24 Day Expedition to Wildcat Creek

[Tipi Walter]

AN EXPOSITION ON EXPEDITION:

What is Expedition Backpacking?

It is an extended backpacking trip requiring a so-called "expedition" pack. My definition of Expedition means one food load and one fuel load for the trip with no opportunity or desire for resupplies, caches or town visits. For other ideas on Expedition Backpacking, see---

https://www.theoutbound.com/megan-ma...ing-expedition

https://www.backpacker.com/stories/t...-an-expedition

This trip gave me time to backpack into four wilderness areas in NC and TN---the Citico, the Kilmer, the Slickrock and the Upper Bald River. In the 24 days I was out I spent 10 of the days on the BMT which allowed me to connect the Kilmer side to the Slickrock side and the Citico side to the Upper Bald side.

USFA prescribed burns and forest fire smoke made the trip suck for a couple days---Days 13-14---but then by Day 15 it was smooth sailing in beautiful weather and cold enough to keep the bugs away even though I brought my headnet (but no Deet).

I saw three BMT specific backpackers and all were heading north. They were Plug It In---thruhiking all of the BMT; Sean---section hiking from Unicoi Gap to Tapoco; and U-Turn---pulling all of the Alabama/Georgia Pinhoti to its northern terminus and then taking the BMT north to its end. Oddly I saw all 3 on the same day and in the same place (around Whiggs Meadow).

In addition, my friends from the Cranbrook School in Michigan were pulling their 50th Anniversary 11 day wilderness backpacking trip into both the Citico/Slickrock/Kilmer and the Snowbird backcountry---and were comprised of high school kids in groups of 7 with 3 leaders per group. Not counting the Cranberries I saw only 5 backpackers on the entire trip including my buddy Patman who I invited out on Days 3-4. (He can tell you about the wind hellstorm we camped in on the Brush Mt trail in Citico---loudest winds I ever heard).

24 DAY EXPEDITION
TO
WILDCAT CREEK

TRIP 196
March 7--March 30, 2019

HIGHLIGHTS
** FIRST CRANBROOK LEADERS GORDON, JEFF AND TOM IN BARREL GAP
** 49 HOUR RAINSTORM STARTS AND STALLS THE TRIP IN BARREL GAP
** PATMAN FINDS ME IN BARREL GAP AND WE BACKPACK DOWN THE BRUSH MT TRAIL TO BRUSH RIDGE GAP AND CAMP
** 70MPH WIND HELLSTORM ON BRUSH MT RIDGE
** TRAIL 54A NORTH COMPLETELY CLEARED
** THE HELL SLOG DOWN STRATTON RIDGE AND SEEING JEFF AND TOM'S GROUP COMING UP
** VISITING CRANBERRY HEADQUARTERS IN RATTLER FORD FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY
** THE HELLSLOG UP NAKED GROUND TRAIL WITH BEAUCOUP TRAILWORK
** CAMPING WITH THE CRANBERRIES IN BIG FAT/SLICKROCK
** GREG AND LEXI'S GROUP ON LEG 1 NUTBUSTER TRAIL
** IAN'S GROUP ON LEG 2 NUTBUSTER
** 46TH NUTBUSTER CLIMB WITH GREG AND LEXI'S GROUP
** IN NAKED GROUND GAP WITH HANNAH'S GROUP
** PLUG IT IN, BMT THRUHIKER
** SEAN, BMT SECTION HIKER
** U-TURN, PINHOTI/BMT THRUHIKER
** BACKPACKING IN USFS FOREST FIRE SMOKE
** 30 CREEK CROSSINGS
** TRAILWORKED KIRKLAND CREEK 70%
** THE WILD BLUFFS OF WILDCAT CREEK FOR FINAL NIGHT


