouble adapting to the climate. My ultrarunning history was slim; I’d dropped out at 43 miles in my first 50 miler in 1990, finished the same race in 1991, and finished a trail marathon in 1992. I assumed I would be able to use a similar training schedule to what I’d used out west, building up my mileage through the summer to peak for a fall race. The East Tennessee humidity put a quick end to those plans. 1993 was a particularly hot, humid year as a huge weather pattern camped out over the southeast causing flooding of the Mississippi River and record heat in the southeast. I had no experience with the type of humidity that covered me in sweat by the time I reached the end of the driveway. On top of that, my grass pollen allergies, that had been dormant while living out west, were in full bloom. I’d typically need to pull over at least once on my afternoon commute (in my unairconditioned truck) to recover from a hay fever attack.

I was working underground in the Jefferson City Zinc Mine, where at least it was cool and pollen free. At the time I was living near Mascot and did my midweek running near home or at House Mountain (now a Knox County Park). I also was doing a lot of road biking from home, which was much cooler. I could run after work, but struggled with finding longer runs on the weekends. Anything local was miserable, starting in early morning was cooler, but meant the humidity was 100%. But trails in the Smokies brought some relief. It was higher and cooler, and all the trails were new to me then. If I avoided the horse trails the footing was good. I was too new to the area to know other runners, so all my workouts were solo. As it turned out Knoxville was rather late to trail running, so there wasn’t anyone else out on the trails.

By August I was getting in a series of 15-20 training runs in the Smokies, mostly from Cosby or Big Creek, which were my closest trailheads. In early September I was in Wyoming’s Wind River Range for a week-long backpack/climbing trip. After that trip I went back to the Smokies for my weekend runs. My preparation was good, with the exception that I had only one run over 20 miles. 50 miles was probably the most common ultramarathon distance in those days, and I probably chose Mountain Masochist because it was reasonably close to home, and had a 10 year history of management by David Horton.

The 1993 Mountain Masochist Course.

I drove up to Lynchburg, VA on Friday, went to the pre-race banquet, and had a motel room In Lynchburg. The next morning, I rode the bus from Lynchburg to the start at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s James River VC. The course is a long point-to-point route. Without a crew the bus was the only way to get back to my car. We were lucky to have one of those perfect fall weather days.

Most of the course was dirt and gravel forest service roads that headed north along the parkway. (Note that the current racecourse has changed substantially and is now an out and back course with a couple of side loops). My course map shows the first 6 miles as paved, but I don’t remember that. The course began with a quick out and back loop, probably to make the distance an even 50 miles. There would be 16 aid stations, each with a cutoff to keep us under a 12 hour finish. I was nervous about the cut off as my prior 50 mile finish at the 1992 Deadwood race was in 12:20.The early part of the race went well, but then my left knee began to bother me. I’d had IT band trouble in my previous ultras, and continue to be plagued with the issue. I think somewhere around 17 miles (Aid 6) it began to bother my running. Thankfully, I’ve always been a strong hiker and could still power along at close to 4 mph. Usually, my knee only hurt on the downhills, so I imagine I was still able to run the flat and gentle climbs, at least while my energy held out. The course advertised 8,000’ of climb and only 6,200’ of descent, so the net 1,800’ gain should have been perfect for me.

Around 30 miles there is a five mile side loop. I remember this section as taking a while, and probably was having more severe knee pain at this point. Beyond the bonus loop, it was just a matter of keeping moving to the finish. But looking through the race splits, it didn’t appear I was losing much ground to the other runners. But I was near the rear the entire race. Midrace I’d built up a cushion on the cutoff approaching 40 minutes, but I’d whittle that down substantially in the last 11 miles.

The last section was a short piece of paved road and I remember hobbling down it energetically, just happy to have the end in sight. I just snuck in under the cut off at 11:51, but it was a new PR for me! I was # 144 of 152 finishers and 185 starters.

The postrace banquet was at the finish, and featured RD David Horton handing out finish awards individually to each runner. I thought I’d might have been last, but was surprised at the handful of runners who’d beat the cutoff by smaller margins than I. I’d first heard of Horton when he had set his Appalachian Trail speed record, the man he’d raced that year (a backpacker known as the Maniac) finished ahead of me. The race was won in 7:12 out of a super competitive field with several still recognizable names in the top 10.

After dinner, the bus took us back to the start at Lynchburg, and somehow I got myself back to the hotel. I slept, and drove home partly via the Parkway. I was really sleepy, and the drive seemed to take forever.

