Smokies Tremont-AT-Lead Cove Shuttle, 7-24-21

This hike was actually put together by Cathy Henn and designed to make one of the most remote sections of the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies a little more accessible for two hikers who were working on completing their 900 miler maps. Cathy knew that Nora’s hardest Tennessee hike remaining was the AT between Derrick Knob and Spence Field. She also knew that Ron was just starting his 900 map. After they had set  up the hike, I crashed the party since I needed a long hike to start to get ready for sweeping the Barkley Fall Classic. Despite the presence of three veterans of the Barkley Marathons, the day would be all hiking.

With the heat, humidity, and exceptional crowds of mid-summer in the Smokies, we opted for an early start, a 5:30AM meeting at the Lead Cove TH. I met Ron at 4:45 on Northshore, we drove to the Lead Cove TH, and then we shuttled with Nora to the Upper Tremont TH. It was twilight when we left at 6:15, I used my headlamp for the first half mile or so. Despite the early hour we saw one runner heading down the Tremont Road, and there were two parties on the trail ahead of us. Temperatures were in the lower 60s.

Nora took off like a shot and we averaged > 3mph all the way up to the AT via the Middle Prong and Greenbrier Ridge trails. I usually like to admire the Middle Prong, and any other stream I hike along in the Smokies, and luckily the footing on the Middle Prong Trail was still good enough to do so at that pace. Greenbrier Ridge Trail has even better footing and seemed to flow by in no time. Ron and Nora spotted a bear near the AT junction, but I was a bit behind and missed seeing it.

At Derrick Knob Shelter.

We took a snack break at Derrick Knob shelter, arriving early enough that one backpacker hadn’t even left yet. The spring there is awesome a huge pipe with a very vigorous flow. Once on the AT, our pace was slower, mostly because of the rocky footing, but also there was more climbing along the trail, especially after Starkey and Sugartree gaps. Brier Knob was a longer climb, and the only one where the heat was a problem. We had a nice cloudy day that moderated the temperatures.

Derrick Knob Spring.

Coming up on Thunderhead it was hard to spot the peak, as the former bald is almost completely overgrown, except for a small area on the south side. There was one false peak on Rocky Top, and then another more open one, but even that area had grown over quite a bit. It had been almost a decade for me, and even longer for Nora, since our last visits to Rocky Top. We both remembered the 1970s conditions of the balds, and it is hard to believe that they are now almost completely tree covered. 

Open area along the Appalachian Trail.

We’d seen lots of hikers on the AT, and would see lots more on the descent, along with two horse parties. We picked up some extra water from the creek cutting the trail just below Spence Field. Ron led much of the AT and the descent, but we all kept together well. We did the descent in ~2.7 mph pace, still quite good for a long day. Nora and I saw a bear when we were already within site of the trailhead at the end. The bear took his time moving out of the way, then crossed the road, but moved away before he caused a bear jam.

Rocky Top.

Traffic was heavy as Nora drove us back to Upper Tremont to fetch Ron’s car. Almost all the pullouts on the road were occupied and the trailhead parking was nearly full. On the drive home, the Townsend Y was packed, and tubers crowded the Little River. We went from ~65F at the Upper Tremont Trailhead to ~90F in Alcoa as we drove home.

I ended up with a little soreness from the hike, a gentle reminder that I was not in the shape I should be this time of year. At 19.5 miles, this was my longest trip of the year since Barkley. 

2021, 7-15, Ocoee Mountain Biking

 The Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club is preparing a third edition of its “Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide,” and again I’m writing the two sections of book that cover the Big Frog Wilderness and the Ocoee Whitewater Center trail systems. The two areas are very different, Big Frog is foot travel only in a wilderness setting, white the Ocoee trails are mostly used by mountain bikes in the front country. With the goal of riding the entire system over two days I’ve been putting in a number of training days to get my fitness and bike handling up to where they needed to be.

I finally spotted a pair of days where high temperatures looked to be the lower, and with relatively low rain chances and decided to head down. My goal was to ride the three trails east of the Whitewater on the first day, and then try to ride all of the main Whitewater Center trails on day two. There are barely more than 30 miles of trail in the system, but those miles are spread over 15 different trails, so figuring an optimum route was critical. The slow climb up/coast down rhythm of biking fits well with taking notes on the trails. I’d stop at every junction or other feature to jot notes, record mileage, mark GPS waypoints, and take photos. All of which would give me enough rest to tackle the next hill.

