Discovering Forgotten History in the Backcountry of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park

Few times in ones life do you have the opportunity to go to a remote place and find history all around you in living color. For some people, they pursue it for a living, such as a treasure finder looking for a sunken ship out in the Gulf of Mexico. For historians, they read the history and then go seek the facts on location. For adventurers, they stumble into something of historical value and realize it later! That was exactly what happened to us. On this yearly trip going to a familiar place in the Smokies, we discovered secrets that had been around us for years hidden in the woods and we simply had no clue.

One of my favorite views every time we kayak into the GSMNP from Fontana Marina.

The location I am talking about is in the backcountry woods of the Eagle Creek area in North Carolina. I was introduced to this beautiful area by my friend Charlie in 2002, and have not stopped coming here every year. Little known to many, the southern side of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park yields nothing but pure beauty without all of the commercialization. It has been this way for years, partly because you are in a U.S Forest Service area and a U.S. National Park area all together in one spot, thus, little to no commercialization is in place. The area I am talking about is Fontana Lake. Fontana Lake has what many come here for, and that is nothing but beauty. They come to see the mountains in it's natural form. Fontana Resort, formed after the area was a large community to support the construction of the dam during WWII, took on the tourist role when the dam was completed. Fontana Dam by the way, is the tallest dam on the east coast and well worth seeing, at over 480 feet high. On the southern side of Fontana Lake, it is ran by the U.S. Forest Service with it's Cable Cove Campground right beside the lake. On the northern end of the lake, it is all National Park Service territory. It can be the quietest vacation trip you have ever taken if you want it to be. The closest town away is Robbinsville or Bryson City.

With all of those facts in hand, lets head out on our trip! We are heading out on a 3 day trip into the back country woods of the Smokies. As I have stated on blogs here before, we just basically head out across the lake over to one of about 3 remote back country campsites. You are totally on your own. There is no cell phone, very little radio contact, and nothing but wilderness. A permit is required to do this, so with the necessary paperwork complete, we all start our journey. You had better have your stuff together in this place. Help is NOT that fast and easy.

Boats parked at Eagle Creek Campground or Campsite #90

We depart the Fontana Marina with 4 kayaks loaded with camping gear and two canoes with more camping gear. One person for each boat. We paddle Friday morning out across the lake to an area called Eagle Creek camping area, back country campsite #90.  I have been doing this again and again since 2002. We either camp at Proctor or Eagle Creek. I have always known that Eagle Creek has a rich history with the timber industry BEFORE the construction of the Fontana dam from 1942-1945. It basically flooded the area and washed away an area deep in history. What I just did not realize was how important the area was and truly how much of a central "beehive" of progress and activity the area had from 1920-1938. The Great Smokey Mountain National Park or GSMNP for short, was started in 1938. When the Park Service took over, they basically cleared everyone  out! The area was basically "frozen" in time if the lake did not consume it.

Further research on the internet reveals S. Flory Mfg. made lots of steam engines.

An old boiler is left to tell the stories of history here.

 In 2010, my good friends Steve and Thomas, along with myself, began an extensive search for a mine operation near the mouth of Eagle Creek. My handheld GPS several years ago was showing  a mining symbol less than 1 mile from where we camp, so the 3 of us looked and looked for it with no luck. We decided the mine did no exist or the way point on the map of it was incorrect in it's location. This year, all 6 of us agreed to help look for it again on this trip. After setting camp up on Friday, we set out in our boats. Paddling along the shore looks like "looking for a needle in a haystack" as the old southern saying goes. After all, it all looks like woods! My camping buddy and close friend Thomas had a great ideal. Paddle along the shore and we might find some kind of trail possibly where others have been to the mine site. Using the symbols on the GPS, studying the maps on the GPS, and looking at a paper map I had of the area, we slowly move along the banks. After about 30 minutes of searching, finally, we found a trail! All of us park our boats and start slowly looking for snakes as we inch up the small trail. May of 2012 seemed to be the year of the snakes, because after parking to set up camp just a few hours earlier, there were water snakes everywhere! One of our guys while at camp went over in the weeds to relieve himself and almost stepped on a baby rattlesnake! The weather was absolutely perfect with crystal clear blue skies. That may well be why all the snakes were out, the warmth of the sun.

As we make our way up the trail slowly, John points out hey!, railroad tracks! Bingo! We are hot on to something. The railroad metal is gone, but the ties are still down with a small stream bed running over the top of the tracks. We ease on up the slew/hollow and look and see a massive what we later determined was a steam boiler, seen here on the blog pictures. About 300 feet up, we hit the jackpot! 3 mine shafts with fencing around them! The park service has some fairly new fences up and some pretty stout warning signs about NO entrance is allowed due to the declining bat population. So we stand in amazement  wondering about the mines and what is down in them. We can only speculate since the fines far exceed the amount of money I can afford to pay, not to mention jail time. John, Sam, Thomas, and Justin ease on up to explore all three mines while Eric, my nephew, stays with me snapping pictures and shooting video left and right. After about 10 minutes, someone yells out "awesome!". Eric and I look up and see this massive roughly 15 foot wide by 12 foot high cable assembly right straight across from the main mine or largest opening. It has massive 2 1/2 inch wide cable on the spool. Further inspection of it (see picture) seems to point that it was steam powered instead of motor powered. Words on this page cannot describe the feeling of seeing something that very people have seen and seeing items literally out of the 1920's to 1940's era left just as they were used. It is a moving experience for me, and a trivial event for some. My mind starts to wonder 10 thousand things about this place. We ease on down from the spool and head over to the boiler we saw when first coming up. There are numerous concrete pillows and foundations as part of the copper mining operation. If this blog fascinates you like it did my friends and me experiencing it, I invite you to click on the links at the bottom of this page and read further. You will quickly see that much of the history of this site is hidden in the water of Fontana Lake! When they dammed up the area, it killed out a lot of history. Be sure and check out the old pictures of the site. You can see that the lake engulfed much of it on it's creation. It must be pointed out that this area was already a massive timber operation, so life in those times and living in this would be a mixed blessing/curse. I am sure it provided hundreds of jobs and a good living, but pictures and history have told that this area was absolutely raped of timber and minerals. The industrial revolution had put everything as "free for grabs" back during these times, and management and proper stewardship of the land were about as Greek as the word "iPod" would be used back during that time. Upon reading further history of this mine AFTER I got back, at least one person died at the mines, and many were injured. 4 miles of narrow guage track and two locomotives, along with 10 ore cars were used. The "cable" assembly we found out lowered men and ore carts 2000 feet at a 45 degree angle into the main mine. There were also different levels and shafts of the mine. The research I read told of a boiler house and a shower room just down from the mine. I think that is what we may have found with the thick steel boiler drum out (see picture). Further reading yields a school, a doctors office, and homes all around the area. Some of this is buried in the lake and some of the foundations still exist on the other side of the hollow from the mine up in the woods. Thomas and Steve, my camping friends did find that 2 years ago, but we had no ideal what was hidden in the woods on the other side of the water!