My status as a lone runner continued through most of the 90’s. I didn’t find a regular running partner until joining the UT MBA program in 1999. One of the other guys was drinking a huge mug of water and I asked him about it. He said he was hydrating for a big race which turned out to be Mountain Masochist. I told him I’d run it, and he was shocked to find another runner, much less one who ran ultras, and who had run that specific race. Steven and I ended up with lots of runs together, including his introducing me to the Barkley.

1993, 9-4, Wind Rivers 3, Gannett Peak

Buddy and I had previously made two trips into Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains. In 1984 we’d explored the Cirque of the Towers north to Graves Lake, and in 1988 we had traversed the main range from south to north. For our third trip we decided to focus on climbing some of the peaks in the range, particularly Gannett Peak, the tallest in the range and the highest point in Wyoming. In that period, we were gradually picking off the state highpoints in the mountain west also climbing Whitney, Hood, Ranier, Borah, Granite, and Kings Peak.

Gannett would combine several of the toughest aspects of these other peaks; the long wilderness approach of Granite, the roped glacier climbing of Hood and Ranier, as well as some route finding and sketchy loose climbing. Kelsey’s “Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains” rated Gannett Grade 1, Class 4 Snow. There are not many other walk ups in the Winds, but we hoped to climb at least a couple of other peaks on the trip.

We were uncertain about arranging the logistics of the shorter approach from the Wind River Indian Reservation on the east side of the range, and elected to try coming in from the west from Elkhart Park. Robin joined us.

Our approach route showing Seneca and Island Lakes.

 

9-4-93

I had just moved to Knoxville earlier in the year, so my logistics were a bit more complicated vs. prior years. I flew into Bozeman on 9-3, rented a car, and stayed about 30 miles north of Aston, ID in a USFS campground. The next morning, I drove into Jackson where I met Buddy and Robin. Buddy bought crampons and Robin rented an ice ax for the trip. After lunch in Jackson, we drove to the Elkhart Park Trailhead.

The first half of the hike in featured intermittent rain. I wore a full rain suit, no fun when you’re already groaning under 50-60 pounds of light weight, high speed gear. We saw lots of hikers leaving the mountains and managed to talk with one group that had just completed Gooseneck Glacier, our proposed route on Gannett.

I was thrilled to be back in the west and away from the hot, moist summer air of Knoxville, a force I felt in constant struggle with. We got great views on the drive in and from a few overlooks along the trail. I had finally upgraded to a new internal frame pack, a Gregory Terraplane, and it proved reliably comfortable despite its heavy load. Our route in was the Pole Creek Trail past Photographers Point and Hobbs Lake to a campsite on the north end of Seneca Lake.

Seneca Lake, 9.5 miles

9-5-93

We were repaid for our hard work of the previous day with a glorious walk through Titcomb Basin. In the Winds, the Cirque of the Towers is gets most of the glory, but to me Titcomb Basin with its endless parade of sharp black peaks is every bit its match for alpine glory. Just a glance explains why the peaks in the range are so formidable, sharp, steep, jagged peaks, glazed with ice in every direction. Even our weather had cleared up, yesterday’s rain replaced by just a few brief showers of corn snow.

Titcomb Basin.

At Seneca Lake we joined our 1988 route just south of Island Lake. Past Island Lake there is maintained trail through Titcomb Basin before the route finally splits to go over Knapsack Col or Dinwoody Pass. The route winds between the Titcomb Lakes and the giant walls of Indian Basin and the imposing peaks of Jackson, Fremont, and Helen to the east. Wanting to make our next day as short as possible, we took the right fork and went up the basin as far as we expected to be able to find a decent campsite. Previous groups had had the same idea and we found a snug spot just off the northwest shoulder of Mt. Helen. One other small party was bivouacking nearby, otherwise we had the upper basin to ourselves.

We went through the usual pre-peak packing. Robin was slowed by the altitude of the basin and decided to sit out the Gannett attempt. I was mostly nervous about the fit of my crampoons on my hiking boots (they worked fine). We carried a rope, ice axes, and crampons for the Gooseneck Glacier section. With only fanny packs we were limited in the amount of clothing and water we could carry.

Upper Titcomb Basin 7.7 miles 

 

9-6-93

Robin’s alarm went off at 5AM and instead of seeing the bright moon shadow we’d seen earlier, the sky was dark with a cloud line at about 12,000’. After eating, Buddy and I hiked the short way to the base of 12,800’ Dinwoody (aka Bonney) Pass and put on our crampons. The snow was harder and steeper that I’d hoped for. The 1,400’ climb to the top of the pass took us 90 minutes.

