Rhododendron Creek (aka The Waterfalls) and Injun Creek manways, Smokies OT
Though
prompted by my 2026 trip, this report combines the notes from all of my trips along
these two manways and in chronologic order.
10-23-04,
Rhodo & Injun Creek Loop, w/GRSM BC Office Volunteers
At this time, I was volunteering at the NPS Backcountry Office answering questions for backpackers and helping to issue permits. I was a fill-in and had no regular schedule, but I had done enough work to be invited to an appreciation picnic that was held in Greenbrier. A hike would be paired with the picnic. After some discussion we decided to hike Rhododendron Creek-Grapeyard Ridge-Injun Creek as a clockwise ~6-mile loop that included a 0.8-mile shuttle or road walk on the Greenbrier Road. The hike was suggested by Alma Williamson (Volunteer) and George Minnigh who was the park’s backcountry ranger. This was my first time on either manway. I don’t have photos or a GPS track from this trip. The manways are old roads and both manways show on the 1931 and 1947 maps.
On Rhodo Creek in 2006.
Both
Rhodo Creek and Injun Creek had well developed manways along their namesake
creeks. Rhodo Creek starts at the first bridge beyond the Ranger Station on the
right (west) side of the road. It is a nice ~1-mile manway with ~9 small
waterfalls. We were told that there are great wildflowers in the spring. At one
point, the trail split into high and low paths with differing views of the
waterfalls.
Rhodo
Creek joins the Grapeyard Ridge Trail where the trail crosses Rhodo Creek going
north to south (assuming you are hiking west to east). From here it is about
two miles to CS 32. We saw one party on the trail. The creek crossings must
have been easy, because I didn’t mention them.
The
Injun Creek Manway is a well-defined old road with lots of rock walls from
settlement. About 2/3 of the way down at a rock wall is a sign for the McCarter
Cemetery on a side trail leading west. The side trail goes ½ to a ¼ mile to the
hilltop moss-covered cemetery. There are ~16 graves mostly from the 1920s, a
few with readable stones. Some of the script is hardly readable as English. There
is a foot log with a handrail on the cemetery side trail. There are ~6 foot
logs on the lower Injun Creek Manway. The manway ends at the gate by the Ranger
Station. This would make a great SMHC trip.
3-18-05,
Rhodo and Injun Creek Loop with Jean
Jean
and I had planned a backpack trip to Porters Creek, but we quickly realized
that the distance (3.7 miles one way) would not be enough for us. I remembered
the 6-mile Rhodo-Injun Creek “off trail” hike that I had done last spring with
the Backcountry Office volunteers, and suspected that Jean would enjoy the
loop.
Rhodo Creek in 2005
We
parked at the Greenbrier Ranger Station and walked up the Greenbrier Road to do
the loop in its usual clockwise direction. We saw all the waterfalls on Rhodo Creek,
but there were fewer flowers than expected, and the route seemed heavily used
for an unmaintained trail. On Grapeyard Ridge Trail we found several of the
crossings to be tough because of high water. We stopped for lunch at CS 32 and
found a smoldering campfire, which we put out. It was an easy hike back to the ranger
station with foot logs and handrails on three of the crossings. We did not do
the side trip to McCarter Cemetery. I did not GPS the route, but Jean took
slides, some of which I later digitized.
We
then headed up to Porters Creek Trailhead for our backpacking trip and found
that the Backcountry Office Volunteers had just set two new fire rings at the
campsite.
On Porters Creek in 2005.
12-3-06,
Scouting and GPS Mapping with Jean and Claudia,
This
6.5-mile hike was a scouting trip for the 2007 Smoky Mountain Hiking Club trip
that would be led by Jean and Claudia. The water was up, so there were lots of
small waterfalls and cascades on Rhodo Creek. On Rhodo Creek the old manway was
in great shape with a couple small rock hops. There is an old home site near
the Grapeyard Ridge Trail junction.
We
also took the side trip on another manway to the “Phone Line Chimney” on Blazed
Pine Ridge, which had a metal phone line along it. Lunch was at Campsite 32.
The "Injun" in 2006.
We
also took the side trip to McCarter Cemetery. We saw two people and one old
homesite on the return leg.