The next day, my nephew Eric and I hiked up to Shuckstack abandoned fire tower and took pictures. I wrote about this trip a year ago here on this blog, so I will not bore you with that. I will share a picture of a mother bear and her cub that we shot pictures of just 50 feet down from the base of the forest tower. They were not the least bit afraid of Eric and I as we snapped pictures on our descent down. It just topped off a second amazing day at this beautiful place that God made and man visits. John and Sam, two of my other friends kayaked over to Proctor, another remote back country area rich in history. It was once the largest town in the Smokies. It was a massive lumber mill and town. We will save that writing for another trip. I have visited this place many times before I started my blog, so I hope to cover that area down the road in a future blog. It has a cemetery that tells the story of this place, of short life spans of families, and all the trials of hard times back then.

Bears in trees about 100 feet below the base of the forest tower. Not a care in the world towards us as we snap this picture.

Our third day, we woke up to rain, rain, rain, and more rain. We broke down our hammocks and tents down in the rain, we paddled in the rain back to the marina, we loaded boats in the rain, and drove over 5 hours in the rain. It was all good though and very much worth it. I would do it all again in a New York second. One of the many things I learned from this trip is this: Sometimes you just look and see a mountain with trees, and that is all you think of. What you don't realize is what wildlife, and more importantly for this article what treasures of the past it hides.

As we wind up this trip, I thought I would leave you with a video clip taken from the over 4,000 foot high at Shuckstack tower overlooking Fontana Lake, Fontana Dam, and the Smokies. It was taken with my head band HD camera or "nerd cam" as I call it. I hope you enjoy the view as we did.


Until another day of adventures, we go back to the grind of work and the routines of life. See you on the next trip! Below are some resources and history of the Eagle Creek Mine if you are interested in reading more.

http://www.northshoreheritagememories.com/eaglecreek.html

http://www.ecjones.org/scenery/_Great_Smoky_Mtns_NP/_Eagle_Creek/Fontana_Mine/Fontana_Copper_Mine.pdf

FOOTNOTE for history buffs: 
It was pointed out to me that one of the pictures that shows the cable spool manufacturer- "S. Flory Manufacturing"  on the side of it, is a very old company that produced steam locomotive engines for trains and other steam powered industrial equipment for years. This verifies that indeed, the mill equipment was ran by steam powered equipment rather than gas engines. 

Canoeing Sipsey River in the Bankhead National Forest-Alabama

Writing about an area you live 30 minutes from can be somewhat boring for some places, but living this close, to this kind of beauty, well hey, I am more than happy to tell you about it! We are talking about the Sipsey River canoe and kayak "standard run". This standard run that the locals call, is about a 9 mile stretch from the Sipsey River Recreation Area on County Road 60 (also called Cranal Road) to the  takeout that is underneath a large bridge on Alabama Highway 33 going to Double Springs. This is a half day to full day, to even an overnight trip if you want. The main thing to remember is timing it right for the water levels. We will discuss that later on.

Planning


If you want to plan to do this trip then you will need to have two vehicles of course to start with, and you will need to watch water levels and the weather closely. This run is very popular almost all times of the year except the dead of summer when it is very dry. The best times are January-May, with February and March being about the peek times because of rainfall. Sipsey is not regulated by man and is regulated by God and the weather, so prior planning is important to ensure a fun trip. Poor planning will result in dragging your canoe or kayak down the river with a rope rather than riding in it. A great place to start watching the water levels and learn more about this river is to go to Alabamawhitewater.com. If you explore this site, you will see a whole page devoted to tips and water levels to watch for. Remember too, that canoeists over the years have always referred to the "level" or "gauge" being the gauge on the side of the concrete bridge for years. More recently, the U.S. Governments gauge that can be viewed on the internet is viewed as "cubic feet per second".  Most people just have problems using that as the gauge, so they always go back and refer to the old fashioned system of the "gauge on the side of the bridge". It is measured in feet. From my experience, if you want an easy float trip with little challenges, look for a 1-1.5 foot guage. The website I spoke of above will help you in converting the "wooden gauge" or "gauge at the bridge" to cubic feet per second. Sipsey can offer anything you want just about, from a Class IV to a Class I. In other words, never take Sipsey lightly as being easy. It all depends on mother nature. I have a friend who has canoed and camped Sipsey for some 13 years. He almost died by drowning on the Sipsey and will tell you in hair tingling details of being trapped under his canoe in ragging water about on his last breath, so he has great respect for this river. As with any trip, expect to be turned over and pack accordingly by securing everything in your canoe or kayak. Throw everything in the canoe not tied down at certain times of the year will guarantee free "gifts" to those on the river at some point in time. I remember like yesterday, floating down Sipsey and finding a dazed and confused guy standing in about 3 feet of water holding his kayak, soaked to the bone. He simply said "If you see a Magellan Meridian GPS floating down the creek, it's mine".  I thought, that's about a $400 item. I guess he will tie the next new GPS he buys down, because that one is gone!

Be prepared for stunning scenery, as this is a National Forest and there is nothing but God made materials all around. Park one vehicle at the take out on Highway 33 going to Double Springs. The takeout is easy to find because it is the ONLY large bridge span you will encounter on your way traveling through the forest going on Alabama Highway 33 to Double Springs. Bear in mind, that you are parking your vehicle on private property and not on forest property. It is done all the time, and the people that own the property allow this knowing hundreds of people want to paddle Sipsey, and this is the only place to really park your vehicle and use this place as a takeout. I have recently been disturbed at the number of garbage that is piling up around that area. I realize at some point, the people who own this will get tired of this and say, no more! At that point it will become about impossible to practically take this trip with no really good takeout point. On the put in side, park your second car or truck at Sipsey Recreation Area on County Road 60 or Cranal Road as it is called by locals. Be prepared to pay the U.S. Forest Service $3.00 for the privilege of parking on property you help pay for. It is good for one day. If staying overnight, then add another $3.00. You will fill out a form and hang it on your windshield or put on your dash. Everyone that comes from out of town always asks "is my vehicle safe here?". I have parked at the recreation area many times over many years, and only once in about 10 years did I  hear of a short rash of cars being hit at those two places. Most of the time you are safe to leave it there. Keeping important items out of site is important as it would be anywhere you park and leave your car. They have an upper parking lot where I recommend parking and a lower parking lot where you will cross a very old (I remember playing on it in Boy Scouts in the 1970's) wooden bridge. Take this route to park and put your canoe in the water, then park it up on the upper parking lot. Security wise it is safer and theft wise it is a better more open place to park. Also, bear in mind there is absolutely NO cell phone coverage in the forest except in some high places or on the southern end of the forest, so tell your loved ones where you going because there is no calling for easy help.