Gannett Peak and the the routes up Stroud and Winifred.

The tough part of our approach was that from Dinwoody Pass you must drop down 1,000’ to Dinwoody Glacier to bypass two pinnacles extending out from the main crest. As we descended the clouds broke, yielding the classic view of Gannett and Gooseneck Pinnacle. This side of the pass was gentler but still required caution. We wrapped around one pinnacle and then crossed Gooseneck Pinnacle on rock, then onto Gooseneck Glacier. The glacier steepened toward the top. There’s an infamous bergschrund at the head of the glacier, so we set boot/ax belays for the 200’ of snow above and below the bergschrund.

Buddy at the summit of Gannett Peak.

There was a flat area at thhe summit of Gannett Peak.e top of the glacier where we stopped to rest and stashed our rope for the final section. My notes indicate it took 45 minutes from the top of the Glacier to the summit. That seems like a long time, but the summit ridge was spectacular, and we likely did a lot of gawking. There was a mix of steep snow patches, rocky stretches, and some knife edge snow ridges. Our total time to the summit was 4:45. There was a nice flat spot on top to rest and admire the surrounding peaks. Curiously, Fremont and some of the other peaks at the head of Titcomb Basin appeared higher than Gannett to us. Despite the multitude of peaks we could see around us, very few of them were not technical climbs and thus were beyond our reach.

The summit of Granite Peak.

We were able to follow some snowboard tracks down from the ridge onto Gooseneck Glacier. At the bergschrund, Buddy gave me a belay and once below it, I put him on belay. Just as he crossed, he slipped and slid past me down the glacier I was able to stop him, but the jolt pulled my axe out and I had to self-arrest. Once stopped we were shortly on gentler ground, glad to have passed the belay test in the kiddie pool.

We got a little off route looking for water crossing Gooseneck Pinnacle, but that put us in contact with our campsite neighbors, who were still on their way up the peak. The traverse across Dinwoody Glacier and the climb to the pass went slowly, the climbing was simple, but it took all our remaining energy. At the pass we met another party of two looking to camp near Gannett and climb it the next day. We were able to glissade much of the Titcomb side of the pass and stumbled into camp around 3PM. We both napped for about two hours, and that was enough to cure me of a headache and queasy stomach. Our neighbors pulled back into their camp about dusk.

Upper Titcomb Basin, ~10 miles, Gannett Peak 13,804’ 

9-7-93

Not surprisingly we slept late the next morning. We were using Robin’s tent and it held up well through some violent thunderstorms during the night. After much debate we decided to return to Island Lake via 12,240’ Knapsack Col, the route we had used in 1988. Knapsack is normally an easy exit at the end of Titcomb Basin, but the Col can be dangerous if covered in hard ice. The climb took us 90 minutes and we found a cornice on the crest that caused us to scramble around on the rocks on the north side for the last ~50’ to avoid the near vertical snow. In 1988 we had tried to climb Twins Peak on the north side of the Col and failed miserably, with me sustaining an abrasion that covered almost my entire left butt cheek. But the lure of a nearby summit is strong, so Buddy and I decided to try for Winifred, only 500’ of class 3 scrambling above us on the south side of the Col. Robin decided to stay behind and take pictures. There was a short section of steep snow, then a nice snow covered ridge before we finished the climb on talus to the summit. From the top all was jagged mountains and snow, no grass or trees to be seen. We glissaded down the lower slopes back to Robin at the col.

We had one more short glissade below the pass and then an easy hike down to Peak Lake. The skies had looked ominous most of the day but all the precipitation we got was just a little bit of sleet. We were into our camp at the northwest corner of Peak Lake early, but we decided our lounging about qualified as acclimatization.

Peak Lake, ~6 miles, Mt. Winifred 12,775

 

9-8-93

We awoke to our clearest morning of the trip so far. Under clear blue skies we climbed up Shannon Pass to a beautiful table land dotted with lakes and glacial boulders. Buddy and I decided to climb Stroud Peak. The climb was a ton of fun. We started on easy slopes up to the south ridge, then on rock and solid talus to the pinnacled summit. The views from Stroud are fantastic, especially the near vertical drop off the north face down to Peak Lake. We could also spot the Grand Teton to the west and Squaretop to our north. Kelsey rates the climb as class 2 and cites the solid footing and fine views.

