In the early years of hiking in the Smokies Roaring Fork was one of the main routes to the top of Mt LeConte. Many a Smoky Mountains Hiking Club adventure began with a trip to Gatlinburg followed by the long, steep climb to LeConte Lodge up Roaring Fork. Once the CCC trails were built in the Smokies in the 1930s, Roaring Fork, and the other pre-CCC routes, became less popular as people wisely opted for the maintained trails.
But the hiking club has always maintained a fondness for off
trail hiking up LeConte. Whether it is just to keep the old traditions alive, to
prove oneself rugged enough to make the climb, or simply to enjoy the beauty of
the rarely followed creeks with their endless cascades and huge trees, the club
periodically schedules hikes up Roaring Fork. The climb is a long and difficult
day full of wading creeks, scrambling over rocky bluffs, and wrestling the Smokey’s
famously thick brush. But the payoff is well worth it; the chance to pass the
tests of fitness, endurance, and route finding, and the chance to experience
the Smokies in their primal state devoid of the signs of mankind.
The 2015 Roaring Fork hike showed all the pleasures and pitfalls
of making the trip with the club. Twenty-two hikers showed up, far too many for
a single group on a difficult route. The leaders had attempted to prescreen the
hikers to determine if they were all prepared for the upcoming test, but
several were clearly not ready for what awaited them. Among the prepared were
two of my usual off trail partners; Mark and Ed, along with three of my hard
core running buddies, Kathy, Tony, and Kirby. We planned to hike up with the
group, then return by running back down the mountain, so we were hoping for a
fast group overall.
But right away it was apparent this would be a slow group.
We moved OK up the Trillium Gap Trail, but it took us 30 minutes just to make the
slight detour around Grotto Falls at the start of the off trail section. A
couple of the hikers were already having troubles, but the leaders were unable
to convince them to turn around. Then the leader shot off up the creek with two
others in tow, and the rest of the hikers just trying to hang on. Fortunately,
despite a lot of recent rain, the creek was low and the going easy, for walking
up a creek. The lower part of Roaring Fork is really pretty, we got a chance to
enjoy the pools and cascades up close. Our first break was another very long
one.
Finally, the leader turned around to send the laggards back
down to Grotto Falls. Mark and Ed, who had both done the route before, led the
group on, while I waited with Ken for the remaining hikers to rejoin us. Two
hikers were persuaded to leave the group and the leader went down to Grotto Falls
with them, planning to return to the main group. Next the sweeper finally
arrived at our break spot with another hiker who then decided to return to the
falls from that point. The sweeper then needed to return with the last hiker so
now we were without either of our leaders and spread all over the mountain. If
this sounds like a complicated mess, well yes it was. But fortunately, enough of
us had been on the route to keep the group moving along.
I hiked up to the confluence at 4600.’ The main group had missed
the turn and was reassembling there. We went up the right fork with me
sweeping. We ended up following the creek more closely than I had on either
previous trip (2006 and 2012). I remember a small twin stream cascade (Twin Falls?)
followed by a larger one before reaching Dome Falls where we stopped for lunch.
My GPS had trouble tracking here so my map isn’t 100% right. Climbing the cliffs
past Dome Falls looked pretty nasty, but we got around on the left side. The
next set of cliffs was trickier. Some of the group looked right and I got
nominated to check left. It took a while to confirm the left side would go and
by that time the group had committed to the right fork. I was with two of the Page
sisters.
We climbed to the left side of what we thought was the main fork parallel to
the group and often within sight or hearing of them. In between the two groups
was a nasty draw full of blowdowns, so we made no effort to connect back up.
This section was a series of steep short cliffs and pulling
ourselves up through the forest. There were no bad briers or rhodo, but still
steep, hard going. Above the falls, Roaring Fork barely flowed. We finally got
back in the creek bed, and joined the tail end of the main group at around
6000’.The forest here was easier walking then we remembered. We came out on the
Rainbow Falls Trail just a few 100 feet from the junction with the Alum Cave
Trail near LeConte Lodge, so somehow we’d gone a bit too far right. Mark had
made it up an hour before me, and Kirby, Kathy, and Tony had arrived about 30
minutes later. I jogged off to the summit then returned to the group at the Lodge.