I had ridden most of the Ocoee trails for the second edition of the CNF trail guide back in 2001 and 2002 when the trails system was still under construction. The Thunder Rock Express, River View Loop, Quarts Loop, and Bypass trails had just been completed, but the Brush Creek and foot travel only Thunder Rock trails were not done by the time I finished my scouting trips. Since the second edition took so long to go to press, both those trails were complete by publication time, and luckily another hiker/writer was able to cover those for me. Jean and I did make two later trips to ride in the area, focusing on the very rider friendly Brush Creek Trail, but I had not been back since 2008.

For day one I planned to park at the Boyd Gap Trailhead and ride south out and back on Brush Creek, then ride out and back to the north on the Boyd Gap and Old Copper Road trails. I remembered Brush Creek has having an almost perfect tread, a standard that it didn’t quite live up to after a decade of wear. But still it was great riding, gentle downhill with nice flow. The Ocoee single tracks proved a bit tighter than what I was used to riding. The cobwebs along Brush Creek were thick, surprising for a trail that I expected got a lot of use. While hiking speed gives you enough time to stop when a web comes into focus, the faster pace of biking ensures you’ll see the web just an instant before you face plant into it.

Brush Creek Trail.

The trail descends to near the shoreline of Ocoee Lake #3 where it almost, but not quite, forms a loop. I suspected an old road might allow the connection and was happy to spot a road entering from the expected direction when I got to the neck of the loop. 

The next section of Brush Creek winds along the hillside above Ocoee Lake #3 with few features needing noting for the guide. Finally, I crossed another old FS road and reached for my map, but no map! I’d been wearing my field vest (nothing quite says dork, like a field vest) and stuffing my map in the back pocket, but even the modest bouncing from the Brush Creek Trail must have jarred it loose. Since I had hoped to short cut the loop section of Brush Creek on the return ride, retracing my route to retrieve the map would add several extra miles to a long day. I decided to ride on and fetch the map on the way back. Luckily, I soon encountered a local rider coming the opposite way on the loop and explained my predicament. He was planning to just ride a short loop using the connector I hoped to explore. Since we’d both cleared the cobwebs from the rest of the other’s ride, he volunteered to move my map to the start of the connector.

Near the far end of the loop, I was surprised to see the trail split. I followed the main split to the right which crosses under US 64 and swings up to the trailhead on the US 64. An overgrown path just below the trailhead was all that remained from the former Shooting Range Road Trailhead we’d used in the 2000s. 

I rode back to the split and then followed the left fork from the split which climbed a hill to a four way junction of dirt roads. The right turn led to the informal “Upper” trailhead on US 64. Returning from the “Upper” trailhead I again encountered the local rider. He’d found my map, and moved it to the connector saving me about 4 miles of riding. The connector proved to be short enough to just about see down the hill from end to the other. Thanks to him I had a short ride back to Boyd Gap.

After resupplying at the car, next up was Boyd Gap Trail. I remembered this as a fairly steep rocky and rooty descent, but also that the CNF planned to rehab the trail, which was essentially just an old road. The trail conditions were as I remembered, so I assume the rehab hadn’t happened.

Boyd Gap Trail.

To connect from Boyd Gap to Old Copper Road Trail, bikers need to ride down a short stretch of the Put-in Road boaters use to get to the head of the upper Ocoee River Run. Once that’s done its 2.5 miles of level trail to the Whitewater Center. Level though, doesn’t always mean smooth. The CNF has stored the roadbed to something of its previous condition, leaving a few rocky sections and some wet areas. Still, it is a good beginner trail and has good view of the river for those that ride on weekends when the river is flowing.

Old Copper Road.

The mines just to the east of Ocoee were once one of the major producers of copper in the US. In the mid-1800s, there was no rail access to the mines. To haul their copper to the nearest rail line in Cleveland, TN the mining companies built the Old Copper Road, which was in use until the railroads reached the mines. Most of the road was then replaced by US 64, leaving just this short demonstration piece for visitors.

Rafters on the Ocoee.

I rode OCR to the Whitewater Center and then took a quick loop around the site using the two bridges over the Ocoee. The Whitewater Center building is still closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Dam #3 was not releasing on a Thursday, so the complex rockwork on the river bottom was visible. A few folks were swimming and picnicking, but probably a much smaller crowd than on a weekend. Heading back to the car, I decided to skip trying to ride up Boyd Gap Trail (I was tired enough that I would have had to push most of it) and ride the Put-in Road to US 64 and then back to the highway. This longer but easier route got me back to the car at 20 miles.

