Hemphill Bald Loop

Hike #18 : May 30, 2014

14.7 miles

13.7 new miles
246.6 total overall miles

160.7 total miles of 800.8


Ah, Hemphill Bald. I guess I should start with a little back story first.

OK, so its November 3rd of last year when Eddie and I decided to hike to Hemphill Bald. We had been told we wouldn't be able to access the trailhead to the loop since it had been closed due to some good ol' government cutbacks. Information that may or may not have been accurate by the way. So we decided to go in another way from Purchase Knob. Long story short, after a two hour drive and an extra two mile trudge up the road because the gate was locked, we made a wrong turn and hiked four and a half miles down the Cataloochie Divide only to turn around in defeat and thus being denied our destination.

Fast forward to May 31st, 2014.

Today we set out to conquer the elusive Hemphill Bald Loop via the Poles Gap Trailhead. A two hour drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Funny thing about the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are signs that alert you to each upcoming overlook. The overlooks all have signs displaying their names. The tunnels, of which there are many, are all named with large brown signs. Rattlesnake Mountain Tunnel. Big Witch Tunnel. Lickstone Ridge Tunnel. Devil's Courthouse Tunnel. And so on. Yet, somehow, it never occurred to anyone to put up actual street signs so that people like myself would know the names of the roads. Eddie was driving so we'll blame him but still... seriously? Once we made it all the way to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Google Maps led us back to where we needed to be.

So after all this unpleasantness, we found and hit the trail at 9am. A late start for us. But we'd finally made it, so all was once again right with the world. Here we decided to hike the loop clockwise instead of the recommended counterclockwise so that we'd come to the actual bald near the end of the hike instead of early on. So we head out onto Rough Fork Trail.

Rough Fork is a misleading name here because the 3.5 mile section that we hiked was easy albeit extremely muddy. The elk have left their mark on this one! So we make terrific time to the Caldwell Fork Trail junction and make a sharp right turn down hill. That's right. Rough Fork was an easy gradual decline and Caldwell Fork was even more so. More Mud. Lots more. If you've ever hiked in the Smokies or read this blog, you know there's a price to pay for easy and downhill. After 1.7 miles down Caldwell, we turn right onto Hemphill Bald Trail and we begin paying that price.

Hemphill Bald Trail is relentless. A steep continuous uphill climb. A few miles of this and we begin to understand perhaps why most people do this loop from the other direction. Less muddy but very wet just the same. After several stops to catch my breath and regain something resembling a normal heartbeat, we arrive at the bald a couple of sweaty messes. It felt like August instead of May. Not to mention the bugs all up in our faces. Still, after a long journey, we had finally made it to Hemphill Bald. Worth every step! Although the skies were overcast, the views were spectacular.

After a nice lunch at the stone table and taking in all the beauty around us, we head out for what we believed would be a downhill slide back to Poles Gap. It started out that way but quickly returned to the drudgery of nonstop incline. According to the official trail map, the hike is 13.7 miles. We hit 14.7 when we made it back to the parking lot. All the uphill climbs made for a pretty rough hike but one I'd definitely recommend doing... but go counterclockwise. Trust me.

TRAIL REVIEW

Rough Fork Trail - 3.5 miles

Caldwell Fork Trail - 1.7 miles

Hemphill Bald Trail - 8.5 miles

1 campsite (41)

Wanna hike the 900? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

For more pictures of this hike, check out the Smoky Mountain Hikertrash facebook page.

For more information on this hike and many more, visit Hiking the Carolinas.