Big Forking Loop

Hike #38 : June 6, 2015

Big Fork Ridge, McKee Branch, Cataloochee Divide, Hemphill Bald, Caldwell Fork and Rough Fork Trails

17.9 miles

11.6 new miles
485.3 total overall miles

343.5 total miles of 800.8


Cataloochee is one of my favorite areas of Smokies. Unfortunately, its over two hours away from where I live in Knoxville. So, if you're going to go hiking in Cataloochee, go big! This ambitious little hike encompasses six different trails and covers nearly 18 miles. So, lets go...

The hike begins at the Big Fork Ridge Trailhead and will end at the Rough Fork Trailhead. By parking at the end of the road in Cataloochee where the trailhead for Rough Fork is (at the locked gate), its a few hundred feet back down the road to where the adventure starts at the Big Fork Ridge Trail.

Big Fork Ridge Trail began as a muddy mess. This is definitely a horse trail. The trail is a steady upgrade with some pretty rough spots where the trail erosion makes for some sloppy walking. At 1.8 miles, the trail levels out and begins its downward slant to McKee Branch. The trail condition improves greatly from here.

Big Fork Ridge

Big Fork Ridge ends after 3.2 miles at the Caldwell Fork Trail. A left turn here would lead to the Boogerman Trail but I'm headed to McKee Branch so I take a right onto Caldwell for a short tenth of a mile before reaching the junction.

After turning onto McKee Branch Trail, the trail begins as a nice slightly uphill walk through some large growth.

Toward the beginning of McKee Branch Trail

I pass several old home sites as the trail begins to grow steeper.

Quickly, the trail turns ugly. The overuse of horses on the trail has taken its toll. Erosion is rampant and along with the steepness of the trail, its not a nice climb. However, lucky for me, the recent rains had washed away much of the black mud and left a harder packed mud surface. After 2.3 miles, the trail finally ends as I reach the Cataloochee Divide.

The Cataloochee Divide Trail

The Cataloochee Divide Trail follows along the park boundary in each direction. Going left would eventually lead to Cove Creek Road. I hiked that a while back by accident and you can read about it here. Today, I'm going right toward Hemphill Bald. The unmarked trail that goes straight is the decommissioned Polls Gap trail. From the looks of it, its still somewhat used by horses. Anyway, continuing on, The Cataloochee Divide Trail is a nice easy walk after coming up McKee Branch. Soon, the sounds of the Smokies are interrupted by the sound of a generator. I came upon a small cabin being built along side of the trail on the non-park side. As I stood there checking it out, I was waved down by one of the guys working. That guy was Bill Woody. If you ever get the chance to stop by and talk with Bill, you must. His great uncle lived in the Woody house on Rough Fork which I'll be hiking to later. Bill's knowledge and love for his mountains and fellow hikers is obvious. Some people in life you feel blessed to have met and Bill is definitely one of those people.

The view from Bill Woody's cabin which he plans to make available to anyone who wishes to just "get away" for a while.

After about a hour hanging around with Bill, I head off down the trail to The Swag. The Swag is a mountain resort where for $500 to $900 a night you can live life at a pampered slower pace and enjoy the views while you reflect on all the money you just spent. Lol! It is a lovely place and the views are spectacular.

The Swag is, well, pretty swaggy!

From The Swag, its a mile to Hemphill Bald. After a half mile the junction with the Hemphill Bald Trail goes down to the right but I'm passing that up to make the climb to the bald. Even though this is a long hike, I can't pass within a half mile of the bald without stopping by. One thing about it, it certainly feels like more than a half mile as I climb my way up. This is easily one of my favorite places on earth.

After a nice lunch and having the bald all to myself, its time to move on. So I head back down, passing many hikers on their way up. Perfect timing. I soon make it back to the junction with Hemphill Bald Trail and head down.

Hemphill Bald Trail immediately starts downhill which is fine with me. I won't go into detail here since I've already blogged about this trail here.

After 3 miles, Hemphill Bald Trail ends as it comes to Caldwell Fork Trail. Going right would return me to where I began McKee and lead back down Big Fork Ridge where I started but that's not today's plan. I take a left onto Caldwell Fork and head up. I've also blogged about this section of the hike previously here. I must, however, share this little story. As I walked by the big poplar tree, I stopped and decided to go check it out even though I'd seen it before. It's marked by a trail sign.

Big Poplar

After checking out the tree and taking a quick selfie, I'm back on the trail. I pause to take a pic of the trail sign when I am brutally ambushed by a bumble bee and stung in the back of my lower leg. For 44 years I have avoided the piercing sting of a bumble bee. Until now. Now I don't know what the justification for this senseless act of hostility was, perhaps a nest? was the bee jealous? did I unknowingly flash some hostile rival bee gang sign? I'll never know. All I do know is that I climbed the next mile and a half as fast as I could. Stupid bumble bee.

Caldwell Fork ends as it comes to the Rough Fork Trail. Going left leads up to Polls Gap so I turn right headed back to Cataloochee.

Rough Fork Trail is a pleasant downhill stroll after a long day of hiking. After reaching campsite #40, the trail becomes a super easy and well graded tourist trail.

Rough Fork Trail

After a couple of miles, I came to the Woody house I mentioned earlier. I love seeing and walking through these old houses. I can just imagine life in those long ago days.

From here, its less than a mile to the end of the trail. Its an easy walk down a flat driveway back to my vehicle waiting in Cataloochee. Just before reaching the end, I met this little guy...

What can I say? It was just another incredible day hiking the Smokies!


TRAIL REVIEW

Big Fork Ridge Trail - 3.2 miles
Caldwell Fork Trail - .1 mile
McKee Branch Trail - 2.3 miles
Cataloochee Divide Trail - 1.8 miles
Hemphill Bald Trail - 3 miles
Hemphill Bald - .5 mile (up and back)
Caldwell Fork Trail - 1.7 miles
Rough Fork Trail - 2.9 miles

Campsite #40 and #41

Wanna hike the 900 without getting lost? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

Hiking Trails of the Smokies or "The Little Brown Book" from the GSMA

Hiking Trails of The Great Smoky Mountains by Ken Wise

There is loads of information in the pages of GoSmokies.com.