The Trip


If the water levels are right, you can shoot down and finish this trip in about 3 hours, but I highly recommend you plan a full day, or even an overnight. The majority of folks take the one day trip. There are many hidden waterfalls along the way and breathtaking bluffs that are hidden back in the trees, but you must stop at least at one place, Hurricane Creek Falls. It is located on the left just past the 100 yard dash. The 100 yard dash as it is called, is a long stretch of class II  water that you shoot down as the river gets narrow. A lot of people camp here overnight and watch people come down this stretch for entertainment. For many amateurs, if they are going to get dumped out then this is the place. If you do camp here and want to be a good samaritan, then take an extra garbage bag with you to help haul out trash that "low life folks" left behind at the popular camping spot. There is nothing more sicking than sitting around the camp fire with 22 empty beer bottles and cans surrounding you. This last time we camped there, mice would come out at night while we were around the campfire. A sign that too much garbage is being left behind this at this place! When you are on the trip, take your time when floating down the river, listen to nature, and try and absorb the spectacular scenery. I have been all over the United States and all over Alaska, and still to this day, Bankhead offers scenery that cannot be found in other places.

Hurricane Creek Falls

As I mentioned earlier, just down from the 100 yard dash, start looking for the first creek or inlet on the left. This is the area you will want to pull in and park your boat. Walk about a quarter of a mile up the creek and canyon to see the stunning Hurricane Creek Falls. Take the time and sit down to watch, listen and absorb the beauty of this waterfall and the canyon it spills in to. You will not regret it. There are several other falls along the way to see, depending on the water level, the time of the year, and the amount of time you have to see them. Hurricane Creek Falls is "a must see" in my book.

Many of the locals in North Alabama and Eastern Mississippi have this trip slotted just about every year, and its popularity is growing. The run and water itself is really nothing spectacular, but the color of the water, the beautiful bluffs, foliage, moss, and scenery around you cannot be described nor seen in almost any other place. Remember that monitoring the water level is important or else you will have hiked dragging your boat down Sipsey, or missed the narrows of death from the ragging current. Sipsey can toss both of those at you without prior planning. Have fun!

Hiking to the Highest Lodge in the Eastern United States-Mount LeConte Lodge

A few times in your life, you are offered a unique opportunity to do something. Many people do not realize this opportunity in their life and simply pass it by. Others say I don't have time, maybe another day or another time in my life. There are a few that say "hey, I am doing this at all cost! I may not have another opportunity!".  This is what fell my way recently with this trip and it will go down as another one that I will remember until the day I die. 

This is a story and an adventure trip about Mount LeConte Lodge in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee (USA). Pack your day pack up and go along with me. All you need is a change of clothes, some lunch on the trail, water, and a few toiletry items. Before we start, here is a background on this amazing place. It's impact on my wife, my friends, and myself will live with us forever. 

About 8 years ago, I went to my doctor and I was telling him about all the backpacking trips I had been on that year in the hopes he would tone down on chewing me out for high cholesterol (it didn't work). He replied with "my son and I just got back from Mount LeConte Lodge in the Smokies and had a great weekend". I told him I had never heard of this and he began to explain. I consider myself to know a lot about the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and he threw one over on me with this one. The ole "Google search tool" later on when I got home was the answer to a lot of questions he presented by telling me about this lodge. I became more curious and decided to get a group up and go. For 3 years, I fought to try and secure reservations at this amazing place and failed. I called and called, sent E-mails, and no luck. They either did not answer the reservation phone or never returned E-mails. My good camping friend Brett changed all of that this in 2011. He made it happen. How, I don't know but he made it happen. That is all that matters!

Mount LeConte, is one of the three tallest mountains in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. It is right up there with Clingman's Dome (6,643 feet), Mount Guyot (6,621feet), and then Mount LeConte at 6,593 feet.  There is controversy over this mountain's name and which member of the LeConte family it was named for, so we will not go there. Paul Adams, an enthusiastic hiker and explorer that had moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in the early 1920's started out with tents up on the mountain to promote the beauty of the mountain to customers. He later built a lodge. The National Park Service took over the land where the lodge is located but contracts the use of the lodge out, continuing a tradition that was started many years ago. Mount LeConte lodge is now a series of buildings or cabins. The main office and lounge area were built in the 1960's, but the first lodge built still stands. On this trip, we got the honor of staying in this first cabin that was built. The first site was actually at a different spot, just a short piece back up the trail. The current lodge cabins can accommodate a total of about 50 people. The most amazing part of the lodge is that it is a trip back in time! Relics from the 20's are still up there. There is no power available, and only kerosene lamps light your way in the cabins.  The workers and all guests MUST hike to this place. Lamas are used twice a week to deliver supplies up the mountain. A helicopter changes out the propane tanks every so often. This practice has only been done the last 3-4 years. Prior to the propane tanks, they had used kerosene heaters since the 1920's. The lodge is open from March until November of each year, and some lonesome sole or soles have the duty of staying at the cabins all winter long to watch and care for this amazing place during it's closure of the winter months.  More about this place later on. For now, grab your pack and lets head out in the car to get to the trail head!