Peak Lake from the summit of Stroud.

After the climb we walked through the Jean Lakes Basin which reminded me of the high plateau on the John Muir Trail just north of Mt Whitney. At Fremont Crossing we elected to take a short cut to Island Lake. We expected the route to be cross country hiking but were pleasantly surprised to find a well beaten trail all the way to the southwest corner of the lake, how often does that happen? We camped at the lake and debated our options for the next day. Robin was finally ready to try for a summit and we tried to figure out if Fremont or Jackson would be the best for him. I took a very brief swim in the lake. We spent the rest of the evening swatting mosquitos.

Buddy on the summit of Stroud.

Island Lake, ~10 miles, Stroud Peak 12,198’ 

 

9-9-93

Robin and I rose early for our attempt on Jackson Peak. All went well until we reached the upper lake in Indian Basin where we had trouble finding our route. We tried one broken ramp then reached some cliffs. We descended and traversed toward Indian Pass and tried another ramp. At the top of this ramp, we reached Indian Pass and realized we were well off course. We decided to skip the climb and did some ice ax practice on Knife Point Glacier. At this point Buddy, supposedly on an off day, showed up. We enjoyed some of the best views of mountain glaciers possible in the lower 48 before heading back to camp. There we packed up and hiked down to Seneca Lake to spend another buggy evening.

Seneca Lake, ~10 miles

 

9-10-93

My notes for the last day of the trip are brief. Basically, we hiked as fast as possible back down our entry route to Elkhart Park. The trip was unremarkable except for passing a group of ~4 year old girls a couple miles from the trailhead. We drove up to Bozeman for the wedding of my friends Karl and Laurie the next day. Buddy and Robin flew out on Saturday and I left after the wedding on Sunday.

Elkhart Park TH, 9.5 miles

1993, 8-22, First Run at Frozen Head State

 Route: Up Jeep Road and descent on Spicewood, Run 11 miles, 3 hours, Solo

Like so many others I had first heard of Frozen Head SP via reading about the Barkley Marathons. Even when I lived in South Dakota, I enjoyed the annual Barkley race report in Ultrarunning, describing the misadventures of this unique event. When I moved to Knoxville in 1993, it still took me a good five months to make it out to Frozen Head. After the move, I had first splurged on the regional state highpoints, then branched out to the Smokies and Joyce Kilmer Wilderness. By midsummer of that year, I was well into my training cycle, preparing for the 50 mile Mountain Masochist Ultra, and for a weeklong backpacking trip in the Wind Rivers where we hoped to climb Gannett Peak.

Most of my long training runs were in the Smokies, and I favored the east side of the park near Cosby as it as closest to my new apartment near Mascot. The long weekend runs were extra important for Mtn. Masochist, since I wasn’t adapting well to the constant 90+, high humidity weather that plagued Knoxville that summer. I’m not sure what caused me to finally give Frozen Head a try, but here is just a lightly edited version of my original notes.

The drive to Frozen Head from Mascot via I-40 and TN 62 took about 75 minutes, not much longer than the drive to Cosby in the Smokies. I ran the entire Lookout Tower Road (except for the section from Tub Springs down to TN 62). Until the second junction with Trail 12 (Bird Mtn.) at 40 minutes it is a steady climb, beyond that point the trail rolls along the ridge. I saw one party near the summit. There were great views from the summit over the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau, I can't yet bring myself to call them the Cumberland Mountains, although Frozen Head is a respectable 3,324'.  The tower catches a nice cool breeze, so I stayed for a while to cool and dry myself off.

Trail 8 (Chimney Top) to the junction with Trail 7 (Spicewood) is an old road heavily grassed over, but easy running. Beyond the Spicewood junction it is very overgrown with an abundance of nettles and thorn bushes.  I went about one half mile down it, then turned around because I couldn't take the pain anymore.  The thorns were rough, but the nettles itched so badly that I could hardly think straight. I wonder when was the last time that I had abandoned a trail?  After the aborted start I headed down Trail 7, which wasn't much better. Lower down the trail was in good shape, but the upper part was thickly nettled, and washed away in a few spots.  It didn't look like it has been maintained for a while, and was becoming steeply side hilled.  A few short sections were in good shape, but I couldn't run until I reached the valley along Judge Branch.