My
notes are brief for this trip, but I have a screen shot of original GPS plot.
McCarter Cemetery 2006.
3-24-07,
SMHC Trip led by Jean
The 2007 Smoky Mountains Hiking Club Trip.
Claudia
signed up to co-lead this 8-mile trip, but I ended up subbing for her. Our
group of 14 did the loop clockwise from the Greenbrier Ranger Station. We took
side trips to the McCarter, Rayfield, and “Child of John Owenby” cemeteries.
Frank March joined us for the latter two. I have a few cemeteries marked on my
Topo! Map but I am unsure of the locations of the two Frank showed us. I
suspect the Owenby Child cemetery is the single grave site located just north
of McCarter Cemetery on Injun Creek.
Lunch time at Janes Gap.
There
was lots of water to highlight the Rhododendron Creek waterfalls. Lunch was at
James Gap, then we walked down to the steam engine, which was the highlight of
the trip for most of the group. There were a pair of backpackers staying at CS
32. The early spring flowers were out. We saw trailing arbutus, spring
beauties, rue anemone, and white, yellow, and purple violets.
Wreck of the engine.
2-9-08,
Mt Winnesoka Hike with SMHC & Jean
We
used the Injun Creek manway as a return route for this long, hard off-trail hike.
I didn’t make any new notes about the manway. (Link)
5-23-16,
Little Rhodo Creek 6.7 miles with SMHC and Ed
Our
exploration of the Rhodo Creek/Injun Creek area progressed typically for our
Smokies Off-trail favorites. First, someone shows us the route. Then I take Jean
out to try it. We then need to scout, and eventually lead, the route for the
club. Next, we use the route to access another more exotic routes, and finally use
it as a launch pad for more detailed exploration of the area. Ed’s 2016 SMHC
route up Little Rhodo Creek and his 2018 SMHC trip up Rayfield Orchard
represent the detailed phase of exploration in the area.
Ed
and Pam had been exploring the area and had some new sites to show the club. We
started up the Injun Creek Manway from the Greenbrier Ranger Station. I did not
take pictures, but I have a GPS track. We took one detour to the left (east) to
visit the site of an old school. Then, we climbed over a small ridge into
Little Rhodo Creek. The lower part of the creek was moderately dense with rhodo.
I used the GPS to mark home sites and a second school site. I took some notes
on my field sheet from the 1931 Map, mostly as keys to my GPS waypoints. We
eventually followed the upper part of Little Rhodo Creek to the Grapeyard Ridge
Trail and finished the hike by a return on the entire length of the Injun Creek
Manway.
Ed
said that the name was originally “Indian” but was changed to minimize
confusion with other Indian Creeks in the park. We got out late because of one
slow hiker, but I thought this could be a good route for Jean and Claudia.
11-17-18,
Rayfield Orchard with SMHC with Ed and Jean 
SMHC trip to Rayfield Orchard.
This
5.8-mile hike was another of Ed’s exploring hikes of the old home sites in the
Greenbrier area of the Smokies. 
Ed peers through the rhodo.
It
was cold, but the otherwise good weather attracted 10 hikers. We first headed
up the Rhodo Creek Manway. Water was high so the waterfalls popped, but the
creek crossings were tricky.
Inelegant stream crossing.
We
also had tough creek crossings on the Grapeyard Ridge Trail. We left the GRT at
a wide-open fork that led to a home site at the end of the former orchard. We
had stopped earlier to look at an old school site. Then we visited a cemetery
that we had seen earlier on the hike with Bob Lochbaum, and circled around a
small knob to visit a weird “cairn” that was 8’ x 8’ x 8’ on the back side. Ed
did not know why this cairn was so massive. We then kept on the south side of
the creek (as we headed out to the east) and then crossed right where the GRT
trail crosses Rhodo Creek. We saw one other party on Rhodo Creek. From my GPS
track, it seems our route was essentially out and back to Rayfield Orchard on
Rhodo Creek. 
The rock cube near Rayfield Orchard.
4-20-26,
Rhododendron and Injun Creeks, Off Trail with David Smith and Nate
This
7.4-mile trip was David’s suggestion. He is revisiting some old off-trail hikes
he has done and combining those with late season wildflower walks. This would
be the first trip on this loop for either of us since Ed’s 2018 hike.
