Forney Ridge

Hike #50 : September 19, 2015

Forney Ridge Trail, Springhouse Branch Trail, Whiteoak Branch Trail, Tunnel Bypass Trail

18.4 miles

14.5 new miles
619.5 total overall miles

412.7 total miles of 800.8

400 MILES!!!


Last October, as my body ached and screamed in sheer agony, I swore I'd never hike with the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Club ever again. That was the hell hike as it became known. A legendary fail. Fast forward eleven months...

It's a 4am wake-up call as the day starts for my second attempt at a bus hike. The hike will take us from Clingmans Dome to the Tunnel to Nowhere via Forney Ridge, Springhouse Branch, Forney Creek, Whiteoak Branch, Lakeshore and out to Lakeview Drive by way of the Tunnel Bypass.

The hike starts at 8am, so the early rise was to try and catch sunrise from the Clingmans Dome Tower. After a mandatory stop at Bojangles, I made it to the parking lot around 6:30, ate breakfast and headed up to the tower on what has become one of my least favorite walks, the paved half mile Clingmans Dome Nature Trail. After a few minutes in the tower, I was joined by Randy just before the sunrise. Getting up so early and walking straight up that road doesn't sound like very much fun but the results are so worth it.

The sunrise at Clingmans Dome

Its hard not to feel the absolute presence of God when faced with such incredible beauty.

Amazing!

My favorite of the 89 pictures I took of the sunrise. 

After the sun took its place in the sky, Randy and I made our way back down the paved road and met up with the group. We're joined by some usual suspects (Eddie, Dawn and Cindy) and a bunch of new faces. I finally get to meet fellow hiker, facebook friend and blogger Amanda Lucy Haskins whose posts and blog I always enjoy. Instead of JD (who I think I may have referred to as the devil), this hike will be led by Tim. After a few introductions and a head count, we're off down the trail!


We're soon on Forney Ridge Trail. This is a heavily used trail and definitely has that touristy feel to it. Its a little rocky and has some steps here and there but is basically a pretty easy hike. I love the fact that Tim leads by following, it gives a lot of freedom to hike your own hike. After 1.1 miles we come to the first trail junction of the day as we reach the Forney Creek Trail. There was talk between me, Eddie and Randy about taking a little off-trail adventure here to find the Norwood Boiler off of Forney Creek but since we're with a large group and time is a factor (we have a bus to catch at 4pm) we decided it best to save that for another day. From here the trail begins a bit of an uphill climb before leveling out as it opens up into Andrews Bald. My last visit here was marred with dense fog. That would not be the case today!

Andrews Bald

After absorbing the incredible views from the bald, we head on down Forney Ridge. The trail instantly becomes overgrown and very narrow. Its no longer a tourist trail for sure. After a short while, Randy and I are separated from the masses and its just a moderate, sometimes steep, downhill journey through the woods.

Forney Ridge Trail

At 5.6 miles in, we reach the next trail junction with Springhouse Branch Trail. Springhouse goes left to the Nolan Creek Trail or right to Forney Creek Trail which is where we'll be heading after a quick snack. We also get to marvel the wonder that is Dawn Eipeldauer as she becomes the first victim of the trail. Nothing holds this woman back! Tough as nails!

Dawn laughing at her bloody leg! Bring it on!

Springhouse Branch begins with a bit of climbing to get a good sweat going. Although its a lovely walk through the woods, there's nothing particularly spectacular about this trail. A few people saw a mama bear and her cubs but I missed out on that. It was somewhere around here that Randy started having knee troubles. We were slowed a bit but he kept hiking through the pain. Like he had a choice, right? Soon we're stopped by another hiker, Todd, as we came upon a yellow jacket nest that he'd already been introduced to by way of a sting on his hand. Some went up and around, some of us more foolish just ran through the bees. Unfortunately, Randy seemed to further hurt his knee as he ran through and stopped abruptly. Ever since hurting my own knees, I carry knee braces in my pack at all times so I gave him one. It seemed to help somewhat. We hiked for a while with a new hiking buddy, Lori Kirk Mize. Good conversation helps pass those miles especially on these longer hikes.

Before long we reach the next junction with Forney Creek at campsite #71. Evidently, the campsite must have been an old CCC camp from the standing chimney and clearly defined rock pathways. Pretty cool.

Standing chimney at campsite #71

It was lunch time and Randy definitely needed a little time off that knee. We shared lunch we the gang. Good company as always!  :)

What a lovely and wonderful group of people!
Back row is Cindy and Dawn while the front row is Eddie, me and Randy. 

From here, we head down Forney Creek. Slowly. We pass an old homesite to the right where we see the ruins of a stone chimney and what looked like the remains of a car. Looks like this could be an interesting place to explore someday.

Old car?

I'm starting to worry about Randy and so is he. The trail runs along the creek and is probably the nicest part of the hike since we left Andrews Bald. Its mostly smooth and somewhat level which is good for Randy and he soon begins getting back in a groove as we reach the junction with Whiteoak Branch Trail.

Whiteoak ascends slowly for the next mile or so before descending into the Lakeshore Trail. I don't have any fond memories of Lakeshore. As a matter of fact, I dreaded it all day. Its still a bitch, but not nearly the killer it was a year ago. There's a heavy dose of trail maintenance going on here. Its been dug up and graded to the point of being unrecognizable. Not sure what that's all about but I didn't care for it all. Its more of a four wheeler road than a trail.

As we reach the junction with the Tunnel Bypass Trail, we decide "why not?" and add the extra mile. The Bypass is anticlimactic but at least its an actual trail and not some overly graded dirt road like Lakeshore. Soon we pass the junction with Goldmine Loop and make our way on out the next .4 of a mile to the road. Since Randy had never seen the tunnel, we walked up to and through it and back before the bus came.

The Tunnel to Nowhere (note the trash on top...)

At the end of the day, it was a good hike and a good time with the exception of Randy's knee scare. I'd say this is mostly a hike for mile markers since there's nothing particularly outstanding once you pass Andrews Bald. The area around campsite #71 is interesting but probably more assessable from the Lakeshore side. It was, as always, great hiking with old and new friends!

TRAIL REVIEW

Forney Ridge Trail - 5.6 miles

Springhouse Branch Trail - 4.2 miles

Forney Creek Trail - 1.3 miles

Whiteoak Branch Trail - 1.8 miles

Lakeshore Trail - 1.3 miles

Tunnel Bypass Trail - 1.6 miles

Campsite #71






Wanna join the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Club? Click here!

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.