I stopped by the VC and told the volunteer about the trail conditions.  Apparently, the two person staff doesn't do trail work, but does have access to a state parks trail crew.  This is an area that appears to need an adopt a trail program badly (I’ve since done a couple of trail work trips a year in the park since their volunteer crew started).  Apparently the North and South Old Mac trails are the most commonly used (Yes!) and should provide nettle free hiking. The tower access road is open to mountain bikes, and would be a good ride with a killer climb and low technical difficulty (I’ve since mountain biked the tower road twice).

I assume on this first hike I was what is now using my oldest and most mangled copy of the USGS topo-based map of the FHSP trails. The map in those days had red lines for park trails in many places that have them no longer such as the Beech Fork and Kelly Mountain. The North  Boundary Trail was also on the map then, but as Barkley legend had it, with no maintenance since the 1960s. At this time, I was aware of the names of some of Barkley’s signature features, but had no way to know where these places were. I had an interest in, but no plan, for the race, and I would be several years before I’d seriously start leaning about the race.

My description of this first run in the park doesn’t bode well for a lot of repeat visits. But I would continue to return to the park, including twice when I was still using the TN Notes file to record my hike and run notes digitally. Since those notes are easy to transfer to MS Word, I’ve appended those notes to this file also.

For my next visit to FHSP I got smart and waited until winter. Again, this was a training run, but this time with no major event ahead on my calendar. I always like to try new trail, so I’d expect my next few visits to use different routes. My second trip would use the two trails destined to become my favorites in the park, North Old Mac for its gentle backpackable grade on the climbs, and the smooth cushy downhill running surface, and Bird Mountain for its raw physicality as the most important hill climbing trainer in the park. Again, here’s a lightly edited version of my TN Notes record.

1994, 1-29, Frozen Head SP 2, Bird Mountain & North Old Mac Loop

~12 miles, 2:56:20, Solo

I ran the trail 12-1-4 loop (Bird-Jeep-North Old Mac).  I ran almost all the way up Trail 12 but quit with only two switchbacks to go because it got very steep (this is where there is now a signpost at the spot where the north boundary trail now continues north to the Cumberland Trail junction. This steep section was added when TN State Parks received the property from Morgan Forest and decided not to maintain the North Boundary Trail).  The trail 13 and third trail 12 junctions were unmarked, so I couldn't run anything longer (I assume this means that I couldn’t have found my way out on the North Boundary Trail, even if I’d wanted to run it). I went to the Lookout Tower and also did the side trail #15 to Panther Gap Rock House. I ran all but about a mile of the route, the footing was good throughout.  I saw one group and one solo hiker.

A great day to run temperatures about freezing, but it was too overcast to get any views.  Most of the trees on the ridgetops were coated with rime ice, it was like running through a fairy land.  Quite different than the heat I had on my last trip here.

Bird Mountain Trail would become one of my most important training routes for the Barkley. Later that spring I’d meet Jean and by that summer we were hiking together. She had also made several prior trips to Frozen Head before we took our first trip there together. Here is a lightly edited version of that trip’s notes.

11-13-94, Frozen Head SP, with Jean

North and South Old Mac Trails Loop, about 8 miles

We started up trail 5 (South Old Mac) from the Visitor Center so that I could get at least one new trail.  From the VC you start with an annoying little climb over a ridge (on a section of Chimney Tops Trail that has now been abandoned) before reaching the feeder trail.  The rest of the hike is an unremarkable grind to the summit ridge. We ended up turning right onto CTT at the 5-8 junction as the map shows, when really there is a very short left turn to reach the junction with Trail 1 (at Tub Springs).  We headed down the ridge till we knew we were going the wrong way, and ended up with a steep bushwhack (this was back when it was OK to hike off trail in the park) up to the tower road. We hung out in the tower taking photos of Jean, the tower, and some of the strip mining just beyond the park boundary. Jean had never been to the tower before on a clear day, so she really enjoyed it. We headed back on Trail 4 (North Old Mac) since we had gotten a late start.  Jean walked like hell, and we did trail 4 at over 3 mph. Frozen Head seemed popular, we saw about 10 other parties on the hike including at least two groups of backpackers. This could be a place for an easy backpack trip.

Jean at Frozen Head Tower November 1994.

Mt Cammerer Trail & Early Trail Runs, 5-29, 1993

When I moved to Tennessee in the spring of 1993 a whole new world of outdoor opportunities opened up for me. Prime among them was the Great Smoky Mountains where just an hour away almost 900 miles of trails wind through the national park. Right from the start the idea of hiking all the trails in the park appealed to me, but mostly I wanted to experience the diversity of the park, and was less concerned with marking all the trails off my list. I was fresh off some successful trail runs with my first 50 miler in 1991, a marathon in 1992, and I wanted to try another 50 miler later in the year. Trail running looked to be the bridge I needed between my running training and desire to experience the diversity of the trails.