THE LONG HIKING JOURNEY BEGINS

Sunday morning, November 6, 2011-We meet at a pancake house in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennesee for a large breakfast to start the hike out. The route we are taking up is one of about 5 trails available to reach the lodge. On this trip, we have picked the shortest (5.3 miles) but also the steepest! After eating, we drive on down to the Sugarlands Visitor Center of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to meet all parties in the group. After we depart from there headed on up to Chimney Tops and Newfound Gap, we stop just past Chimney Tops on the left at Alum Cave Trailhead.  Being the "geek" that I am on electronics, I am constantly watching my altimeter watch as we climb higher and higher in altitude with our cars.  It is here at the Alum Cave Parking we get out all of our packs, hiking staffs, and mentally start preparing for the big challenge. My wife has been nervous about this part for some 2 months. I too, not having been hiking in a while have some visions of what lay ahead. It is a beautiful day. The high temperature in the low areas is in the mid 60's. The high at Mount LeConte is in the upper 50's. Lows are forecast in the mid to upper 30's, so not too bad with the cold (Interestingly enough, Mount LeConte has never recorded a temperature warmer than 80 degrees F due to it's high elevation). An almost full moon is scheduled to greet us in the night, so with almost no clouds, a spectacular sunset looks like it will play out for us tonight! At 9:18 a.m. we head out, with Brett, my camping buddy and friend leading the way with his wife. This will be his 5th trip up, and he knows this place well. Ask him and he will tell you 5 x50 is how many more times he will go and stay at this place. He loves it. I know now that if Brett loves it, I am sure I will too.  Steve and I have talked about this place for years. It just never seemed possible to actually get a reservation. We start out stopping at a sign not too far down the trail that says "Mount LeConte Lodge-5.0 miles". We snap pictures here to start out the epic journey (in our own little worlds). The normal rate for most folks to ascend to the top is 3-4 hours. It is never a race for anyone, at least you would think. I soon found out that it is for some. In our party, we had all skill levels of hikers, so Brett had told us that we can take our time. We have all day to get to the top. It is a good thing we did have all day, because that is about what it took. One of the members in our party had recently been diagnosed with only 60 percent of his lungs were working up to full and some others in the party had not had much hiking experience. For the first hour, we marched along at a fairly brisk pace, partly because we were refreshed and ready to go and second because the terrain was not that bad. After about an hour into the hike, it quickly became apparent that this will be a "mind game" to overcome the uphill forces of nature and gravity! I had warned my wife beforehand that hiking in this kind of terrain involves a lot of mind games. Your mind goes through waves of "I am not sure I can make this" to "Just a little bit further, I think I will make it just fine". People that do not hike very much and take on this trip don't know how to cope with this. I had some good hiking friends early on warn me about this. If you hike/walk/backpack long distances, your "mental drive" is just as important as your "physical drive".  If you allow your mind to tell you for 3 hours that you cannot make this trip then guess what, you probably won't make this trip because you quit. "Mind over body". Ever hear this expression? That is everything in hiking in remote wilderness areas. As we walk and walk and walk, making our way up the mountain, the beauty gets better and better. If you take your thoughts off the pains in your legs and focus on the beauty, it becomes a much better trip. The crowd of 3 couples and one individual on this trip (we will come back down with another couple that arrived a few days before us) starts to spread out as the hours go by. As you pause to catch your breath, you are stunned by the beauty around you. With the elevation, most all of the leaves are gone off of the trees, and so this yields to spectacular views looking across the mountains.  Around lunchtime, we stop at near the halfway point. It is Alum Cave. The smell of sulfur is clear in the air here. This was a key ingredient in the making of gun powder, and so I am sure this place has some historical stories to tell. It is a large bluff type shelter with the pungent odor of sulfur. We sit down, catch our breath, and grab some lunch. With such a steep angle of terrain, it makes for some really weird pictures (see attached of crew with packs and hiking staffs-Photo courtesy of Dewanna Jones). Around 2 p.m., the mental anguish kicks in with everyone except Brett and his wife, who have made this journey so many times. Brett informs us that we are about to encounter the worst part of the hike. It is the last mile and a half. We later named it the "torture mile". It is a very steep incline that just keeps going up and up and up with little to no flat areas. At times, the trail gets very narrow with cables secured into the rock to help you hang on and keep from slipping down the extremely steep ridges the trails are built on (see picture of trail area like this). The edge drops off hundreds of feet in places. If you are afraid of heights, just don't look off the edge and look straight up the trail and you will be fine. Many of the trail parts have solid rock which at times were slippery with ice left from the snow that had melted and refroze. We were told the lodge had remnants of snow from a few days before and this explained the ice. I have to say, this is the toughest part of the trail. It is a good thing that it is in the last mile or so. It it were halfway, many folks would simply turn around and go back. As we made our journey up, I had forgotten to zero the trip odometer on my GPS, and so all we had to go on was the elevation. Knowing the top of the mountain was 6,593 feet, just about everyone in the party was asking me what our current elevation was. I had a watch on me with an altimeter, and so I just kept calling the elevation out and informed everyone of our progress by shouting out elevation levels at various times. We also asked folks coming down the mountain from the lodge "how much further". Both of this methods has pros and cons. How much further might depend on how much in shape they were. Elevation levels being called out may also discourage you as well. You are are 5,400 feet, your legs are shot, and you know you have another 1,000 feet to go! Not good on the mental state! The average time to get to this neat place is about 3-4 hours you may recall.  On this day with all the parties, it took us 6 hours! As we get near the top, the elevation finally leveled out. After 15 more minutes, we arrived! Mount LeConte Lodge, elevation 6,593 feet. The flat hiking trail was EXTREMELY slick from the packed down snow that had become ice from so much foot traffic. We had brought along foot traction to add to our shoes. It was such a short stretch to the lodge that we decided to just take our time and not fool with putting them on our boots. Final arrival time was 3:05 p.m. EST.

ARRIVAL AT MOUNT LeCONTE LODGE

Arriving at the lodge offers a unique view that you might not expect. Extremely old cabins, wooden roofs, and a about as rustic as you can go in appearance. No modern day brilliant colored signs, but rather simple wooden signs that pointed the way- Dining Hall, Cabins, and Lodge Office all with arrows. The now famous signs that are hanging above the dining hall show today's date, something that is changed out manually every day. The main focus areas of the lodge are the dining hall, the office/lounge, where you can purchase shirts, mail a letter from the lodge (transported down by lamas), the rest rooms in which are housed in two buildings. One building is the older "latrine" style (rarely used now), and the newer flush toilets (heavily used and appreciated).  The remaining buildings are used for storage, employee cabins, or for guests. They vary in size and accommodations. Depending on how large of a party you have may determine what type/size of cabin you are given.  Upon arrival, we are greeted with hot chocolate or coffee. I must say, that was the best hot chocolate I have had in a long time! The first view many people get after being greeted with a warm cup of chocolate is the view out the dining room deck. It is spectacular! You look down from over 6,000 feet into the valley where you can see the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and at the base of the mountain, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Right out in front of the deck down below is the cabins of the employees as well as a bear trap, weather station, and propane tanks lined up with a fence around them. Why would you mention this detail you might ask? Because they all have their own stories. First, the propane tanks: Since the 1920's, the cabins have all been heated by kerosene. The lamps at night use them as well. About 3-4 years ago, it was decided to switch all cabins over to propane gas. From talking to others that stayed in the past, this was very much welcome. The cabins have black walls and black pictures hanging on the walls from the soot from using kerosene heat and lamps. The lamps alone, put out a lot of soot. The tanks are switched out from time to time using a large helicopter that carries one off and sets another refilled one down. I would love to see this task done up here! The Bear trap: Well, not much explanation here, other than the fact that from time to time they have a bear problem up here. There were bear warnings out by the Park Service on this trip as a matter of fact. With Mount LeConte shelter with backpackers and food being brought up and cooked outdoors not far down the trail from the lodge, bears that are really hungry will stray in the area, mainly at night. If they become too bad, they set the bear trap up at the lodge. Interestingly enough, all of the cabins up here have strong wire like cage material over the windows. This is to keep some bear from wanting to crash the party I suppose. The lodge encourages everyone to not even leave food they brought up with them in the cabins. Not so much from the standpoint of bears, but mice. They are and have been a horrible problem until this action was taken. Now, residents are asked to bring ANY of the food they brought up and are asked to put in a metal can in the lounge area for the night. 

Last the weather station: It is interesting to point out that in the hottest of ever recorded summers, Mount LeConte has never been above 80 degrees F. This is the place to be in the summer heat! The flip side of that is cold. Man do they see so bitter cold up here unprotected. Snow is quite frequent for the south up at this altitude. It basically has it's own weather system this high up in the mountains. It reminds me of Alaska. No weather forecast is 100 percent accurate. The mountains have their own patterns of weather that can be unpredictable. 

