Big Fork Ridge - Caldwell Fork - Rough Fork Loop

Date: 5/16/14
Distance: 9.4 mi
New Map Miles: 9.4
Total Map Miles: 374.3

Today I worked till a bit after 10:00 and then headed for Cataloochee.  The drive was about 2:30, but that included a stop at Walmart which had a Subway.  Rain was in the area, but the drive over was mostly dry.  As soon as I got to the end of the road in Cataloochee, it started raining.  By the time I changed clothes and was ready to go, the rain had stopped, so I headed up the Big Fork Trail.
Just 10 minutes down the trail the rain started again.  It even sleeted for a while, so I didn't get the camera out much during the 1st 1/2 of the hike.  Big Fork starts out on a road, but pretty quickly turns into a single track trail.  The 1st 1.7 miles has a climb of about 750'.  After the climb, the trail immediately loses most of the elevation that was gained.  There were a few nice views through the trees.  There were also several creek crossings with bridges.

After 3.2 miles the trail dead ends into Caldwell Fork Trail.  There was a nice rock monument at the intersection.  I took a right on Caldwell Fork and stayed on it for 3.3 miles.

 At one point, a sign said "big poplars" to the right, so I checked it out.  There was only 1 big poplar, but it was big.  There was also a side trail to a small cemetery when I 1st got on Caldwell Fork.

 Caldwell Fork had a climb of about 1000'.  The 1st half of the trail was less steep than the 2nd.  At about 4000' the trail intersected Rough Fork Trail.  Rough Fork was down hill for 2.9 miles to the car.  The slope was pretty severe at times and the trail was very wet at this point even though the sun was now out.  After a couple miles, an old house was beside the trail.

 Back at the car, Cataloochee Valley was looking beautiful.

 Hiking time was about 3:15.