Cataloochee Double hike Day (Pretty Hollow - Palmer Creek) (Big Fork Ridge - Caldwell Fork - Rough Fork)

Date: 2/6/16
Distance: 19 Miles

Today I bundled two hikes into one day in order to mark off the remaining Cataloochee trails.

Hike 1:
I started the day on Pretty Hollow Trail after a long drive over to Cataloochee.  The 1.6 miles to Palmer Creek passed quickly on the gravel road/trail.  Palmer climbs up the the Balsam Mt. Rd. in a distance of 3.3 miles.  The total climb from the car to the road was about 1800'.  The only real excitement was a creek crossing that was about 1/2 way up Palmer.  On the way up, I managed to jump across, but the rocks were very slippery and I nearly went in.

At the road, I turned around to retrace my steps to the car.

 There were a few views through the trees, but nothing special.

 This is the creek crossing.  On the way back down, I tossed a few branches in the creek to step on, but it felt too risky.  Eventually, I just took off the boots and waded.  The distance was short but the water was COLD!  My feet were aching even though I was just in for a minute or less.

 Hike #1 was 9.8 miles and it took about 3:15 minutes to complete.

Back at the car, I had some lunch and then drove to the end of the Cataloochee road where the Big Fork Trailhead was located.

Hike #2:

I repacked my pack and started up the Big Fork Ridge trail at 12:40.  Big Fork Ridge climbs about 800' and then loses 600' over its 3.2 miles.  The trail was in great shape other than several trees laying across the trail at regular intervals.

 At Caldwell Fork, I turned right to hike the 3.1 miles over to Rough Fork.

I stopped for a few photos at the Big Poplar.

 Caldwell Fork climbed about 1000' before it terminated at Rough Fork.  I turned right on Rough Fork for the 2.9 mile walk back to the car.  Rough Fork drops steeply down the mountain for the 1st couple of miles and then the trail turns into a gravel road and is much less steep for the last portion to the car.  The Woody House was 1 mile from the end of the trail.

 This cool ice curtain was hanging over the creek next to Rough Fork.

Hike #2 was 9.2 miles and took 3:15 to complete.

 There were lots of Elk grazing this afternoon in the valley.

Caldwell Fork - Boogerman - McKee Branch

Date: 10/31/15
Distance: 13.2 miles
Bears: 1

Couldn't think of a better day to go hike Boogerman Trail than on Halloween, so I left the house bright and early (6:25) for Cataloochee for a nice day of hiking.  I last did this hike on December 14, 2014, at that time two bridges were out and I had to wade, so I was curious as to how much wading I would do today.

I hit the trail about 8:30 and thankfully the 1st bridge was there.  The first 0.8 miles on Caldwell Fork passed quickly as the trail was smooth.  Unfortunately, the 2nd bridge was missing as before, so I shed the boots and waded in the very cold water.

Just on the other side, the Boogerman Trail leaves off to the left.  Today, I took the turn and did Boogerman before the rest of Caldwell Fork.  Boogerman was in great shape for most of its 4 miles.  It does climb a bit (about 1000') and at the very peak, it is very steep for a few tenths of a mile.

There were still a few colorful trees, but not near as many as last weekend.

 Boogerman is famous for its large trees.

 The last 1/2 mile on Boogerman is a little rocky and steep as it loses most of the elevation that it gained earlier.  There are several nice rock walls near the end of the trail.

Boogerman ends once again on Caldwell Fork.  I turned left and walked the 0.5 miles over to McKee Branch Trail where I once again turned left to hike up the mountain.

McKee is steep!  It gains 1800' in only 2.3 miles.  Both times I've hiked it, it has kicked my butt.  It starts as a ditch, so the trail is full of rocks for the first 1/2.  Eventually, it improves, but is steep the whole way.  After 2.3 miles of struggle, I arrived at the Cataloochee Divide trail at an elevation of 4800'

I then backtracked down McKee back to Caldwell Fork. I turned right to head back toward the car.  This time I bypassed the Boogerman Trail and remained on Caldwell Fork for the 3.2 miles (from McKee) back to the car.

The most interesting feature of Caldwell is the large number of footbridges, many of which are a little suspect.  This is the 1st one which was just past the Boogerman Trail.

Bridge 2 was OK.

 Bridge 3 was a little scary, but it was low.

 Bridge 4 was equally decrepit.

Bridge 5 was just a log.

 Bridge 6 was gone, so I debooted for the 2nd time and did some wading.

Bridge 7 was a lovely large wide bridge.

 Bridge 8 was gone, but I was able to walk across the dead tree across the creek.

Bridge 9 was very high and long.

 Bridge 10 was nice.

Bridge 11 was gone, so more wading.

 Bridge 12 was a little skinny and wobbly.

Bridge 13 was a little busted.

 Bridge 14 was gone.  It was the 1st one past Boogerman, so it was the same one that I waded earlier in the day.

Bridge 15 was the final bridge and I was back at the car.

 I drove down to the Elk fields and spotted a big Elk sitting with his harem before leaving.

 The GPS didn't lock very well today.  I got no lock until I hit Boogerman and then lost it about the time I started up McKee.  It locked again at Cataloochee Divide.  The very steep drop was down McKee.  I was moving pretty fast.

Nice Halloween in the woods and I was home in time to trick or treat!