After some warm drink and rest, we head over into our cabin and get it ready before darkness and suppertime. The cabin we are in will sleep about 5-6 couples. Again, it was the first lodge there. Other cabins around sleep less than that. They are all extremely old. There is an old table with a kerosene lantern by our bed. It also has a bucket to fill warm water available from the kitchen and wash up in your cabin. Soap, empty hot chocolate/coffee mugs and matches are all on the table for use. Full bathing is not possible at the lodge, but small washings or "bird baths" as my mother used to call them are for everyone. That is the reason for the bucket.  Looking at the age of this cabin does two things to people. They either fall in love immediately and are ready to stay, or for some, it looks to old and creepy to be happy. It was no problem for any of us. When you are this tired after walking 5.3 miles, anything looks good! Before we settle in, there is still plenty to do, so lets get going!

PREPARING FOR OUTDOOR CHURCH SERVICE

Well, they may have gotten your attention. It might as well be called that. The standard thing you do at Mount LeConte is to hike just under a mile on up to the real top of the mountain (LeConte Lodge is really not at the TOP of the mountain) to see the sunset. THAT is a "must do" if you have the slightest bit of strength left in you to do. On this day, about 40 people hiked up the continuing incline making it's way to the top. Couple with that, ice that was stepped on, glazed over, and you have some really bad conditions. Most all of the ones in our team went except two. They stayed back at the cabin in the warmth. The rest of us braved the elements and headed to the top. Reaching the top of Mount LeConte is absolutely stunning! No words ever written here can describe the breeze, the smell, the panoramic view, the sun of God's beauty shining down on all the mountains around and underneath you. Sitting down, we all wait with anticipation for the sun's moment to remember. As we glance around, Steve points out the small tower at the top of the mountain across from us. He or someone around us points out this is Clingman's Dome, the highest point. The trouble is, you feel like you are even with it, so you don't feel like it is taller than you. As everyone sits around, talks, laughs, and carry on and waiting for the moment, many cameras on tripods, binoculars, and video cameras are all posed for the moment. Finally, God's light show kicks in gear wide open as the sun starts setting, setting the stage for colors changing, patterns, sun dogs (sun hitting high cirrus ice clouds) and light rays being cast and shown. It is truly a spiritual experience. One that I will never forget. How could watching the sun go down be such a big deal you ask? Well, you have to be there and you will know exactly what I am talking about! It provokes a mental stimulus that is hard to beat. It is similar to those sunsets people describe on the ocean. As the sun disappears over the horizon, some claps and some "wows" are heard among the crowd. Unreal! 

LET'S EAT!

After a breathtaking sunset with little clouds and miles and miles of visibility, we make our way down, slowly! The ice has just further froze and so getting down the rocks coming down in elevation proved to be a lot more than some bargained for! At times, it was downright treacherous! We finally made it down the mountain back to the lodge, and about the time we did, we hear the familiar sound of a triangle announcing dinner time! Time to eat! When you think of how many years they have made this familiar sound at the lodge announcing dinner, it truly is amazing to be here. Supper yields some very hungry people! After making such a long hike, anything, and I mean just about anything is mouth watering. First up, they bring out a half of a peach, potato soup and cornbread. After everyone indulges and partakes that, they bring round two. It is roast beef, cream potatoes, green beans, gravy if you want it. Top the meal off with a large thick chocolate chip cookie that is sliced like a brownie. If you want seconds and thirds, they are more than happy to feed it to you. It was one amazing meal after a long 5 mile day. The sunset and the meal just topped it off! Now, time to walk over to the lounge area and sit in old time rocking chairs around the stove. That was awesome as well. We talked for about an hour, resting with the meals settling in our stomachs. This is times you don't forget about. It is a time where you don't want it to end. It did though. Some rather wild and loud card playing folks at the table behind us suddenly started drowning out the conversations, and so we moved over to the old living room of our cabin. We talked for about another hour and then all decided to head to bed. The original plan was for some of us to get up early enough to watch the sun come up the next morning on the other side of the mountain. As the evening moves on, that ideal is becoming harder and harder to full fill. With every muscle aching in our bodies, most everyone decides, "I think I will pass". With warm and toasty propane gas heaters in every room, the night saw little need of much blankets, except for my wife. She shook and shivered all night long from cold. I don't really know why. I stayed very comfortable. One of the long time friends of Brett, whose name is Pat who had been many times with his wife Jennie, commented that the normal is if you sleep on the top bunk, the heaters will run you out and you lay half naked on top of the bunk bed burning up. If you sleep on the bottom of the bunk beds (they are regular sized bunk beds), you will freeze all night. They explained it all! Just before we went to bed, the moon, almost at full was shining brightly down on us. It yielded a spectacular view of the mountains and the valley at night. The sun was so bright, we were fascinated to see that the solar panels that have "auto trackers" to follow the sun during the day, were following the moon that night because it was so bright! 

BILLIONS OF STARS

At about 5 in the morning, my wife and I had about all of the bladder being full that we could stand. It is one those times laying in bed when your body says "nope, I am NOT allowing you to go back to sleep until you address this bladder problem." We both decided to get up and make the short hike over to the rest rooms to settle this. When I went out, I let her go on and I stayed out for a little bit. Words here cannot come close to describing the nighttime sky. There were billions of stars out that could be seen since the moon had gone down. I cannot remember how long it has been since I saw this many stars out. With such a high altitude, you forget how clear the air is up here! I could have stayed out for hours, but after my wife returns to me from the rest room and I address my bladder problem, we head back for a couple of more hours of sleep. 

A BLESSING AND A CURSE

Monday morning, November 7, 2011-Morning yields a blue sky, beautiful sunlight, and warmer temperatures. The low was only in the upper 30's. Pretty good considering this is November. I begin the cursed task of packing things up slowly, getting fresh water from the well, and then waiting for the breakfast bell sounding to come and eat. Several people were up just before 8 a.m. standing outside for the cue that breakfast was ready. The rest rooms were full, so you knew most everyone was up and ready to dive in for round two of a great meal. As we sit down to eat, I ran over and shoot some video with my iPhone. This moment has to be captured to share! Breakfast starts with pancakes. Later, grits (a southern thing), eggs and ham are brought out. It was amazing. I was told later that most of the supper was just canned goods, but hey, I will take it any day in my book. It was awesome! Breakfast was extremely good. The glass at another table taps with a loud noise like someone is making an announcement. The crowd quiets down and one of the employees at the lodge says "I would like to welcome everyone to Mount LeConte Lodge. We hope you enjoyed your stay with us and we hope you have a safe journey back down the mountain. We invite you back anytime you can come and stay with us. Be safe and remember to pack out all of the trash you brought up here. Thanks and have a great day".  The noise and the eating resumes. Wow, what a unique and amazing breakfast, and to think that all of this has to be brought up here to the mountain! 