The Ocoee Whitewater Center with no water release.

Though my legs were pretty much done for riding, it was still early, reasonably cool, and not raining, so I thought I could cut short my next day’s ride by hiking the Poplar Hollow Trail starting off FS 45 above the Ocoee #3 Powerhouse. Poplar Hollow is part of the Benton MacKaye Trail that also happens to follow an old section of FS 45. Much of the original gravel is in place and the trail has a gentle grade under a thick shady canopy, just what I needed for my cool down walk.

Memorial along the Poplar Hollow Trail.

After a night at the Ducktown Copper Inn I was parked at the WWC just after 7AM the next morning hoping to ride the seven remaining trails in the system. I wish I could say I rode effortlessly starting up the Bear Paw Trail, but I knew I had a long day ahead and that it would do no good to get tired early, So I just walked my bike up the long grade.

Near the top of Bear Paw, I took the first drink of water from a bottle in my fanny pack. Looking down at  the bottle cages on my bike, I noticed that both were empty! Somehow, I’d left my other two bottles in the car. With only two bottles I doubted I’d be able to ride the entire system as planned. I decided if I just rode back to the WWC after finishing the Chestnut Mountain Loop I could restock on water and complete the Rhododendron and Thunder Rock Express trails as out and back rides. More miles, but easier access to water.

Bear Paw Trail.

After Bear Paw is a short section on Chestnut Mountain Loop which follows an old road on the south side of the loop. Next would be the long side excursion around the River View Loop, which is a rough single track. River View has an official spur trail similar to that on Brush Creek, but what is the point of these, and where is the river view?

Chestnut Mountain Loop Trail.

Any long mountain biking trip is likely to involve a crash, and mine was of the low speed, should have seen it coming variety. Bouncing down the trail I spotted a stump blocking part of the tread. As I moved over to pass it my entire front wheel dropped down into the rotten dirt. I was lucky enough to get one foot loose before the bike went down, but the force of the crash tore the shoe off my other foot. I was hopping about one foot exploring the single syllable section of my vocabulary before I recovered enough to reshoe and head back on my way.

River View Trail.

My bike handling obviously wasn’t great and the rocky up and down of River View wore me down. I was glad to get back on Chestnut Mountain Loop for some flatter terrain. Next up would be the final major detour of the loop, an out and back ride onto the Bypass Trail. The Bypass Trail is a single track option that avoids a mile or so of the old road that Chestnut Mountain Loop follows. I didn’t find it any more fun, and used CMLT to return.

Fortunately, some easier terrain lay just ahead. The next few sections of CMLT follow FS 221 and an abandoned, but still nicely graveled section of FS 45. I rode past the junctions with the West Fork, Quartz Loop, and Poplar Hollow trails to reach a junction with the upper end of the legendary Thunder Rock Express Trail. This meant the end of the easy road riding and back onto the single track.

Not too long after the TRX junction the single track section of Chestnut Mountain Loop winds into a pair of small valleys. Crossing the head of the first one I rode over a few logs and heard a splashing sound, water! A tiny creek was running under the makeshift bridge and dropping into a small basin perfect for filling up. I scooped up a bottle full, added a tablet and powder, and headed off confident now that my poor packing wouldn’t ruin my ride.

At the Ocoee footbridge in 2008.

It was a long pull to reach the far end of the Chestnut Mountain Loop, but better hydrated I recovered somewhat along the way. I descended Bear Paw down to my car where I took a long food and water break among the tourists who had arrived since morning. My reward for cutting the loop short was an out and back ride on the Rhododendron Trail, which is a flat smooth pea-gravel covered trail deep in the shade along the south side of the river. After the rugged single track of the rest of the day, these seemed like free, almost effortless miles. After turning back at Ocoee Powerhouse #3, and ending another 20 mile day on the bike, I moved the car to the hiker trailhead at the Thunder Rock Campground for the last hike of the day.

Boardwalk along the Rhododendron Trail.

My final task would be an out and back hike of the Thunder Rock Express Trail. I remembered it as essentially a downhill trail, but was pleased to realize that it was more or less regular single track, and would have been ridable for me. The netting I’d seen in 2002 was long gone, lowering the intimidation factor significantly. I encountered two riders, making it the busiest trail of the trip. With TRX under my belt the only trail remaining to be scouted for the book is the currently closed for repair Thunder Rock Trail connecting the campground to FS 45.

