Distance: 18.5
New Map Miles: 12.4
Total Map Miles: 424.9
Today's hike started from the Clingmans Dome parking lot. There were a few clouds, but the views were still great.
I headed down the Forney Ridge Trail for the 1st 5.6 miles. On the map, the trail said 4.5 miles, so I was a little surprised to find the extra 1.1 miles. In a few spots, there were some nice balance beams.
1.8 miles into the trip, I arrived at Andrews Bald. The azaleas were past their prime, but the view was great. The trail immediately became less maintained and the hiking was a little difficult. After a couple of miles, the trail improved and the hiking was nice.
At 5.6 miles, I took a left on Springhouse Branch trail.
On Springhouse, I came across a wild hog standing in the trail. We stared at each other for about 5 seconds before he turned around and went the other way. I continued on and in a few minutes, I heard him down below me headed back to were we 1st met.
The trail started out pretty good, but shortly after I passed 4 horsemen, it got worse. The trail was a little torn up and there were several places that the trail turned into a creek.
Near the end of Springhouse, I spotted this rock wall beside the trail.
At the end of Springhouse, the downhill part of the hike was over. I started at 6300' and at the end of Springhouse the elevation was only 2500'.
Noland Creek as the name implies follows a creek up the mountain. The 1st few stream crossings had some old looking log bridges.
The creek was a nice companion for the hike.
The trail looked to be an old road.
There were 3 big stream crossings which didn't have bridges. The 1st one (shown below) required me to deboot. It was cold even in June. It was a nice chance to wash off a bit and relax.
The next 2 I managed to hop rock, but it took some effort to find a good spot.
The hike up to the Dome road was a tough climb after a long day. Once out on the road, it was a 1.3 mile walk to the car. Back at the car, the views were still spectacular.
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