Location: Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC

Hike Rating: 14.5 Miles / Moderate - loses elevation from near Newfound Gap to Deep Creek, some steep slopes. This trek requires shuttling or two sets of vehicles. 

References:
     Hiking Trails of the Smokies - Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association

Trail Notes: November 7-9, 2003

Written by trip participant, Jim S. -

     OK, I admit it. I am a gear geek. Anyone who knows me is well aware of my fondness for the latest and greatest gadgets available for my numerous hobbies. So you can imagine my excitement when I was informed that a representative for MSR would be in the group on the Smoky Mountains backpacking trip my friends at Cumberland Transit were organizing. Most of the time, I backpack and hike alone. Very few friends share my fondness for heading off into the backcountry for a few days with everything you need strapped to your back. The very thought of sleeping in a tent by itself causes most people to say "No thanks.” But there is a small gathering of folk who love this idea and jump at the chance to do so, and some of these people would be with me this weekend.

     As mentioned earlier, most of the time, I backpack alone. So I was very excited, and somewhat apprehensive, about going on a group-backpacking trip. One of the things that I was really looking forward to was getting to hike with my friend Bill, an employee of Cumberland Transit. Cumberland Transit (or CT as I began calling it) is located on West End in Nashville, Tennessee and is the place to go for anything outdoors. The employees are friendly, courteous and second to none when it comes to knowledge of products, and Bill is a textbook example of this. "Bungalow Bill" had thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail twice and was my "go to" guy whenever I needed information about products or suggestions for hiking destinations and trails. I have seen many beautiful places both in Tennessee and across the United States because of his, and other employee’s recommendations. At some point over the years of our friendship he began calling me "Dr. Short" and it became a running gag that still continues to this day. Alan, who is one of the owners of CT, also went with us. I knew Alan and spoke to him whenever I ran into him on the store floor but I did not know him quite as well as Bill, Lori, Joe and Jamie. So this would be a great chance to get to know him better and possibly learn something from him in the process.

     Fortunately I had taken Friday off from work so I went ahead and headed out early that morning to get a jump on my long weekend. The rest of the gang was not leaving Nashville until Friday evening which would put them in camp somewhere after 10:00 p.m. I took advantage of my free time away from work, the wife and dogs to relax and just hang out upon arriving at the campground that afternoon. The skies were overcast and there was a slight mist of rain as I settled into my tent for a good nights sleep. Just short of 11:00 that night I heard a knock on my tent poles and a familiar voice say "Dr. Short?" I responded with "That better be the call girls I ordered!" Bill laughed and stuck his head inside and I groggily showed him where the campsites were available for him and the rest of the group. It was still misting rain outside and the temperature seemed to be hanging around 40 degrees, perfect for sleeping but not so good for hiking. At 7:00 a.m. the next morning a crow began cawing some twenty feet above my tent signaling to everyone in the campground that dawn was here. After breaking camp I found Bill and the others and we made our introductions. There were a total of four backpackers, including Bill, standing around making breakfast and preparing for the day.

  Beatrice was a shorthaired Dutch woman with a lovely thick accent that worked for Vanderbilt Medical Center doing cancer research. Braum (a.k.a. "The Carpet King") was the middle-age son of Dutch parents who owned a carpet facility in Nashville. And Jean, the other lady in our group, was a longhaired brunette employed as a CPA in the Nashville area. After conversation and breakfast we loaded up and drove to the trailhead to meet Scott, the final member of our group. Scott is a 32-year-old representative for a company that represents MSR (Mountain Safety Research), Northern Cascades, Osprey, Cloudveil and other manufacturers of outdoor gear. Scott had brought along three prototype tents, some final production sleep and sitting pads, afinal production battery operated water purifier, some final production sleeping bags and other goodies as well for us to see and try out. It was immediately apparent that I REALLY liked Scott and was very envious of his job! Due to some miscommunication between Alan and myself in the leaving of automobiles at the end of the trail, there was a delay in our starting time. Beatrice, Braum and Jean set off down the trail about 30 minutes before Bill, Alan and I made it to the trailhead to find Scott still patiently waiting for us. The four of us checked and double-checked our gear and then took off to catch our partners.

  The weather could not be nicer. A cool wind was blowing steadily making goose bumps appear on bare skin but after a mile or so of steady backpacking the gloves, fleece pullover and Patagonia beanie came off. The Deep Creek trail was our chosen route for the weekend excursion. This 14.3 mile trail was one of the first trails built in the park back in 1932. The route starts at some 4,600 feet above sea level at Newfound Gap Road, 1.7 miles south of Newfound Gap and travels to the Deep Creek campground located just outside of Bryson City, North Carolina. The trail loses over 2,800 feet in elevation, and for the majority of the hike the trail parallels the creek as it winds down the mountains heading towards the sea. There are no overlooks or panoramic views along this trail but the variety of trees and foliage makes up for this shortcoming. Periodically Bill would stop along the trail and point out a particular type of tree, bush or flower to the most ignorant backpacker of the lot..........me. My knowledge of plants is very limited to say the least. I am able to tell the difference in some trees and I can point out poison ivy....but that is about it. But the knowledgeable hiker would recognize magnolia, birch, oak, hemlock and beech trees in addition to the ever-present rhododendron and doghobble along this trail. The trail continued to run within earshot of Deep Creek and the further down into the valley we traveled the louder the creek spoke to us. At one point the trail ran down the dangerous slippery, rocky bank of the creek itself. It was along this stretch that we encountered two men testing their fishing capabilities by fly-fishing for trout. Evidently one of the men was a pretty darn good angler judging from the amount of fish he possessed. Several small stream crossings and numerous muddy stretches broke up the monotony of the descent and tested our ability to cross without falling or sinking up past the tops of our boots.