THE DESCENT BACK TO REALITY

About 9:25 a.m., we all head out back down the mountain. There is something interesting this time going DOWN the mountain. Everyone is screaming in speed down the mountain. There are very few stops for rest this time. It's only gravity pushing you and the calves of your legs reminding you of muscles you have not used in a long time. Coming down, we scream in at 12:30 a.m. Some of the crew even makes it in at 12 noon. What a contrast! I stop some with my buddy Brett and we admire some of the scenery. We both snap pictures and discuss the trip. My wife is just ahead of me and stops some, but is mainly headed for that car and to get those boots off! Steve, Dewanna, and Don, must have zoomed  down the mountain. They beat everyone. Pat and Jennie stay back with us as well and we all have conversations down the mountain that really top a trip off and make it wonderful as well. It's the fellowship and the nature that ties anything amazing like this together. As we get to the car, in a rather tired and ill tone, my wife says she needs to get the car open so she can get these boots off-NOW! She made it fine as did everyone else. 5.3 miles show up on my GPS since I reset it to zero at the cabin. We pause for a group picture (taken by a total stranger) at the trail head parking, shake hands, and vow we will be back to this amazing place. Brett doesn't bat an eye. Even with this being his 5th trip, he is ready to book next year, immediately!

TWO "OLE GOATS"

I must close with some humor for everyone. With my wife and I (both in our early 50's) on our drive back home, we sat in the car for about 5 hours on the drive home before we decide to get out and eat supper. As we get out, it is all we can do to move. I consider myself in shape at this stuff, but for some reason, 10 miles of trail hit me! We both poked across the restaurant parking lot at .4 miles per hour. Traffic in the drive though had to wait what seemed like minutes until we crossed in front of them and finally got out of the way at a tortoise pace.  Man, I have not been this "stiff" ever! After 5 minutes of walking around, I returned somewhat to normal. My wife still recalls that and laughs at how we looked. We looked and felt like grandma and grandpa. 

If you ever have the opportunity to do this amazing journey, please take the time now to do something similar while you still have your health. If you cannot make this journey, then it is my wish that you enjoyed going along with us on this trip. I hope that the writings I have here have portrayed the images I witnessed with this incredible beauty.  It's all out there folks. The beauty of nature and God's creations are all for the taking. All you have to do is push your body sometimes to get to these places and open your eyes. I guarantee you it will cleanse your mind and body from this crazy world we live and deal with on a daily basis. It puts the meaning of life back in check with your mind by clearing the "stuff" out we deal with daily. 

See you on the next adventure! Thanks for going with us!

The Big Tree-Sipsey Wilderness Area-Bankhead National Forest-Preferred Hiking Route

Main waterfall that is the backdrop of the Big Tree.

Of all the E-mails and facebook requests I get concerning this Blog site, the majority seem to all ask the same question "What is the best route to get to the Big Tree?". I decided it was time to help some folks out with this blog. I cannot answer all the E-mails and facebook requests, but maybe I can answer most of them here with this short article.

Second waterfall to the left of the Big Tree.

First, of ALL the reports of people getting lost in the Sipsey Wilderness, most all of them center around people either going or coming from the Big Tree. The majority of people know and respect the woods, but even the most skilled woodsmen have been turned around getting to this giant icon for the south. Being respectful of mother nature and her elements are the key to taking off on this trip. A pair of sneakers and a bag of M&M's will probably get you there and back, but if anything goes wrong, you might just find yourself spending the night on the ground, or hovering by a fire wishing you had told someone where you were going while search parties are planted thoughout Bankhead looking for you.

A view of the top of the Big Tree. Notice the large trunk compared to others trees around.

Big Tree visitors pause and relax after a long hike to get there.

If you decide to take a hike to the Big Tree whether to camp or to just take a day hike, PLAN AHEAD! Pick a FULL day to go do this. Don't hit the woods at 2:15 p.m. and expect to dash in and come out. Don't take small children that will tire out fast, otherwise, plan on sore shoulders and a very ill child by the end of the day. There is NO RELIABLE CELL PHONE coverage in the Sispey Wilderness Area. If you are an amateur radio operator, there is a repeater in the forest you can reach. It is the 146.960 Moulton repeater. There is also the 442.425 repeater but does not cover the wilderness area as good. Both are sponsored by the Bankhead Amateur Radio Club. They are open for all amateur radio operators to use. KNOW the area or get familiar with the area to some extent. I am a member of some clubs that hike and kayak, and I am totally amazed that some people have NO ideal of where they are, how to get out, or even where to start. They simply just "go with the crowd". Most of the time, that is fine. At one point in your life, it won't work, and YOU have to take care of yourself. On this trip, take lots of water, some food, a coat, jacket, and/or rain jacket, and a good pair of boots, not tennis shoes. Be prepared to get sweaty, dirty, and use every muscle in your body. This is a moderate to extreme hike for most people, so if you only hike in the city parks or on flat ground, you are in for a surprise! The reward however if you go and make it (and you will), will give you the honorable title of working for a goal and saying "I've been there!".

Nothing pleases me more than taking people to go see the Big Tree. Many groan, complain, and fuss the entire way at me and everyone else. Within one month after the trip, they are so glad they went, and will proclaim "it was worth every mile". I lost count at 14 times going there, so this place is old hat to me. Do I carry a GPS and map with me after this many times? YOU BETCHA, and I ALWAYS WILL!

There are about 4 ways to get to the Big Tree, but to cut down confusion, I am going to cover 3 of the most popular routes. The third, is my preferred and the shortest. The MAIN route that most folks take is by sticking to the trail. They either park at Cranal

A vertical panoramic view taken in March 2016. This puts the tree in perspective.

Road and Take Trail 201 or 202 and make their way down to 204 and camp along the way. Locals call this the "city slicker route" with all due respect. This is the route that would seem the most "logical" to follow given you don't know the area and you follow the U.S. Forest trail system. This is the killer hike route and most folks that do this, do it to camp. A few wandering soles take this route for a day hike, and come back calling it "the day hike from hades". Another route is to park at Thompson Creek Trail head, and follow Forest Service Trail along Thompson Creek taking FS206 and hit 209, and it will take you to the Big Tree. This appears to be the most popular route. This carries you through the Kings Cove area and a popular landmark called Ship Rock. Many camp here because it is basically a hugh rock that looks like the bow of a ship. There is also the Eye of the Needle in this area. It is a hole in the rocks near Ship Rock that allow you to cut through the cliff area and shorten your long route around Ship Rock down by Thompson Creek. On this popular route, you will meet your friends, neighbors, your brother, your cousin, your cousin's mother, etc. I am just kidding, but you get it now. This is the major highway route that many take to the Big Tree and camp along the way. Another blog is written about this route, so read it if you are interested in this "major highway route" that most folks take. It is 5.5 miles one way and is relatively flat. If you like this route, then use it. If you w
ant shortest time and least distance, then read on further!

