Distance: 15 mi
Today was a spectacular spring day. It made it all the better that it happened in February. Today's goal was to hike the Rough Creek Trail in the Elkmont area of the park. To access the trail, you have to hike 4.6 miles up the Little River Trail. I've hiked the Little River trail several times. It is a very wide gently sloping trail which hugs the bank of the Little River.
About 4.4 miles into the hike there are a couple of challenging stream crossings. They can be rock hopped, but not with out some effort and a twinge of fear.
4.6 miles into the hike, the Rough Creek Trail turns to the left and you start some serious climbing. This trail also hugs a creek. It has 3 challenging crossings. I didn't have to put on my water shoes, but I burned up several minutes finding a good place to cross and got a good dose of adrenaline during the crossings. At one of them, I walked the log in the picture below. You may notice that the far right side doesn't touch the ground, so the closer I got to this side the more it bounced to add to the excitement. Wasn't too bad on the way up, but on the way home when the bouncing started early in the trip and you were 4 ft above the water, it was exciting.
The creek gradually got smaller as you headed up the trail. It was a nice companion as I made my way up the mountain.
The climb just gets steeper and steeper as you head up the mountain to meet the Old Sugarland trail. The total climb was 1500' for the 2.8 mile trail. The last 1/2 mile was brutal as it had the steepest slope and hugged the side of a mountain. The trail wasn't great in this area as it had eroded in a few places so that the slope of the trail tries to send you down the side. Arriving at the top was a relief and the view was great.
Rough Creek Trailhead: 10:30
End of Rough Creek: 11:45
Lunch: 11:45-12:00
Back at Little River: 1:00
Back at Car: 2:10
No comments:
Post a Comment