Meigs Creek

Date: 8/16/14
Distance: 7 Miles
New Map Miles: 3.5
Total Map Miles: 463

On this Saturday, time was limited, so I chose a short hike up Meigs Creek Trail so that I could get back home by 12.

I had heard that Meigs Creek Trail was a Creek Crossing nightmare with 18 or more creek crossing, so I packed the Chacos in my pack and set out expecting to get wet feet.  The trail leaves from the Sinks parking lot on the Little River Road.  The sign wasn't obvious from the parking area and I was a little worried that I had misread the map, but after a short walk to the Sinks overlook, the trail sign was there to greet me.

The trail started as a well maintained trail that headed up and over a 300' ridge.

Up on the top of the ridge, there were a few nice views out through the trees.

Once the top of the ridge was reached, a short hike down the ridge brought me to the 1st creek crossing.  It hadn't rained since Monday, and the water level was low.  There were plenty of rocks to choose from and I easily hop rocked it.

This turned out to be normal for the hike.  All of the crossings were easily hopped.  I counted 18 crossings, but only about 13 were significant.

After about 3 crossings, there was a nice waterfall.

After about 8 crossings, the trail passed an open flat area with this very large tree.  I'd guess that this was the location of an old homestead.

After about 10 crossings, the trail got narrow and overgrown in a few places, but I've seen worse.

The trail was 3.5 miles in length.  At the end, I turned back and retraced my steps.

 The climb peaked out at 2400' having started at 1600'.  The total hiking time was about 2:06.