Forney Ridge - Springhouse- Forney Creek - Whiteoak - Lakeshore - Goldmine Loop

Date: 9/12/15
Distance: 19.1

Today I participated in a hike from Clingmans Dome to the Tunnel to Nowhere followed by a very long bus ride back up to the Dome.  The day started very foggy and rainy and cold up at Clingmans but by the time we were ready to hike, the rain stopped.  I was expecting a long day of hiking in the rain, however, the weather participated nicely and we had an entire day of dry hiking.

I had hiked Forney Ridge just a few weeks ago, but hiking it again was the best option to pick up the trails below Forney, so I set off down Forney again.  This time I had some nice company (Laura and Bill) to make a long day on the trail more enjoyable.  Bill and Laura were moving out, so Forney passed by quickly.  Andrews Bald wasn't quite as scenic as a few weeks ago due to the cloud cover.

After 5.6 miles of steady downhill hiking, we turned right on Springhouse heading for Forney Creek.

 This cool mushroom was along the trail.

 After 4.2 on Springhouse, we arrived at Campsite 71 at the intersection with Forney Creek.  71 is a very large campsite just along the creek.  It has an old Chimney and many good spots to camp.  We sat for a bit of lunch at the campsite as it was 11:30 and we'd all had breakfast very early.  I left the house about 5:45 and we had started hiking about 8:00.

 After a short lunch, I hiked the 1.2 miles up to Jonas Creek on Forney Creek Trail alone as Bill had already marked it.  At the Creek, I snapped a few photos and turned around to head for Lakeshore.

 Back at campsite 71, it was 1.3 miles down to Whiteoak where I met the others who had hiked the bottom 1.1 miles of Forney Creek.  Whiteoak is under construction and is only open on the weekends.  In addition Lakeshore between Forney Creek and the Tunnel is being renovated.  The trails were a muddy mess.

 It was slippery and nasty for the 1.8 miles on Whiteoak and the 1.3 on Lakeshore over to the Goldmine Loop Trail.  Goldmine on the other hand was just lovely.  It was a steep drop down to the lake, but along the way there was a nice old homesite in a field of flowers.

 A bit further, there is lake access.

 Another interesting mushroom was along the trail as well.

After 2 miles on Goldmine and 0.4 miles on the tunnel bypass trail, I arrived at the road at 3:10 and we had a nice long wait for the bus which picked up at 5:00.  The Bus got us back to the Dome about 6:30 and it was a 2 hr drive home from there.  Long day but very beautiful day in the woods.