1993 was one of the hottest summers on record in the Tennessee Valley. Basically, a huge high pressure sat down on the area and stayed for the whole summer. I was used to heat from summers out west, but I was not ready for the humidity. Most afternoons it was 90F and 90% humidity, I was sweating by the time I tied my shoes. Work at the mine in Jefferson City started before 7, so midweek runs had to be in the maximum heat of late afternoon. But weekend runs could happen at any time. From Mascot I could get to the Smokies early, avoid the crowds, and enjoy some of the coolness of early morning. Not only did the higher elevation provide cooler and drier air, but often just running alongside the larger streams would be enough to create a cooler microclimate.

This trip report will include all the trail runs I did that summer and fall in preparation for the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in VA (Mtn Masochist). The first four descriptions are from my brief handwritten notebooks, and the rest are copied in from my Smokies Notes word doc file. with some copy editing and updated annotations. I did not take a camera on these runs.

5-29-93, Mt Cammerer via Low Gap, O&B

11.0 mi., ~2600’, 2:40, Solo

Though I had been running in the evenings around my new place in Mascot, this was the first time I headed to the Smokies for a long run. It took 1:15 to reach the Cosby CG TH. I went up Low Gap Trail and across the AT to the Mt. Cammerer Lookout in 1:25, including walking the last 15 minutes up to Low Gap. I noted the distance from the campground was 2.9 miles vs. the 2.5 miles shown on the park map because the trail started well below Cosby Campground. Back then the trail was in good shape with few rocks or ruts. The AT from Sunup Knob to the tower seemed almost flat by comparison to the climb to Low Gap. I saw about ten groups heading for the tower. The weather was too hazy and foggy for any views. The tower was falling apart, I described it as “very low, squat, with wooden top and stone base.”

The run down took 1:15, including another 10 minute hike just below Low Gap. Despite my lack of long runs my wind was good, and I did not have any IT band issues with my knees on the descent. This was a great way to start a new trail running season.

2025 Notes: The newly formed Friends of the Smokies would rehab the tower in 1995.

The Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower in 1997.

7-17-93, Big Creek- Low Gap-AT-Chestnut Branch Loop

16.0 miles, 3400’, 3:55, Solo

This is likely to have been my first serious training for Mountain Masochist as Smokies training runs would now become a regular occurrence up to the October race. My notes are brief, but to the point. I had a great day running (12+ of the miles) most of the loop except the upper part of Low Gap (NC side) Trail and a few short stretches near Cammerer and at the AT/Chestnut Branch junction. Big Creek Trail looked like an old road (it still does) and had great views of the creek. I saw one tortoise. I thought this could be an all time great running loop.

2025 Notes: I never come back to repeat the loop, mostly because the drive is too long from Knoxville, and Chestnut Branch is too steep for my now aged knees.

8-1-93, Lower Mt Cammerer-AT-Cammerer-AT-Low Gap Loop

15.5 mi., 3400’+, 4:03, Solo

This was another run out of the Cosby Campground as I continued to explore the trails in the Cosby and Big Creek area that were closest to my place in Mascot. It was obvious this was not the crowded side of the park. The only people I saw all day were at Sutton’s Overlook on the Lower Mt. Cammerer Trail and at Low Gap. In contrast to my last run at Bog Creek I didn’t have much pep on this loop.

I ran about 11 miles of the loop including all of LMC, and hiking the first 20 minutes of Low Gap. Despite my lack of pep, I wasn’t as tired as I’d been from the Big Creek run. But I also recognized that this was an easier loop. I only had one new Cosby loop left to run, before I’d need to check out new areas to the west.

2025 Notes: Lower Mt Cammerer remains one of the better running trails in the park, but I’ve mostly repeated the trail as an out and back run to the AT.

8-7-93, Gabes Mtn-Maddron Bald-Snake Den Loop

17.8  mi., 3000’+, 4:13, Solo

This is another trip where I wish I had better notes. On several of these early runs I was mostly just trying to document the trail segments that I ran. It’s a really tough loop, but my journal has minimal information. I ran all of Gabes Mountain Trail and Snake Den Ridge Trail, the easy parts. I only ran the first mile of Maddron Bald Trail, where most of the climbing is. I added the short side trips to Henwallow Falls and the big poplars at Albright Grove, but did not describe either. The only people I saw all day were on the lower part of Snake Den Ridge.

