Thoughts? Upper Bald River Trip Plan

Would love to hear any reaction to this trip planned for early October. Starting on Tellico River Road at the Pheasant Fields picnic area, the plan is for 3 easy nights south on the BMT with 5 old guys.

First, we head south to the Brookshire Creek trail, taking the side trip to the falls, then again south to Sled Runner Gap (taking the side trip to Beaver Dam Bald). Then we head south again on the BMT down to Waucheesi Bald. We'd then backtrack north on the BMT to Kirkland Creek trail, following it to the road where we cross the river to find our 2nd vehicle waiting for us. Seems like a mid 20s mile trip that will be a nice way to spend a Friday to a Monday exploring. Campsites will be chosen as we go... no set schedule for stopping, just where it feels best.

A couple guys considering bringing Tenkara rods to see what the brook trout situation is like. I'm also hoping Tipi has done his trail clearing magic work in this area! Any reaction?

I just backpacked this loop in May, 2022 but started in Mud Gap on the BMT and spent my first night on Whiggs Meadow and then dropped down to Tellico River and Pheasant Fields---your starting point---and went up Sugar Mt with some detours into Bald River wilderness and then got on Brookshire up to Sled Runner Gap and west on State Line Ridge to Sandy Gap and down Kirkland Creek.

Trip report pics here---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backp...T-Thru-Hikers/

Kirkland from Sandy Gap down to the creek is in pretty good shape---and I worked my butt off on Kirkland 3 crossings down as it's once again in bad shape. (There are 11 total Kirkland crossings including the final Bald River crossing)---I cleared from crossing 11 down to crossing 8. There's a primo CS after the Kirk nut drop if you cross the creek (12th crossing) into a secret camp. There's also a great CS just before you hit crossing 8.

Attachment 49575
The tangled mess that is Kirkland trail.

Wow, that was a mess! Thanks for the pruner work! I've wanted to get back in this area for a while and am weirdly looking forward to the water crossings.

Sounds like a fun route. I backpacked Kirkland Creek last February and it was in rough shape, but easy enough to follow. A couple water crossings took me a minute to figure out where the trail picked back up on the other side.

Thanks, Slugg. I'm considering a back up plan in case there is a lot of rain the week leading up to the trip assuming the Bald River crossing could get tough at high water.

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Originally Posted by Mockernut

Thanks, Slugg. I'm considering a back up plan in case there is a lot of rain the week leading up to the trip assuming the Bald River crossing could get tough at high water.

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Sometimes it's better to go up Kirk first thereby pulling the pesky big BR crossing right off so whatever storms hit you have the much easier Kirk crossings which never get crazy or I should say rarely get crazy.

That could work just as well! Thanks!

Tipi- when you mention crossing 11, crossing 8, etc. Is that numbered coming from the BMT heading north on Kirkland or beginning at the road heading south?

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Originally Posted by Mockernut

Tipi- when you mention crossing 11, crossing 8, etc. Is that numbered coming from the BMT heading north on Kirkland or beginning at the road heading south?

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Heading from Bald River road trailhead and going up. Bald River is crossing #1 then 10 Kirkland crossings etc. Crossing 12 is unneeded but if done puts you in a beautiful "secret" campsite.

Gotcha, thanks very much! I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Trip Report- We made the loop this past weekend and it was beautiful, perfect weather. Nights in the 30s/40s and daytime 50s to low 60s. Full moon! The trails are in pretty good shape and like much of the BMT, lacking in switchbacks! Some pretty straight up/down sections. The water crossings were all easy given the zero rain over the past weeks.

Tipi- thanks for the work on the Kirkland Creek trail and the tip on the "secret" campsite. We enjoyed that one. Kirkland Creek was a bit hard to follow at points just with the dog hobble growing back over the trail.

We only encountered 3-4 hikers, including a few that were doing a thru hike. What we did encounter was a good many bear hunters and their dogs. They were all fun to talk to and everyone respected each other doing their own thing. Luckily, we had remembered to bring some orange hats along.

Great trip, beautiful area. I'll be back and maybe even bring some loppers to help clean up the dog hobble. And in classic Tipi Walter fashion, we finished the hike at Tellico Beach for our last meal before hitting the road!

Thanks for the report, so what loop did you end up doing exactly?

Hoping to get to the area in the next month or three but am planning to hit more of the northern and eastern trails in the BR area

We started on the BMT at Pheasant Fields picnic area (the fish hatchery), southbound to Sandy Gap, then down Kirkland Creek to Bald River Road. 20ish miles including side trip to Beaverdam Bald.

Sounds like a great trip and sorry I missed you. I know your route by heart---up and over Sugar Mt down to Brookshire Creek trail---up Brookshire to Sled Runner Gap (my favorite camping spot), west on State Line Ridge, a roller coaster of many hills but marked water sources and a great CS in Hazel Gap above the spring---down to Sandy Gap and a Kirkland detour back to Bald River and out.

Did you find any Tenkara hot spots?

The brook trout hit pretty good at the falls in Brookshire creek. That at Kirkland had plenty of little holes to fish. I just watched!