   Just shy of the halfway point of the trail was our chosen campsite for the night, campsite 56 located 2,405 feet above sea level. Sometime around 4:30 we reached our destination and the group fanned out to find appropriate spots for our tents. Alan had chosen to leave his tent at home and instead brought a Kelty tarp to span out in case of rain. If it did not rain he was simply planning on sleep out beneath the stars. Scott was using a prototype single wall tent called "The Missing Link" that uses ones trekking poles for erection. He had provided two additional tents for us, both of which were freestanding models. The one-man model was called "The Hubba" and the two-man version was called......what else...."The Hubba Hubba." Cool huh? Beatrice was chosen to carry "The Hubba" and Braum was to be sleeping in "The Hubba Hubba." Both models were identical in set-up procedure, color and appearance. The only difference was size and everyone took a chance to check out the latest products from MSR and give their opinions. After everyone finished preparing his or her shelters for the night, we all gathered at the creek bank to watch Scott demonstrate his new water purifier. The group resembled a bunch of kids gathered around a Christmas tree waiting for presents as we gazed unblinking while Scott demonstrated the ease and convenience of the newest tool from MSR.

  Normally when I backpack by myself I never build a fire. I simply spend most of my time in my sleeping bag in the confines of my tent writing in my journal, reading a book or exploring my immediate surroundings. But when a group of backpackers are together, a fire is a necessity. Not because of the warmth it radiates, but rather for the central gathering area it provides. As the fire crackled and grew, the hiker's gathered one by one around it to prepare their dinners and share stories of the day's events and tales from past expeditions. Someone even brought along a Platypus bag of wine for everyone to enjoy and Bill prepared a backpacker's instant blueberry cheesecake to pass around for dessert. Smiles could be seen and laughter could be heard as we all enjoyed each other's company and stories. Occasionally the flash from a camera would pop and another image of folks doing what they loved was burned into a 35mm negative or a digital camera's disc. Sometime during the evening we were reminded that the lunar eclipse should be visible tonight, and what better place to view it than here in the backcountry far away from city lights. One by one the hikers retired to their tents until there was just Bill, Scott and myself gazing skyward. Alan was lying in his bag near us but his occasional snores told us he had no interest in seeing anything but the backside of his eyelids. The moon was periodically visible but the growing number of visible stars gave us hope for a clear night. As I finally crawled into my bag, the lunar eclipse was in full swing shining through my tent's window and my tent walls seemed to dance from the glow of the flickering campfire as I listened to my CD player singing me to sleep. Sometime around 3 a.m. I awoke to find the woods brightly lit by the full moon and billions of stars overhead. I could easily see Alan some 60 feet away lying in his sleeping bag with his striped Patagonia beanie glowing brightly in the night. I could even see Beatrice's tent through the woods about 50 yards away as the moonlight bounced off it's persimmon colored rain fly. I was amazed at the amount of light filtering through the overhead canopy, but within minutes the babbling of Deep Creek lulled me back to sleep.

  The sound of crunching leaves awakened me Sunday morning and I opened my eyes to see Beatrice passing by my tent on her way to retrieve our food bags suspended from the bear cables in the next campsite. It was roughly 7:00 and the day was already in full swing as the sun began to warm the tops of the mountains around us. There was not a cloud to be seen which brightened everyone’s spirits as they made their way to the morning fire. Coffee is lifeblood to some of these hikers and the smell of it was already adrift. It was not really cold enough to force me to prepare a hot breakfast such as oatmeal, so I just let my morning meal consist of a couple of Clif bars and an entire bottle of water. We all broke camp and repacked our gear for the last leg of our weekend journey. Once we were satisfied that the campfire was out and that we had exhibited the "Leave No Trace" policy, the group took to the trail.

  The trail continued to parallel Deep Creek for the majority of the hike. But at one point the trail veered sharply away from the rushing water and it was at this point that the wonderful silence of the wilderness was heard. We had gotten so use to the sound of Deep Creek that we had forgotten how quiet Mother Nature could be. The sun shone brightly through the leafless tree limbs above our heads warming our shoulders as we hiked and again Bill would be sure to point out certain plants or small animals, such as the black salamander he caught, along the trail. Conversation was not as frequent as the previous day. I think we were all just enjoying the wonderful weather and our surroundings. I think we were all also dreading the fact that our trek would be ending soon. The closer we got to the end of the trail, the more light hearted the attitude became. We stopped for some photo opportunities along the bridges and we even persuaded Scott to pose next to a beaver fallen tree. Bill and I laughed as he got on all fours at the tree's base and exposed his teeth as though to suggest he had been responsible for the downed poplar. As our group neared Tom Branch Falls, we began to encounter "tourists" along the trail signaling us that the end of the trail was near. For two days the only other people we encountered were those willing to leave the confines of their cars and make the extra effort to get away from the usual chaos that is associated with the most visited park in the nation. But now the people we met were the ones without backpacks, with cameras and smelling of various scents of perfumes and colognes. Over the past mile the trail changed from dirt, to gravel and now it changed to asphalt upon entering the parking area for the Deep Creek area. Everyone took off their packs, sat down and talked for a while before heading out for home.

  Without a doubt I always learn something from every trip I take and this one was no different. I learned that hiking with Bill and Alan (and the rest of the group) was more fun than I expected. I learned that when you hike with a group you could leave certain things behind, like a water filter, because someone in the group will have one and everyone is more than happy to share. I learned that a campfire is a necessity for group backpacking. And I learned that I want Scott’s job!! So once again chalk another trip up as a learning experience. I hope to hit the trails again with this group of interesting people.