James is working on the same revision to the Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide that brought me to the Big Frog Wilderness and Ocoee Recreation Area earlier this year. His area is the Sampson Mountain Wilderness in the northern part of the forest, but with the addition of the new trails in the new Rocky Fork State Park and CNF that were acquired in the late 2000s. Rocky Fork was privately held when the second edition of the guide was prepared, but was acquired by a partnership of the USFS, State of TN, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and the Conservation Fund using state, private, and Land and Water Conservation Funds to protect the area from development and logging. Prior to the acquisition, TWRA had leased the property for hunting, but had kept the gates closed to vehicles. The core of the area was then designated as a Tennessee state park with the remainder transferred to the Forest Service.
In
2010, after the property was acquired I visited the area to ride a mountain
biking loop with Mark and Steven. We rode a 7 hour, 27 mile loop through the
heart of the property and found an amazing resource with great scenery,
sparkling creeks, and a MB friendly network of old roads, at least if you were
in shape for some really long climbs. https://hiramrunhikebike.blogspot.com/2010/07/
Despite
the attractions of the area, I had only been back once in 2011 on a SMHC trip
starting to the west in the CNF Horse Creek Campground. With a 2:20 drive the
area was just too far for a day trip.
James’
task to scout the Sampson Mountain Wilderness for the guidebook revision had
grown to include adding all the state park and forest service Rocky Fork trails
to the guide. James had already made a few trips this fall, but needed to cover
some trails that were not officially maintained. With the need for a partner
for safe off trail hiking, I got the chance to join him on one of this longer
scouting hikes. Our target was what he called the Buzzard Rock Loop, which
starts at the main trailhead, follows Rocky Fork to its head, takes the
Appalachian Trail from Big Butt to Flint Gap, and then returns to the trailhead
on the Flint Creek Trail.
We
met in Knoxville at 7AM and drove 2 hours through Hot Springs to the trailhead.
James had driven 3 different routes to the TH, including I-26, finding them all
about a 2 hour drive. At the trailhead was parking for about a dozen cars, a
portapotty, signboard, and a ranger truck.
We
headed off on the Rocky Fork, White Oak Flats, and then the Headwaters Trail,
all of which James had previously scouted. These trails are all former gravel
roads and were still in great shape for hiking or mountain bikes. At the
Headwaters/Blockstand Creek junction we turned right onto an “unmaintained”
trail, but one I had easily mountain biked down in 2010. This trail was also
still in great shape, with only minor blowdowns and a few easy rock hop
crossings. James started his guidebook work here and marked several spur roads
that branched off our main line. I took a GPS track of our route and a few
scenic shots as well. Things got a little complicated when we reached the crest
of Rich Mountain. Here we turned left on another unmaintained trail and
followed some ATV tracks. We passed the unmarked CNF Squibb Creek Trail heading
west down to Horse Creek and then stopped for lunch at Buzzard Rock Overlook.Rocky Fork
After
lunch we followed the still unofficial trail west over Ball Ground to the bald
area on Big Butt, where we intersected the Appalachian Trail. We took a quick
side trip to the top of Big Butt for another view then headed south on the AT. We
had seen no one else all morning, but soon passed 3 solo hikers on the AT. James’
GPS map showed that there was a USFS road just to the west of us, that we later
realized was an older route of the AT that I would have used on my 1976 AT thru
hike. We took a side trip to the Civil War era Shelton Graves, the result of
one of so many bloody encounters of that era. We saw an obvious, but unsigned,
path leading west at Green Springs Knob that may have been the Pisgah NF Trail
287 shown on my old Trails Illustrated map. Not too long after we were passed
by two mountain bikers, oblivious to the fact that the AT is foot traffic only.Buzzard Rock Overlook.
Flint
Gap is a surprisingly steep gash in the ridge line. There are also lots of
possible routes and few signs. James had been here previously and steered us
down the steep slope to a series of close spaced junctions with the Flint
Mountain and Blockstand Creek Trails as we followed the Flint Creek Trail.Big Butt.
I
had noted that Flint Creek had been the roughest riding of our 2010 trip, but currently
the trail is now in great shape and the many stream crossings are covered with
new sturdy wood bridges. There’s a designated backcountry site along the way.
As we got closer to the trailhead we passed two other parties and arrived at
the trailhead after 14.8 miles and a 2700' climb. After that it was another two
hours of driving back to Knoxville.The Shelton Graves.
I
left with a stronger appreciation of Rocky
Fork. In the ten years since my previous visit much has improved, and
little has not. Parking, signage, and trail maintenance all looked good. James
has seen many more hikers that we saw that day and a strong park constituency
will be critical for keeping the park in good shape. ATV’s were staying out of
the park, here in TN that’s the biggest threat to most under used trail
networks. The area is simply beautiful, Rocky Fork is a lovely stream, as
scenic as any in the Smokies or Joyce Kilmer/Citico area.