TRAILS (**overnight camps)
Entrance at Unicoi Crest on Cherohala Skyway NC/TN State Line
Fodderstack/Seven Mile Ridge North
Trail 149
**Barrel Gap (2)**
Brush Mt Down
**Brush Ridge Gap**
Brush Mt Backtrack Up
Trail 149
BMT Connector Up
**Snow Camp**
54A North Up to Seven Mile Ridge
**Bob Bald Open Meadow**
Seven Mile Ridge East
Stratton Ridge Trail Down
**Jebediah Camp**
Stratton Ridge Down
Rattler Ford Side Trip
Kilmer Memorial Roadwalk
Naked Ground Trail Up
**Creekside Camp Low Dog Camps**
Naked Ground Trail Up
**Mid Dog Camps**
Naked Ground Trail Up
**Landon Camp Naked Ground Gap**
Seven Mile Ridge East
Hangover Lead South Down to Big Fat Gap
Big Fat Trail Down
**Slicnic Camps on Slickrock Creek**
Nutbuster Trail up Leg 3
**Buckeye Camp**
46th Nutbuster Trail Climb Up to Naked Ground
**Landon Camp Naked Ground Gap**
Seven Mile Ridge West
**Cold Spring Gap**
BMT/Fodderstack South to Beech Gap
Skyway BMT to Mud Gap
Mud Gap Trail up to Whiggs Meadow
BMT/Sycamore Creek Trail Down
**Hobo Camp**
Sycamore Creek Down
**Sycamore Bear Camp**
Sycamore Creek Down to Fish Hatchery
Sugar Mt Trail Up and Down
Brookshire Creek Trail
**Brook Horse Camp**
Brookshire Creek Down
Holly Flats Roadwalk
Kirkland Creek Trail Up
**Kirk 7 Camp aka Gutpile Camp**
Kirkland Creek Trail Up
**Kirk 12 Camp**
Kirk Trail Up
**Kirk Spring Camp**
Kirk Trail Up to Sandy Gap
BMT South
**Six Mile Gap**
Waucheesi Manway Up to Mountaintop
Waucheesi Roadwalk Down
Warrior's Passage Down
**Tobe Creek**
Warrior's Passage Down
**Wildcat Creek**
Finish Warrior's Passage
Old Furnace Roadwalk
Gold Chute Logging Cut Down
**Wildcat Bluff Camp**
Gold Chute Cut Up
Old Furnace Roadwalk Up to Tellico Beach and OUT


All backpacking trips for me start with the Seven Holy Nylons---clothing (hopefully), food, shelter, pack (or duffel bag or grocery bags or hobo bindle stick), sleeping bag (or blankets or buffalo robe), water container and sleeping pad(s).

My Mchale pack is at its most monstrous at about 95 lbs but it'll shrink up tremendously in the next 3 weeks. Compare the height of my pack on Day 1 with the height on Day 10 below---

Trip 196 (239).JPG

I'm standing at my ingress point at Beech Gap in TN and the entrance to Citico Creek wilderness.


I make it in about 3.5 miles and set up camp in Barrel Gap on Trail 149 and hear voices and it's 3 trip leaders from the Cranbrook school pulling their shake-down trip before all the high school kids come out later that week. This is the school's 50th Anniversary wilderness trip. Jeff on the left is carrying a Mystery Ranch pack.


On Day 3 my buddy Patman finds me on Trail 149 so we backpack together down the toughest trail in the Citico---Brush Mountain. We stop at my favorite rock for a break. It's slow going for me cuz the trail has terrible footing and my pack weight sucks.


We set up at 4,000 feet in a gap on Brush Mt Ridge and get walloped by a terrible storm which produces the loudest winds I've ever heard. In the 70mph range. The rain comes in horizontally and slaps against my wet tent fly which gets plastered against the inner yellow tent canopy. Luckily while it looks bad no actual water comes inside the tent.


On Day 4 Patman wants to try on my unloaded McHale pack before he shoves off back to Beech Gap and I slowly pack and go up to Fodderstack Ridge.


After Patman leaves I backtrack up Brush Mt because I have to change my route itinerary due to all the rain causing Citico creeks to get too high to cross. I climb 1,300 feet in about 4 miles and pass over Bob Bald and begin my 9 mile journey down the Stratton Ridge trail---as I stand at the top trailhead near the Butt Rock. It's a rough long trail and one big thicket of weeds and brush.