For this blog, we will focus on my favorite route introduced to me back in 2002. It is off any "official" U. S. Forest Service Trail, and cuts time and distance in exactly half. It is a mere 2 miles in or a 1.5-2 hour walk in, and the once barely visible footpath, is a "pig trail" of high foot traffic that many are taking now. The first thing to do is get you a Sipsey Wilderness Map available at most any local store around the forest. Read this blog and then study the map. I have uploaded some pictures of my GPS tracks on here but they may not show up good enough for many. Look on your map and find Thompson Creek Trailhead. FS 206 and FS 208 start here. It is at the end of the Northwest Road. Park your vehicle here and tell your friends at home this is where you are parking.  At this point, since you have taken the time to read my blog, I want to let you in on a little secret on the area that very few know about. If you are a history fan, take note. If you just want to move on to the route, then skip down to the next paragraph.When you park at Thompson Creek Trail head, take just a few minutes to warm up by visiting a very old cemetery that few know about.  Leave your day pack and just take your camera and yourself. Now for some history. During the 1800's, this area was teaming with people living in the mountains. In fact, there was a house located up on the hill overlooking where you are parked on the road just before the bridge at Thompson Creek Trail Head. When you park your car, most people pull off on the right side of the road before the bridge at Thompson Creek Trail head. To the right of where you park on the road, up about 100 yards on the side of the hill overlooking the parking, is an old cemetery with 3 graves marked by white PVC pipe. There are no tombstones, only rocks marking the sunken in graves. This was the home of the Davenports that lived here during the late 1800's. The story goes that the father was killed by a falling tree, and a daughter committed suicide. It is unknown about the other grave. If you hike this steep hill up by your car to the flat spot, it is really a beautiful view of Thompson Creek in the winter time. You will notice where the home used to sit, and an old road bed that came up the hill from the Northwest road that you came in on to this spot, almost to the top of the hill. This entire area was known as "King Cove". When some wealthy people from Colbert County Alabama purchased large plots of land out there back during those times, the locals nick named the area "King Cove", for being wealthy, it must be owned by Kings. The motorway that later was carved through the forest was bearing the name King Cove Motorway for many years.  That name still appears on maps to this day.
Take your camera and snap a few pictures of this neat spot on the hill. If it could talk, it would certainly tell you some interesting stories. After you are finished looking around, make your way back down to your car, gather your pack and belongings, and lets hit the trail.


To Begin Your Journey:
Take FS Trail 206 at the Thompson Creek Trail head. Follow on this trail with Thompson Creek on your right side. Soon you come to a stream crossing that feeds into Thompson Creek. This stream is in White Oak Hollow. Cross the stream, pick the trail back up for about 200 feet, and the trail continues on beside Thompson Creek and has a sign pointing to the right telling you that 206 is to the right. This is where you "part your ways" with the FS trails. You will notice a Y in the road at this point. You will bear to your left and start going up White Oak Hollow. You are leaving the U.S. Forest Service Trail 206, but no worries. Your hiker friends have beat this trail to a pulp so you can easily see the trail. Follow the trail going up into White Oak Hollow. It follows beside this tributary stream and to the right of it. Soon, you will see that the trail is starting to go up the hill and to the right side of White Oak Hollow. You will see that it starts going straight up and is heading to the southeast of White Oak Hollow. It is here on this incline, that your stamina will be tested! The incline gets steeper and steeper as you are proceeding up and out of White Oak Hollow to the southeast. You can stop along the way (and you will out of breath), and notice the pretty rock out croppings to your right. A stream you start joining and winding back and forth across leads you and directs in in the right direction as you are making your way out of White Oak Hollow. When you get to the top of the hill and look back down on White Oak, you will notice you are standing on an old logging road at the top of the canyon. It leads you to some awesome hideout camps, but sorry, not to be talked about in this blog! After you sit down and take a short break with water, you then head on southeast and cross the logging road. You are headed back down into another canyon. Follow closely the trail and stay on it. If you are not familiar with the area, it is from here on that people get their "doubts", but have no fear, a solid trail is in front of you if you pay attention. Lets head on....

The trail that goes down into the canyon used to be nice and straight. With hurricanes in the past pushing trees down, it has turned this part of the trip into a zig-zag cross country course. As of this writing (August of 2011) it is still in this shape. It is kind of aggravating having to zig-zag back and forth but will change with time as the downed trees start to rot away. When you descend down, you will go from open forest land and slowly start getting into my most favorite part of the Bankhead National Forest, the hemlocks! The trail will start to take you down into a steep part of the canyon, and this is where it can get dangerous, depending on your skill and hiking level. The is the only area where I preach a sermon to those with me to take your time and be careful. The trail takes you down into a small waterfall and very slippery part. You have to negotiate down into the stream bed area and then follow the rocks of the stream bed for about 100 feet. Take your time here! People have left behind ropes to help you get down, and they may or may not be there. When you walk on the rocks, be very careful. I know a lady that went with us on one hike and slipped and fell on her bottom here. She felt pains from it for a year. After you have successfully negotiated this area, you are home free now as far as difficulty levels. This area when you come back up will go much faster than coming down. It is harder to come down a slick slope and rocks than it is to climb up one. After you reach the bottom of the canyon, take the time to walk slowly and admire the tall and beautiful bluff walls of the canyon to your left. The stream you came down will be on your right. This area is a good place to just stop and absorb some of the hemlocks and cliffs. As you walk on down the trail, you will come to a stream you will have to cross. It feeds into the stream to your right and they merge together here. This is WEST Bee Branch and this is the area where many folks get turned around and shortly after become lost . Cross this stream and DO NOT TURN LEFT. Many people do this. You will want to cross the stream and continue on downstream with the stream remaining on your right. If you were to turn left and march up West Bee Branch, you are going the wrong way! They do it so much that there is a trail beat down going on the right side of West Bee Branch! Wrong way folks! Many people do this and get into really rough country with the dense foliage, turn around and get confused. Most simply give up and return back to the truck or car. Where they went wrong is turning left at the first stream (West Bee Branch) and they should be going on down further to turn left on East Bee Branch. Continuing on our hike, as you walk the heavily beaten trail with Bee Branch on your right, you will come down to a flat area on the other side of the creek. Before you get to this flat area though, you will notice lots of trees down through this area as well. A "microburst" from a storm sent many trees down beside the stream and across the trail. It too, zig-zags back and forth. There is going to be a small little 8 foot wide hole in the middle of the trail (about 4 foot deep) you will have to climb down in and back up along this trail. Again, take your time throgh this. As you come down to the flat area off to your right on the other side of Bee Branch, this is going to be the intersection of East Bee Branch and Bee Branch. The trail runs right into East Bee Branch and Bee Branch will be on your right. After you cross East Bee Branch, turn left NOW, and walk UP East Bee Branch. The trail is on the right side of East Bee Branch and makes it's way up the canyon, slowly gaining elevation up above East Bee Branch. The trail is about a half of a mile long and leads you right to the Big Tree. Looking back on where we have come from: The most important thing I can stress here is when you come down from the slick rocks and canyon with ropes I talked about, do not take the first stream you cross to the left, but cross it and go on down to the second stream and THEN turn left heading up into the canyon. Do this and you will not get lost as so many do.

