2 night loop
Need recommendations for a easy to moderate two night loop for myself and two of my wifes female friends.
Thanks.
I was thinking about parking at the end of Lakeview drive and going up Forney creek to 71 then Springhouse Branch to maybe 64 and then down Noland Creek back to the car. Mid October.
Does your wife know your taking two of her friends out into the woods?
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
Ha. Yes she does. She hopes they will keep me!
Start at Twentymile Ranger Station. It's an easy hike the 1st day to campsite #92 located beside a creek. Along the way, there's a 20' waterfall near the intersection of Wolf Ridge and Twentymile trail. Next day, continue up Long Hungary Ridge to Gregory Bald and campsite #13 (one of my favorite). Third day, finish the loop coming down Wolf Ridge.
If the 1st day is too easy for you, the alternative but similar loop would be to spend the 1st night at #113 along the AT. Along the way, you can take a side trail to the Shuckstack fire tower.
Thanks Hook. I actually did this exact hike years ago.
Plans have changed. Now I need a one night loop on the North Carolina side of the park.
Well, if you want crazy easy but a very interesting hike...
Park at the end of the "Road to No Where" and camp at #67.
There are numerous ways to get to the campsite, and it can include multiple hikes thru the tunnel that's about 1/3 of a mile long.
For example, you can hike thru the tunnel, then hike the Tunnel Bypass trail to Goldmine Loop, and then hike the loop Clockwise staying at #67. The trail to 67 from Goldmine loop is 2/10th of a mile long (so it's away from the trail).
The lowest point of the Goldmine loop gives you a view of the Lake (and close enough it's an easy bush-whack to just hike down to the lake... but at low pool, the lake could be as much as a quarter mile away.
The next day, finish the Goldmine loop and then hike the tunnel a second time, or hike the Tunnel Bypass all the way back to where you started if you want to say you've hiked all segments of the trails around the tunnel.
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A little less interesting but more difficulty would be a loop in the Deep Creek area. Hike up Deep Creek to camp site #57, #58, or #59 for the night. Next day, hike Martins Gap to Sunkota Ridge. Where Sunkota Ridge runs into Loop Trail, the shortest distance is to hike east to Indian Creek trail back to Deep Creek trail.
If you like the Cataloochee area, make an overnight loop of Rough Fork, Caldwell Fork, and Big Fork Ridge, camping at CS# 41.
The campsite is beside a creek... however due to a bridge washout, the road is closed just before Pretty Hollow Gap. So you'll have about an extra 1 mile road walk each day between where you'll need to park and the Rough Fork/Big Fork Ridge trail heads.
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If you're going in the heat of the summer, I'd suggest a hike that will take you to Newton Bald (CS#52 for the night). There are 4 different trails from New Found Gap road that will take you to Newton Bald. You can take any one of them as an out-and-back, or if you have two cars, hike one in and the other out.
Thanks HooK. I had looked at the Newton Bald bike but apparently the campsite is not by a creek and the water source is a little ways down a hill? Can you verify this. The Deep Creek loop sounds good as well.
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the water source is only a couple (if memory serves me right) hundred feet down from the campsite...
easily accessible...
and even without newton bald being near a creek-----i found that site to be one of the better ones in the Park....
i loved my stay there....
One of the cool things about Newton Bald is that you are on top of a mountain, but there is still a spring near by.
I'll warm you that when I was at Newton Bald two weeks ago, the flow from the spring was good, but there wasn't a pipe or a good drop to fill a bag with. So take a cup or ziplock bag to collect water from the spring.
Alternate idea if about 7 to 8 miles is ideal for you. Tremont to #26 via Panther Creek and Lynn Camp prong.
Another nice mountain top campsite (cool) with a water source near by. Stayed there last weekend and the temperature was perfect.
I have found that the spring at 26 can sometimes be a trickle.....
But, it seems like that area has been getting some rain the last few weeks (Ive been living in maryland for the last couple of months and not my usual home of
knoxville)......
When I was at #26 last weekend, the flow wasn't strong, but less than 2ft from the spring a root created a dam and someone has notched the root. The result was a concentrated flow with about a 1ft drop that made it easy to fill a water bladder.Originally Posted by TNhiker
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