Mark and I ran down via Trillium Gap. I don’t remember how
Kathy, Tony, and Kirby returned. Trillium Gap is very tough running above the
prominent switch back, but then is smoother below. Lucky for me it had just
been weed whacked, so I had no smashed toes this time. I took it really easy,
not wanting to hurt my toes or knees. I saw Greg Hoover hiking back up, and 1
other hiker from our group, Peter who supplied us some pictures. I got to the Lodge about
3:15, left the top about 3:39. At 6:30 we were still in Gatlinburg, and I didn’t
get home until 8PM. My GPS recorded 10.1 miles for the loop.
A few notes from my previous trips up Roaring Fork 
Dome Falls.
7-8-2012, Mount LeConte via Roaring Fork
This SMHC trip was led by Jenny Bennett and used the
standard route with access via Trillium Gap and Grotto Falls, and a return via
the Brushy Mountain and Trillium Gap trails. Basically, we hiked up the creek
to the base of Dome Falls. We started with a steep first pitch to the falls
above Grotto Falls, then we did two short side trips on the right, passed a
small island in the creek, and reached the major junction at 4600’. Soon there
were some cliffs to our right and a long thin cascade with two strands that
possibly was Double Falls. We cut right through thick brush, and then weren’t
able to find a clear way to get back down to the creek. We ended up going far
to the right (west) of our 2006 route. There were no scary spots like on the
2006 route, but a lot of 5-10’ cliff bands to navigate. The two toughest were
around 5000’, one was a 6-foot slot and the
other a 20’ cliff that we worked around the right side of. This steep section
took a lot of time, but had the advantage of keeping us out of the rhodo.
Eventually the grade eased, and we entered a stand of mature fir. We passed one
fir with a NPS survey tag on it and knew “civilization” was finally close. We
reached the Rainbow Falls Trail a few hundred yards before the Alum Cave Trail
junction. I walked on the summit cairn, before our group of six headed down. We
arrived back at the cars around 9:30PM after about 11 miles.
Jenny’s blog, and photos about the scouting trip for the hike are here: https://streamsandforests.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/roaring-fork/
6-24-2006, Mount LeConte via Roaring Fork and Rocky Spur
My first trip up Roaring Fork was a Smoky Mountains Hiking
Club trip led by Alan Householder. There were six of us, including Mark, Tom,
and David. We took the standard route up Trillium Gap Trail to Grotto Falls and
then moved to the manway on the right side of the falls. The start was very
steep, but we kept close to the creek with just a few detours. Alan told us the
first fork at 4600’ was a good spot to cut up to the Trillium Gap Trail if a bail
out was needed. Beyond 4600’ the route got much steeper with a series of rock
walls, most of which we passed on the right side. The whole route is difficult
with little easy walking and a lot of sections needing hand holds. We saw Dome
Falls, a series of three cascades, supposedly the highest combined falls in the
park. The crux of the trip was bypassing the falls on the right. The rocks here
were wet, loose, and moss covered. One hiker banged his head on an overhang
while trying to stand up, releasing a torrent of blood that fortunately proved
less severe than it was scenic. The route finally eased as we approached the
fir forest, but placed one last batch of blowdowns in our path. With Alan’s
guidance we arrived right at the spring at the Lodge, which is the ultimate
source for Roaring Fork.
Tom went back with David by trail, and the remaining four of
us returned via Rocky Spur. We left the Rainbow Falls Trail at 5200’ just as a
light rain began to fall briefly. Initially the route was a narrow rhodo tunnel
which we mostly slid down on our butts. At a saddle just below 4800’ we turned
left off the ridge to a hemlock forest that hid a massive boulder pile. I gingerly
stepped through the moss covered holes thinking about how easy it would be to
get hurt falling in the holes between the rocks. But soon we were enjoying some
open forest before we headed down to a small creek to do battle with a little
more rhodo. Near the very end we pulled out of the creek onto a small ridge and
emerged right at the trailhead for a total hike of about 7 miles. My notes show
the entire hike took nine hours, with the descent taking three.