We
met at the Greenbrier Ranger Station with several other vehicles already there.
Our plan was to do the loop clockwise; Greenbrier Road, Rhodo Creek Manway,
Grapeyard Ridge Trail, and back via the Injun Creek Manway. Temps were 48 to
68, but calm and sunny. I took GPS tracks with Garmin and Maprika. We all took
pictures. 
David on Rhodo Creek.
Traffic
up the road was steady but not bothersome. The mouth of the Rhodo Creek Manway
with its pullout parking was obvious. But the start of the manway was confusing
because there were several other social trails joining in while the manway was
still on the left side of the creek. Once we crossed to the right side past the
confluence with Little Rhodo Creek, the trails consolidated into a single path.
Moe waterfalls on Rhodo Creek.
The
waterfalls then started. There were 4-5 small waterfall/cascades on the left,
each with a short spur leading to a good photo spot. The trees had just leafed
out, but still displayed their lush spring greens, rather than the dark mature
leaves of mid-summer. We moved slowly to watch the falls and the late spring
wildflowers which included yellow trillium, wild geranium, phlox, dwarf iris,
may apple, and little brown jugs. 
Rhodo Creek waterfall.
David
identified Sweet Shrub. On Upper Rhodo Creek we saw two chimney rock piles, the
first of which I marked by GPS. Then to the left of the trail, we saw one of
the larger Pink Lady Slipper displays that I’ve seen. A few plants were on the
shoulder of the trail, but most were down below the trail. Overall, my field
map from 2018 was sketchy about what features went with various waypoints and
red circles, and I didn’t feel it necessary to try and document everything we
saw. This was a good plan as there would be a lot of stuff to see, and even
more things I’m sure we missed. From the intersection with Grapeyard Ridge
Trail along Rhodo Creek and back to Injun Creek this entire route is mapped as
road on the 1931 map. The Brown Book indicates that the CCC rebuilt the trail
in the 1930s. By the time of the 1947
map, Injun and Rhododendron creeks are shown as manways, and none of the
buildings or cemeteries are shown.
Pink Lady Slipper.
Hiking
up Grapeyard Ridge Trail, we met the volunteer maintainer for CS 32, who told
us about another Pink Lady Slipper site at the campsite. He was unaware of the
one on Rhodo Creek. I did not see any path heading toward the “Phone Line
Chimney”. I also did not see paths at either intersection of the trail and the
paths that Ed had followed to Rayfield Orchard in 2018. At James Gap, we
explored the ridge on both sides of the trail. There is one probable chimney
rock pile about 30’ north of the trail, which David remembered, but I had not.
Just
below the gap on the right is the wreck of the Engine, which became the “Injun”
on Injun Creek. I think the boiler was used to power a steam powered portable
sawmill that crashed trying to descend into upper Injun Creek (in the 1920s
according to “Place Names of the Smokies”). We chose that spot for lunch. Most
of what is left is the boiler and the wheels, the parts too heavy to remove by
hand, so the wreckage is still in good condition. Campsite 32 was in great
shape, thanks to our volunteer buddy. We saw lots of rock walls here, and also
along Grapeyard Ridge Trail. 
The boiler in 2026.
My
old field map showed the connection with the McCarter Cemetery too far south,
and I wondered if that had been GPS marked or merely sketched in. There is a
large wide area at the junction and a small sign. We walked up to the McCarter
Cemetery which had a dozen or so graves, but only a couple with readable
stones. 
McCarter Cemetery.
Just
below the cemetery on the side trail was an NPS crew working on a foot log over
a small stream. It was a little odd to see a work crew on a non-system trail.
Only a single grave in this cemetery.
Below this point the trail was getting crowded, I suppose the route to the
engine is on AllTrails (it is), or something like that. We found a one grave
cemetery on a faint path on our left. Our last stop was a new-to-me path on the
right leading to a chassis(?) and another piece of either a very narrow old car
or rail car. 
Is this a vehicle chassis?
The parking area was still near full when we arrived back at the Greenbrier RS.
