Date: 5/22/15 - 5/25/15
Day 1
Distance: 11.3 miles
Back about 13 months ago, I did my 1st backpack in a very long time. That trip was to hike the Lakeshore Trail. This was one of the milestones that made me believe I could actually accomplish my goal of hiking all of the trails in the Smokies. Lakeshore is 33.9 miles long and is in a remote area along the shore of Fontana Lake. Any map marker knows that this one is a challenge to get marked off. My friend Russ needed this hike and then just 9 miles more to finish, so this weekend I went backpacking with him and Darrell to help finish his map and kickstart my 2nd.
We left Knoxville about 8:10 on Friday and arrived at Fontana Dam about 10:00 where we met Darrell and his wife. She was nice enough to drive us to the Tunnel to Nowhere and drop us off. The weather was just perfect, and the car ride was long, so I was excited to get going. We hit the trail about 11:15. Russ and Darrell went through the tunnel but I had marked it on my way out from my Hazel-Cold Springs backpack, so I took the Tunnel Bypass Trail and met up with them on Lakeshore. From there it was a short 2.3 mile hike to campsite 74. I turned up the Forney Creek Trail and did the 0.4 bit at the bottom that I hadn't hiked on the last trip and then turned back to 74 for lunch.
After lunch, we crossed the creek on a nice bridge and continued our hike toward campsite 98.
There were a few spots that you could get a good look at the blue skies, but this trail mostly stays in the woods. Much of it is an old roadbed, but there is also a good amount of single track trail.
We arrived at campsite 98 about 3:15. This was a bit early to suite us, but we couldn't get permits for the next site down. 98 is a really nice site near the lake. The lake was much higher than last time I stayed here.
Darrell started a really big fire to chase away the bugs and we enjoyed several hours sitting around it. I tried the Mountain House Chili Mac for the 1st time with some Fritos. It was pretty good, but I still prefer the spaghetti. I did sleep a little which was an improvement over the previous trip. It got cold overnight. Into the low 40's I'd guess. I put on my long sleeves and socks in the middle of the night. I was wishing that I had a hat though.
Day 2
Distance: 16.6 or maybe 18
The next day I had a breakfast of oatmeal before packing up and hitting the trail about 8:15. This would be our long day as we were scheduled to hike out to campsite 88. Much of the trail had some nice mountain laurel this time of year.
Once again much of the trail was an old road along the edge of the lake.
I was happy to see a few wildflowers along the way.
At one spot the trail turned into a creek, but it was only for a few hundred feet.
At the Ollies Cove trail, I ditched my pack and hiked down to the lake. On the last map, I hiked this short 0.3 miles (one way) 5 times, but who knows when I'll ride the shuttle boat over and which time of year, so there was no guarantee that I'd be this way again. It is a steep drop down to the lake. I was amazed to see the water up so far that the sign at the end was under water.
Back up at Lakeshore, we collected our packs and hiked the 0.7 miles over to Proctor. At Proctor, I walked the 0.7 miles down to the boat pickup point. I think this is part of Lakeshore, but I'm not sure. This is why I'm uncertain about today's mileage.
I then backtracked to the Hazel Creek Bridge and went over to the Calhoun House for a bit of a break. We played in the creek and sat on the front porch for about 40 minutes before we set off for camp. About 1/2 mile down the trail, we came to the Proctor Cemetery.
About 1 mile further, we arrived at campsite 88. It was rather small. There was only 1 legal fire ring. 3 hammock campers were already setup. We took the only 3 good spots for tents. We had a very enjoyable evening around the fire thanks to Steve from Nashville who had gathered up firewood earlier in the day. About dark, one other hiker arrived and setup his hammock in the dark.
The hike had quite a few rolling hills that we had to climb. The largest was Welch Ridge. It was pretty tough with a heavy pack.
Day 3
Miles: 9.1
We hit the trail about 7:30 today anxious to get home. The hike out would only be 9.1 miles and we didn't mess around. The day was once again just perfect for hiking. The morning started with a decent climb to get the blood pumping.
This bridge crossed Eagle Creek.
The Campsite at Eagle Creek didn't resemble what I remembered with the high lake level.
About a mile from the end of the trail, you pass several old cars.
I finished the day at about 10:25.
Since we finished early, I went up to the observation deck at the dam and took a few photos.
The backpack was very enjoyable. The company was outstanding and the weather was perfect.
