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.
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.
Rocky Top.
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.