2025 Notes: I noted that Maddron Bald and Albright Grove would make a great day hike (and have done that hike several times since.)

8-14-93, Sterling-Little Cataloochee Loop Run

16.6 miles, 4:32, 4400’, Solo

I started at Mt Sterling Gap about 6-7 miles south of Big Creek on moderate gravel road. Ran all the way to Sterling Ridge-Pretty Hollow Gap junction, but didn't go to Sterling tower despite a clear day.  Footway in bad shape on the rest of the loop due to erosion from heavy horse traffic, which is apparently common around Cataloochee.  Saw one group of 3 horsemen but no other hikers.  Sterling Ridge trails are good for running, but not especially scenic. Little Cataloochee Valley is very pretty with one old church which is still kept up. Road access to the church is along the lower part of the Little Cataloochee Trail.  I thought I was lost while on this road, but eventually came to a trail sign where I got my bearings.  I don't recommend running any more in this area because of the bad trail erosion, I doubt if I ran more than half of this loop.

2025 Notes: Loop is CCW on the Mt Sterling-Mt Sterling Ridge-Pretty Hollow Gap-Little Cataloochee-Long Bunk. I haven’t repeated this loop because of continued damage to the Pretty Hollow Gap Trail by horses. This route was an obvious extension of trails to explore after Cosby.

8-28-93, Russell Field/Spence Field Loop Run from Cades Cove

14.6 miles, 3300’, No Time, solo ran about 6

Approx. 1hr 40 minute drive from Mascot to Cades Cove via Sugarlands.  There was a huge crowd at the Cades Cove Picnic area, and all I wanted to do was leave as soon as possible.  The Anthony Creek Trail was nice, and I ran part of it. My big surprise was seeing a bear. I had glanced up the trail just as it was crossing the trail through a gap in the trees. I couldn't tell where it had gone from the trail. The bear was small, but still larger than most any dog. No crowds on the trail to Russell Field. The shelter there smelled of skunks and horse shit, not a place I'd like to spend the night.  Ran part of the AT, but was surprised at how much of a climb it is from Russell to Spence Field.  Lots of folks around Spence Field, but I left them as soon as I got onto Bote Mtn. Road.  Ran from Spence Field down to Cades Cove Road.  Below the junction with Anthony Creek Trail, Bote Mtn. remains a road. Lead Cove is a nice foot trail, but Crib Gap is badly eroded, overused by horses and very close to the highway.  There are probably more good lowland loops here that would be worth exploring once the weather cools and the crowds thin out.

2025 Notes: This route was a big change in the crowds between Cosby and Big Creek vs. Cades Cove, the busiest part of the park. Loop was up Anthony Creek and Ledbetter Ridge, over on the AT, down Bote Mtn. and Lead Cove, then over on Crib Gap. Spence-Russell is a popular running loop, but these days it is a hike up, run down event for me.

9-19-93, Camel Gap Loop Run from Cosby

18 miles, 4850’, about 5 hours, solo, ran about 10

I was able to run all the way to the AT on the Low Gap Trail.  Lots of virgin forest on this trail.  The upper part of the NC side of Low Gap is too rough to run all of it, but is still a nice walk.  Big Creek is a road to the end, then there is the world's longest 0.2 mile to the next trail junction.  Camel Gap is a beautiful trail with an easy grade until it leaves Big Creek and begins a steady climb to the ridge.  Some nice second growth in here.  Ran most of the way to the end of the creek and then sort of ran out of gas.  Even the climb on the AT is slow but steady.  Saw a few folks on the descent down Snake Den Trail.  This is an easy trail to run down, the only bad footing is at the very top.  Try the 20 mile Miry-Greenbriar loop from Tremont next?

2025 Notes: Route is Cosby up and over Low Gap to Big Creek, up Camel Gap Tr to the AT, over on AT, and then down Snake Den back to Cosby. This would be my first trail run with two climbs up to the AT. Being able to run all the way from Cosby to Low Gap shows some results from my previous training.

