We’ve generally been very careful in planning our off-trail hiking. We researched our routes, talked with other hikers, and studied our routes carefully. Our first trip down Spruce Flats Falls is the exception that proves that rule. Our inspiration for heading off trail came after we had hiked the Lumber Ridge Trail, and came from a casual conversation with another hiker. He pointed out the manway and assured us that we’d be able to follow it.
We’d
chosen Lumber Ridge for that day because we thought it would have good wildflowers,
and we still needed it for our map. We later learned Lumber Ridge has a good
reputation for flowers, but we saw only 13 species, and not many of those. The
trail has awesome footing because there is no horse access. It would become one
of my favorite running trails. We did get good views of the Smokies crest,
crowned with frost and snow from the night before. At the high end of the trail
was a continuous snow cover of about a half inch.
Spruce Flats Falls 2007.
At
the end of Lumber Ridge Trail at Buckhorn Gap we met four backpackers and two
hikers who had just come up the Spruce Flats Falls manway. They described the
manway as easy, and so off we went. At the junction the path is obvious. It
descends only about 100 yards before hitting an old railroad grade. The grade
remained clear and easy to follow for 45 minutes, until it crossed equally
sized Honey Cove Branch.
At
the confluence, there was a worn trail down a 15’ bluff (presumably the site of
an old railroad bridge), then a corresponding climb back up to the bluff. There
was also another old grade heading up Honey Cove Branch. About 200 yards past
the crossing, we left the railroad grade to switchback right down a steep slope
on a well-constructed trail down to Spruce Flats Falls. In later years it would
be possible to miss this turn and continue down the RR grade, and the steep
trail down to the falls would deteriorate enough to question to make me
question if it was really the right trail. The falls is a long drop/cascade
with a small swimmable pool at the base. It is barely visible from the Tremont
Road after leaf out. Summer visitors access it from that road by scrambling
upstream.
Crossing a blowdown on the manway 2008.
At
the falls is an unbridged creek crossing, and usually a horde of hikers who
take the short way in from Tremont. The trail (not shown on the park map) is
rough and rocky, is clear but also easy to follow back to Tremont. At this
time, it had a few signs. It passed a water tank, then entered the Tremont
complex at the end of paved road near employee housing. The trail has since
been rerouted to join the Lumber Ridge Trail within sight of its start. On this
trip we also saw the lower end of the mysterious Trail M which has an upper end
further along the Lumber Ridge Trail.
Walking the old railroad grade above the falls 2014.
Needless
to say, we were pleased with ourselves for being able to add this impromptu new
off trail trip to our day. It was really fun (if not totally responsible) to
take advantage of the insights we’d gotten from the hikers we’d talked to and
turn this into more exploration of the Smokies.
The Spruce Flats Falls Manway.
Some
housekeeping on this route. My notes show that we have hiked this manway 8
times between 2000 and 2021. Six of those trips went out Lumber Ridge Trail and
back via the waterfall route to the Tremont Institute. But twice we headed out
Spruce Flats Falls, headed on the Meigs Mountain Trail to Upper Buckhorn Gap,
and came back off trail via the “Meigs Mountain Road,” as named by Clyde. To
simply things, I consider the Meigs Mountain Road a different route, and will
write those two trips up separately.
5-4-14
After
our first trip. we tended to hike this route later in the spring and were
seeing good flowers on the Lumber Ridge Trail. I noted we had several small
rock hops on the manway, but we also saw an old rail, a 3’ diameter wheel, and
some cable that hadn’t made it into my prior notes.
Spruce Flats Falls 2014.
We
followed the RR grade to its end past the cutoff to the falls (as Jean had by
mistake on an earlier trip with Claudia). They had seen numerous artifacts here
at an old logging camp, and wanted to show them to me. We saw lots of old
household things and piles of coal, along with a boiler stack. The old camp area
was within sight of, but across the river from the Tremont Road.
7-2-16,
We noticed that Tremont had the Spruce Flats Falls route shown on the map at
their visitor center.
The Tremont map to the falls.
