Just back from a really great backpack in the Bald Mountains! The Bald Mountains can be seen in the eastern skyline off I-81 near Greeneville, TN. They are part of the Appalachian chain of mountains running from Alabama north to Newfoundland, Canada.
We started our hike at the Old Forge Campground somewhere off US 11E and gained almost 2,600′ hiking along the Little Jennings Creek Trail and Round Knob ORV road on our way to Coldspring Mountain (4,600′), our destination for the night. The hike was just about 11-miles split between two days and aside from the steep ups and downs, a very pleasant experience 🙂
Crossing number 1 occurred right out of the parking lot. What! No one is opting for the algae covered, wet stone steps? Bill (in front), Cheryl, Robin, Will (taking photo) and Kim.
H-m-m-m, the water is deep and fast. Did everyone bring water shoes?!!
“W-e-ll, I think this is the way to go!!” Actually, after the initial water crossing, Will reviewed the map and determined that we would have fewer raging river crossings if we took the trail to the right instead of the left as planned. No problem, both end at the same place in just about the same mileage. Bill decided to take the trail to the left ’cause he wanted some river action!
So off we go on trail option B, the dryer sider of the mountain. Creek crossing 2 is as fast and wild as crossing 1. Will, boots in hand, is in up to high-calf.
And yet one more crossing . The water churns around Cheryl’s knees as Kim (pink shirt) prepares to cross.
And again for crossing #4. Gee, this one is only mid-calf. Robin is in front in blue, Cheryl, tan hat, is behind Robin as Will and Kim, in the back, take a slightly different path across the underwater rocks.
Fast forward to crossing #14 or 15. Even John’s long legs are in almost knee high.
We crossed again just below this beautiful waterfall. I couldn’t resist stopping for a photo. The rapids plummeting against my legs made for a shaky shot!
Somewhere along the hike, as the creek crossings became narrower and shallow, John decided that he should be able to make future crossings without getting his boots wet.
He wasn’t wrong in the decision even though our trail turned into a branch of the creek and we hiked for a while in water. (Note: The inside of John’s boots stayed perfectly dry-he was a happy guy!)
Finally we met up with Bill at another trail junction. What a treat, a real picnic table and new potty (Forest Service road nearby). Bill was pretty excited about his 7 water crossings until he heard our grumbling. He totally missed the jackpot! From left: Robin (blue), Bill, Cheryl, me (sunglasses), John, Kim and Will.
We hiked on to the AT and Jerry’s cabin, nestled in the forest. Here we get water at the spring because our campsite has no water. Luckily our campsite is only a mile away so the burden of excess water is tolerable. In the above photo, John is getting ready to add iodine tablets to our water to ward off evil bacteria or germs.
Inside Jerry’s cabin, Will settles on the sleeping platform and takes off his pack. I have stayed in only one shelter cause I don’t find the concept of sleeping shoulder to shoulder on a wood slab with 8-10 people I don’t know, too appealing. Thru hikers will tell you these shelters are a welcome sight in heavy down pours or other inclement weather! The mailbox contains the AT trail log with notes left by AT hikers.
On top of Coldspring Mountain, Bill and John hike along the AT looking for “the perfect” campsite.
Sweeping views from the Bald…really spectacular!
White trash! Actually this is John and my campsite. John’s towel is drying in the breeze, we left the fly off the tent to keep the interior from heating up too much in the warm, afternoon sun and the rest of our gear is waiting to be put away, but we are taking a break! As you can see, the Bald has very tall grass. No lawn mowing required here, or at least only once every 10 years or so.
Yummy! Our dinner, baboli crust pizza with spinach, pesto, cheese, turkey pepperoni and greek olives!
We climbed out of the tent about 7:30 am for coffee and breakfast before breaking camp and heading home. The inside of the tent warmed up quicly and was a contrast to the cool morning. As a result, condensation formed on my camera lense and caused the blur around the edges of the photo above.
Yesterday uphill, today…down, down, down. Above, John hiking down the mountain.
Beautiful displays of Mountain Laurel (like this one) are a joy to come across and we saw several full bushes!
Our hike back to Old Forge Campground (and the cars) included Sarvis Cove, Poplar Cove and Jennings Creek Trails. Along the way, we had a short, but brutal climb out of one watershed into a neighboring one and 7 water crossings instead of the prior day’s 15. All in all, a well planned and executed hike with some of our favorite people!
