After
my introduction to the Dudley Creek Trails on Ed Fleming’s SMHC hike to Mount
Winnesoka (Winnesoka) this March I’d thought
that Jean would really like this area for hiking. The Dudley Creek trails were
last used by the park’s horse concession, but were not reopened after the Covid
19 pandemic in 2000. Five years has proven enough time for the trail beds to
rehabilitate, and the vegetation around them to grow into the trails. The old
horse trails are now grown over enough to be considered off trail hiking.
There’s just enough underbrush and fallen trees to force you to concentrate on
following the route, but no impenetrable sections that are too difficult to
follow.
Our group at the cemetery.
We
picked the first cool day of the fall to explore the area. Ed was able to join
us along with Claudia. I wanted to explore a loop including the Bell Branch and
Duds Branch trails that I had not done on the Winnesoka trip. We parked at the
Gatlinburg Community Center and hiked across the highway and down a short steep
paved road into the park. Near the park boundary we saw an informal campsite.
Ed at the start on our March trip.
Once
onto the trails, we turned right to hike Little Dudley Trail first, and to make
a counterclockwise loop. We passed two side trails back up to the concession
stables, then headed south up the narrow valley of Little Dudley. Early fall
proved more overgrown than early spring, but the trails were still remarkably
clear for having no maintenance for the last five years. There were even a few
patches of the concessionaire’s gravel left. We found Little Dudley and Duds
Branch less clear than wide open Big Dudley, but Bell Branch was less clear,
and we wondered if Bell Branch had not been used or cleared in 2019. One
homesite was marked by wide patch of periwinkle.
On
the Winnesoka trip, Little Dudley had been our route out, and I had been tired
enough to ignore its features while trudging back to the car. On both trips I
had missed the start of an even longer abandoned (pre 2014?) connecting trail
leading west to Roaring Fork. Ed, of course had spotted it, and mentioned that
he thought the manway looked rough. Further up Little Dudley he pointed out a
rockpile that marked a collapsed chimney and home site, then we stopped for the
remains of another chimney at the Allison Ogle homesite.
With Jean at the Allison Ogle chimney.
Ed
passed out a hand drawn map of the homesites on Little Dudley and Big Dudley
creeks that his aunt Ida Wright had made for his cousin Glenn Cantrell. He also
had copies of several pictures of the homesites and residents of the area from
the early 1920s when the settlers began to move out of what would become the
park. It was hard to imagine the busy community in what is now a dense and
mature forest.
Next
we turned out of Little Dudley, climbing to the divide where Ed’s ancestor’s
had a small family cemetery. Three large markers have replaced the original
trio of headstones including that of Ed’s grandfather There are also some
smaller markers. We ate lunch and rested at the cemetery. Our weather had
remained cool and dry. I had stripped down to a tee shirt for lunch.
Group at the Ogle chimney.
Leaving
the cemetery after lunch we took a cross country short cut to join the Bell
Branch Trail. This trail was more overgrown that the other trails in the
system. Ed had brought clippers and used them, while the rest of us broke
branches behind him. Bell Branch and Duds Creek trails do not show up on the
pre-park settlement maps and were likely built in the 1960s for the horse
concession. This leaves them with very few cultural features compared to the
main forks of Dudley. 
Headstones in the cemetery.
When
we reached Big Dudley we turned briefly upstream to reach the south end of the
Duds Branch Trail. With a short climb over a ridge, we were again cruising
downstream on an open manway. I was not paying attention, missed the first
junction with Big Dudley, and was surprised when we closed our loop to begin
the short, paved hike to the highway.
Marshall Ogle headstone.
The hike totaled 6.7 miles with only 1100’ feet of climbing, but the important stats were no bad rhodo, rough stream crossings, nor extensive blowdowns. Those conditions may change in the future, as it does not appear that the horse concession is likely to re-open. But for now, these trails lie sweet spot between system trails with heavy horse traffic, and abandoned trails reclaimed by a wilderness of deadfall and thick underbrush.
We topped off the day with a stop at Ed’s place that included test runs on his famous backyard zipline.
