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Oconaluftee Loop 8-27-05 |
| This loop starts about 8.8 mi. below Newfound Gap on the N.C. side of the part, above Smokemont. It begins on the Kephart Prong Trail to the Grassy Branch Trail, Dry Sluice Gap Trail, Bradley Fork Trail, Hughes Ridge Trail, Appalachian Trail, and back down Dry Sluice Gap, Grassy Ridge and Kephart Prong for a 26.5 mi loop. I'm already tried just naming all of those. I am up at 3:00am and on the road by 4:00am. The weather is calling for isolated thunderstorms after 2:00pm, with highs in the mid 70’s. I don’t want to start hiking until daylight, because there are some historical sites at the beginning I want to see. I arrive at the trailhead at 6:30am. No one else is parked at the trailhead. The day is very damp and foggy. I’m on the trail at 7:00am. Kephart Prong Trail crosses the Oconaluftee River on a nice wooden bridge immediately. The trail is a wide roadbed with broken pavement in some places. In the 30’s and 40’s this area was the site of a CCC camp and later housed conscientious objectors during World War II. A lot of remnants of the camp can still be seen such as a sign frame, a large chimney and shrubbery. The trail crosses Kephart Prong four times along the way on foot logs. A couple of the foot logs are narrow and high above the water. In two miles it ends at the Kephart Prong shelter. It’s now 7:45am. No one is there. In fact, I don’t see anyone all day until I pass by the shelter again on my return in the afternoon and see two campers setting up. At the shelter the Grassy Branch Trail begins with a steep climb along a narrow path high above stream. This is a 2.5mi climb. This area was burned over in1925. It was replanted with non-native Norway spruce. I reach the Dry Sluice Gap Trail at 8:45am and take my first break. The Dry Sluice Gap Trail is 4.2miles long. It extends from the Appalachian Trail near Charlie’s Bunion, down to the Cabin Flats Trail. Grassy Branch joins it 1.3 miles below the A.T. I’m off at 9:00am. Near the end of the trail, you enter a section with some very large trees. This area had been logged and burned over. I don’t understand how these trees escaped. They are some of the largest trees I have seen grouped together. At 2.9 miles, I am at the Cabin Flats Trail. It is 9:55am. Cabin Flats is the site of backcountry campsite #49. I wanted to check it out. Ronnie and I may have to camp here sometime. It is about .6mi along a nice flat trail dropping at the end to #49 along Bradley Fork. It ‘s a nice camping area with lots of flat sites along the creek. From here it is .9mi back to the junction with the Bradley Fork Trail. Just before you cross Bradley Fork on a metal bridge ending at a wide turnaround at the Bradley Fork Trail. It’s 10:35am. This is the upper section of the Bradley Fork Trail. It is 3.3 mi to the junction with Hughes Ridge Trail. It starts as a wide grassy jeep path. Then after about 2 mi, just when you start thinking I’ll knock this section out quick, the trail turns into a steep and rocky grind with five long switchbacks to the top. This is the hardest part of the hike. I reach the Hughes Ridge Trail at 11:50 a.m. and take a 15 min. break. Bradley Fork trail joins Hughes Ridge Trail. 2.2 mi. below the A.T. This section is a relief after the last 1.3 mi. up Bradley Fork Trail. It follows the ridge with slight up and downs. There are a lot of low muddy areas and lots of hog signs. I was really interested in this section of the trail, after reading the book “Lost”, A Rangers Journal of Search and Rescue, by Dwight McCarter. He said in February 1982 a 30 yr. old hiker from Memphis named John Hernholm lost his life on this trail in a raging snowstorm. Turning down the Hughes Ridge Trail, he missed the side trail the Pecks Corner Shelter and also the utility shack about .4 mi. past Peck’s. Turning around at the Bradley Fork Trail junction he started back up the trail. He made it about .5 mi. from the utility shack where his snow-covered body was found 3 days later lying across the trail. I reach Peck’s Corner Shelter at 12:35pm. After a break I’m on the trail at 12:50. Reaching the A.T. at 1:00. This section of the A.T. is 6.2 mi. and I’m hiking west toward Charlie’s Bunion. There are no views to be seen today. The crest of the Smokies is really socked in with clouds and mist. I’m at the Dry Sluice Gap Trail at 3:00 after a very lonely 2 hrs. I take a quick 5 min. break. At 3:05 I’m heading down Dry Sluice Gap. It’s 1.3 min. to the Grassy Branch Trail jct. In minutes the rain finally started. I was already wet from the moisture in the air. But stopped to put on my rain jacket. I was colder than I thought because it felt soooo warm. I’m at Grassy Branch Trail at 3:30. Then Kephart Prong Trail at 4:10,where I see the only hikers all day. Crossing those last 4-foot logs was a challenge, because my legs were now wobbly. I’m off the trail at 4:50. It’s still just as damp and cloudy as it was at 7:00 am. Now the rain really starts pouring down. |
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