Back in the 2000s when I first started riding at the Ocoee good biking trails were hard to find close to Knoxville. Now most of the local parks have trail systems and there are some nice easy trails at places like Loyston, Sharps Ridge, Norris, and Big South Fork to complement the more technical single tracks at Dirty South or Haw Ridge. For riders looking for new trails or more challenge the Ocoee area is perfect. 

My biking routes.

Brimstone Four Lane Loop , 7-1-21

 Leonard and I hoped to sneak in a quick pre-crowds trip before the 4^th of July weekend. After our fun trip to Brimstone in November we thought to try to finish off a new section of the “Four Lane”, aka Trail 1, also aka the old Brimstone Haul Road. I put together a loop with some trails I’d done before to give us a roughly 14.5 mile loop.

We would start near the Slickrock Creek Church on the Brimstone Road, and park at the “Missing Link” trailhead where trails 89 and 8 both intersect the Brimstone Road. Our loop would take Trail 8 to Trail 1, then south on Trail 1 to the Wolfpen Trail (#55 on the online map, but #22 on the signs), then west along Little Creek and across fields to the Brimstone Road. None of the loop would be on private Brimstone property. I collected a GPS route, and I’ve borrowed some of Leonard’s pictures to add to mine.

Trail 8 starts with two quick turns past a pair of houses. Then it is just a long wide gravel road. The gravel is loose and the road wide enough to get lots of sun, so this would be a tough go in midday heat. Our forecast called for potentially heavy rain by early afternoon, so we’d gotten an early start ~8:45. But it was still warm with lots of horseflies until we hit the Four Lane.

TWRA Property SIgn.

We walked up Trail 8, and then ran the first mile of Trail 1 to the Sexton Cemetery junction. Next up is short climb to the old coal bench on the 2300’ contour, which the Four Lane follows for much of its length. South of the cemetery, Trail 1 was back to jeep road wide and was a much nicer and shadier trail. Trail 14 (Round Mountain) was signed and looked well used. Trails 31 and 29 (Signal Mountain) were steep and very loose and rocky, and were also signed. The Four Lane would have been fine for biking, solid and not too bumpy. We rounded the nose of Signal Mountain and soon got to the end point of my October 2020 ride with DK. This meant that I had finally completed the Four Lane!, at least excluding the part through the developed area of Brimstone through to River Road in Huntsville.

Leonard on the Four Lane.

Our reward was the descent of Wolfpen Trail. Wolfpen started with a few extremely steep pitches, but otherwise descended through some pretty forest that looked nearly as old as that around Frozen Head. Sparkman Hollow is a pretty stream and there are some rocky cliffs and likely some small waterfalls when the water is up. When we hit Little Creek, Trail 76 was signed to the east.

The lower part of Wolfpen.

The only flaw in my planning was getting from Little Creek west to the Brimstone Road. The online NCWMA map didn’t show a connector, but the Wolfpen Trail and Lone Mountain Church were close, and I thought surely the ATV’ers had found a way across. We saw Trail 22 leaving Little Creek to the south, and an old road going ahead west. The old road looked good until we hit a fence with a cattle pasture ahead. The pasture looked empty, so we started across. There was another pasture to our right, but it was separated by some nasty looking underbrush. Fearing ticks and chiggers we stayed in the first pasture until we ducked another fence and hopped across a larger stream, probably Mill Creek. From there an old farm road got us back to the Brimstone Road, right at the point where the road starts its climb to Lone Mountain Church.

Rainy Road Running.

To repeat the loop without cutting through the farm property you’d need a shorter loop via Trail 31 down to the sidings, or a longer loop continuing around on Trail 22 and eventually connecting back into to Mill Creek.

The skies had been misting off and on during our descent of Wolfpen, but by the time we hit the Brimstone Road the light rain was continuous. We walked/ran the four miles back to the car, just hoping to get there before the harder rain hit. There are houses along the way, but luckily no aggressive dogs. We saw only four cars, including one logging truck and a gas/oil service truck, North of the Little Creek Trail the Brimstone Road is paved though the asphalt is often broken up or rutted.

Total mileage was about 14.3 miles. With a lot of walking and having to pick our way through the cow pastures the loop took ~4:40. My Maprika App recorded 1400’ of climb, not nearly enough for the Barkley Fall Classic and other ventures we’ve got on our training horizons. Still, this is a nice area, and uncrowded at least during the week, we saw no one else on our trip. I imagined the upcoming July 4 weekend will be a bit busier.