9-25-93,  Lynn Camp Prong Loop from Tremont Run

16.1 miles, 2800’, about 31/2 hours, Solo

An inauspicious beginning for this trip. As I brushed my teeth before leaving I was startled by the sound of heavy rain on the roof of the house.  By the time I arrived at Tremont the rain had stopped, but the sky showed no signs of clearing.  I followed Middle Prong Trail to Panther Creek to Jakes Gap to Campsite 28 and returned via Middle Prong.  There is a still drivable jeep road all the way from Tremont to Campsite 28. Didn't see the side roads shown on the Trails Illustrated map or the old manways on the 1972 Sierra Club map.  Ran all but the last mile or so of the Panther Creek Trail, but this section is runnable if you're determined enough.  The trails are in good shape except for some mud holes on the west side of the Lynn Camp Prong Trail.  Saw many horses and one backpacker.  A few good views from a cleared area on Miry Ridge.  Originally planned to make a longer loop via the AT but was scared off by the weather and new running shoes.  A great intro trail run because of easy grades and long downhills. Almost all runnable, partly old road.  Campsite 26 is just north of the junction of Lynn Camp Prong and Miry Ridge and looks interesting. CS 28 probably receives too much horse traffic.  Too bad mountain bikes can't ride the old road to CS 28.

2025 Notes: 2800’ climb. This is the classic “lasso” loop from Upper Tremont around the AT and Miry Ridge.

10-9-93  Brushy Mountain-Grapeyard Loop Run

Solo, 22.7 miles, 4450’, about 8 hours

Writing this a week late, so some details are probably already forgotten.  Started at the Grapeyard Ridge Trailhead and then ran 1.0 mi. to the Brushy Mountain Trailhead.  Brushy Mtn. is an old road for 1.0 miles, I didn't see the SMHC cabin.  The trail begins a long climb from here, I only ran about the first mile.  I knew by Trillium Gap that I was in for a long slow day, but I still took the side trail to Brushy Mtn.  There were no views-it was overcast with intermittent showers all day- but the top of Brushy Mtn. is a beautiful heath bald that is worth the trip.  I was able to run all the way down to the Roaring Fork Road and much of the section (not all 2.4 miles) to the Baskins Creek Trail.  The Trillium Gap Trail was the only one where I saw many people.

Baskin Creek is a nice woods walk and the side trail to the falls is worthwhile.  As I walked along the small stream that feeds the falls I prepared myself for disappointment, but was surprised by the falls generated but a very low stream flow.  I had trouble finding the start of the Grapeyard Ridge Trail.  There are no markers, but the trail begins beyond an old group of farm buildings.  I ran some of Grapeyard Ridge Trail, but was tired enough that I was barely shuffling along.  Still, this trail is nice in the same way as Baskin Creek.  A nice forest with plenty of solitude and good solid trail.  This entire loop does not appear overused, and the footway is excellent.  I made it back to the car a little disappointed with my time and effort, but it was my longest loop to date, and I had at least survived.  Ran about 10.5.

2025 Notes; Start was in Greenbrier, and loop was CW? 4450’ climb estimate

1993 Trail Run Summary,            Dist.    Vert     Time

Cammerer v Low Gap O&B           11.0    2600’ 2:40

Big Creek-Low Gap Loop               16.0    2400’ 3:55

Lower Mt Cam-AT Loop                 15.5    3400’  4:03

Gabes Mtn-Snake Den Loop         17.8    3000’  4:13

Sterling-Little Cat Loop                   16.6    4400’  4:30

Spence-Russell Loop                     14.6    3300’  NT

Camel Gap Loop                              18.0    4850’  5:00

Lynn Camp Prong Loop                  16.1    2800’  3:30

Brushy-Grapeyard Loop                 22.7    4450’  8:00

Looking at this summary 30 years later a couple of things stand out. First, that’s a great effort to explore all the runnable loops on the east side of the park around Cosby and Big Creek. The runs were harder than the stats show as I was struggling to adapt to the especially hot and humid summer of ’93. From a training perspective, these are all long, tough loops, each with at least one climb to, or near, the Appalachian Trail. Many of the loops were tough enough that I did not try them a second time.

However, these weren’t enough to do well at Mountain Masochist. There is only one 20-miler in the group and none of the runs had over 5000’ feet of climbing. This regimen wasn’t enough to ward off the IT band pain that surfaced only a third the way into the race. Luckily my hiking was strong and fast, and I was able to slip in under the cutoff.

My running would drop off Mountain Masochist. I wouldn’t run a major race in 1994, instead I tried the 1995 Smoky Mountain (road) Marathon the next spring. There would be a few more years without major races, but my running would reignite in 1998 with a 50K at Holiday Lake, and the discovery of the convenience of running in the Townsend Wye/ Tremont area of the Smokies.