While you are at the Big Tree, but sure and check out the two massive waterfalls that are nearby that add "icing to the cake" rewarding you for your long walk. Take the time to eat your lunch there, taking in the scenery and the sounds of the waterfalls. Notice the orange iron ore seeping out from the canyon walls, an element used in making steel by the old timers of long ago. Also notice a rather large "ball like" hole in the side of the canyon beneath the largest waterfall. Strange? If you are adventurous, work your way up the canyon to the top where you can look down at the Big Tree and the canyon. This is better to do in the wintertime where you can see further.

Plan your trip, take water, plan on leaving Thompson Creek Trailhead about 9-10 a.m. to start your journey, and plan on getting out about 4-5 p.m. This is for day hikers. If you are overnight backpacking, well, I could write 6 blogs on things to do and more places to go on that, so I will save that for another day. I hope you enjoy your trip should you decide to go. If it helps you any, I have taken some elderly men in their 70's on this hike. They were in good shape and they all made it fine. Just prepare yourself for sore muscles the next day. This shorter route is far more strenuous than the relatively flat 5.5 mile route, but will take half the time! I hope this blog has been helpful to you. If so, set a date on the calendar and get going! I prefer winter months to do this myself. There is far more to see with the leaves gone and no ticks, chiggers, snakes, and mosquitos. Everyone has their own special times they want to go so any time will do. I hope you get to see this "giant icon" that attracts everyone in the South. If you do, then you can say "I have been there!" the next time someone mentions "The Big Tree".

On the maps above: The first map shows Thompson Creek parking. You can see "tracks" or also called "snails trail" left by previous trips with my GPS. It basically marks wherever you walk. You can see on the top map the area where instead of crossing the first stream and turning right on FS Trail 206, you will turn to the left and proceed up White Oak Hollow for a short piece. The second map shows where when you descend down into the canyon, you will cross West Bee Branch, go on down to the next stream (East Bee Branch), and then head up to the Big Tree. Almost everyone else that does not take this short route will be joining you on the trail going up East Bee Branch.

Politically Correct Statement: The writer of this blog assumes no responsibility for the safety of persons reading this blog and taking this hike. It is the hikers responsibility to know the area and to assume their own responsibility for the correct clothing, gear, weather, emergency plans, and skills needed to perform this hike. This article is for informational purposes only.

UPDATE-8/30/2011-Since I have posted this and ran it on facebook, one of my good hiking friends who went there in June has informed me that due to recent storms, tornadoes, and high wind events, Thompson Creek Trail and Northwest Road have been closed. In addition, the wonderful route that I have described above has been "decimated" as well with trees down. Since this is not an official U.S. Forest Trail as I explained above, don't look for this route to be cleared, ever. I will try and post more information as I get it from hiking friends.

This is a little known waterfall and bluff shelter you hear on your right as you are descending down into the hemlocks and the worst part of the journey, the canyon stream crossing. .

First Section going down-Muddy and steep. Take it slow. Easier coming back out of this. See text below.

Second Section-Steep with rocks to step work down and cross a small stream. Beautiful canyon once you get through this.

Here is your reward for coming down the steep bank. Take a minute and absorb the beauty.

 The above pictures show the most treacherous area of the entire short route journey to the Big Tree. At your halfway point after you come out of White Oak Hollow and down into the other side, you have to go down this steep muddy bank and cross a stream. Be careful through here. Coming back from the Big Tree is not as bad since you are climbing up. Going down, it's easy to slip and fall. The path going to the big tree in this picture would be from right to left. The stream you cross is on the left side.

UPDATE! 2/2/2013-Thompson Creek Trail has been totally cleaned up by the U.S. Forest Service. A tornado that came through the area in 2011 knocked down trees around Ship Rock, leaving it exposed more and definitely shines as a shining monument approaching it on the trail. On the short cut route to the Big Tree which is what this blog is about, it is rough but passable. It is still your best route to go see the Big Tree if you want the fastest route.  I personally walked the short route over half way on this day and it is indeed still open. There are lots of trees down from hurricanes that passed up from the Gulf Coast, and some trees down from the 2011 tornado. As you come down into the canyon shown here, trees leaning to your right on the ground were from the past hurricanes. Trees leaning from right to left (SW to NE) were from the F1 Tornado that come through Ship Rock and crossed over this way. As a result of all this mess, there are lots and lots of switchbacks, but their is a human traffic trail still wore out. You can get through all of this, you just might have to wind around downed trees. The wore out trail is easy to follow so this continues to be a faster way to get to the Big Tree.

2/2/2013. This is what it looks like on the other side of White Oak Hollow and start coming down. I turned around and snapped this picture. The well worn foot path  is there but with many switchbacks to go around the trees. A Hurricane went through here in the mid 2000's and a tornado came through in 2011. I saw this place 8 years ago, it was beautiful with a green grass forest floor. You simply walked down the hollow and followed the stream. 

UPDATE-February 2016-Several people have E-mailed me with some helpful tips after reading this blog and going the short route. First, we never said this was the easiest route! It is the shortest route meaning less miles, faster time to arrive there.  If you want long straight trails for the most part that is about 2-3 times further in distance, than the long route is better for you using U.S. Forest Service trails. If you want the shortest route, shortest time in and out, then the short cut is the ticket. Also, a couple of my readers have topped White Oak hollow and missed the trail going back down into the next hollow that takes you by West Beech Branch and the ropes I talked about people using to go down the steep bank. Since there are about 4 different trails where people have made or 4 different paths to the top of White Oak Hollow during the last 100 feet before you top White Oak, make sure you go UP AND OVER  into the next hollow once you reach the old logging road on top of White Oak and you will pick up the trail again. Some have walked too far to the right or too far to the left on top of White Oak Hollow on the old road and missed the trail. REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOU TOP WHITE OAK HOLLOW ON THE OLD LOGGING ROAD, YOU WILL WANT TO GO ON OVER AND DOWN ON THE OTHER SIDE INTO THE NEXT HOLLOW. DO NOT TAKE THE ROAD TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT ON TOP OF WHITE OAK TOO FAR. JUST CONCENTRATE ON GOING OVER INTO THE NEXT HOLLOW AND YOU WILL PICK UP THE WORE OUT TRAIL. Since several tails have been cut to the top of White Oak hollow during the last 100 feet before the top, it is confusing to  people which way to go once they get to the top. Happy Hiking and be safe! Also remember that THIS WAY IS NOT AN OFFICIAL U.S. FOREST TRAIL SO IT HAS NO TRAIL NUMBER! The U.S. Forest Service does not endorse or even recognize this route to the Big Tree.