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  1. #1
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    Mount Sterling Overnight Loop

    I had the week after Christmas off this year and I wanted to get out for at least an overnight trip if possible. The weather forecast wasn’t looking great for the southeast, but I reached out to my backpacking buds to see if any were available. Andy @twistytee was a possible for Tuesday/Wednesday, but the only opening for dry weather was on Monday/Tuesday. My last two trips have been on the ‘moist’ side and I really did want a break from the rain. So, I took the opening and went ‘solo’ on this trip. Solo in quotes because it is rare these days to not share the trails and campsites with other folks. Not a bad thing at all and you always run into interesting people in the woods.

    Not that I have any expected completion date, but I have been busy ticking off trails for the Smoky Mountains 900 miler challenge. I did many miles in the Smokies back in the 80s and 90s but this has been a great incentive to revisit familiar places and tackle a few new trails. I have never hiked the infamous Baxter Creek Trail before and always wanted to see if it lived up to it’s reputation. I have had this overnight loop planned in CalTopo for some time, so it was an easy choice.

    https://caltopo.com/m/CDT9R

    Since it was not a long hike up the Baxter Creek trail to Mount Sterling and campsite 38, I didn’t have to get out super early for the 2.5 hour drive to Big Creek which was nice. Weather was unseasonably warm for late December with highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 40s at elevation. Down in the lowlands, it was going to be pushing 70 degrees! I parked at the Big Creek Ranger Station and was surprised to see this throwback to an earlier era. Turns out that it is really just a hotline for several national park phone numbers, but nice to know since there is no cell phone coverage here. At least I could contact someone if I came back to my vehicle and the catalytic converter had been removed…


    Park Hotline by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    I walked down the road to the picnic area, where the Baxter Creek trail starts by crossing Big Creek.


    And so it begins... by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Big Creek by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    For the first three-quarters of a mile or so, Baxter Creek trail climbs gently before starting the actual climb, where it packs in most of the 4200’ of elevation gain in about five miles. It never really exceeded a moderate grade, but was a continual grind all the way to Mt Sterling. It is a lovely trail with great scenery and I took my sweet time going up and took lots of pictures. It starts by following a rocky escarpment above Big Creek before climbing the Baxter Creek drainage to the ridgeline.


    Baxter Creek Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Baxter Creek Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Solid foundation! by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    The weather has the poor Rhodendron confused and it thinks it is springtime.


    Poor Rhododendron is so confused by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    Once you reach the upper elevations and the ridgeline, you enter my favorite part of the southern Appalachians – the spruce/fir forest which is a relic from the last ice age. Everything is covered by a blanket of moss and the trees have that wonderful Christmas tree smell.


    Baxter Creek Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    You pass the trail to the water source for Mt Sterling about a quarter mile from the top, so I went ahead and tanked up for the night. I had already finished the liter of water that I had started with and failed to get a refill at the last viable source on the trail, so I guzzled down an ice-cold liter for starters. I fiddled around with the pipe trying to improve the flow, but made it worse initially before getting it to flow well.


    Mt Sterling Water Source by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    Mt Sterling is a great campsite for hammocks with tons of trees to choose from. As I set up camp I also setup my amateur radio setup and made contacts all around the U.S. before dinner.


    Mount Sterling Campsite by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    There were five other folks camping and we enjoyed a nice campfire, dinner and conversation. After dinner, I went back and played radio for a little while longer in the dark. I made a contact into Japan so that made this old geek smile.


    MTR-3B in action by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    I should have listened to the mountain-forecast.com report for the area, but I brought my 20 degree quilts instead of my 40s. It only got down into the upper 40s and even with a steady breeze, I was quite warm. Overall, it was a nice, quiet night on the mountain top. The next morning, I soaked in the sunrise from the firetower.


    Sunrise from Mount Sterling by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    There had been clear skies all night long, but as the sun came up, the clouds started rolling in.


    Sunrise from Mount Sterling by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    After playing on the radio a little bit more and making contacts all around Europe, I packed up and started the long hike down. One last stop at the overlook to admire the cloud bank!


    Sorry, no views today by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    The Sterling Ridge trail descends gently down the narrow ridge most of the way to Pretty Hollow Gap. There were plenty of signs of wild pig activity along the ridge as expected and several hog wallows.


    Mount Sterling Ridge Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Mount Sterling Ridge Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    At pretty hollow gap, I turned right on the Swallow Fork trail and started the real descent. I was expecting a steeper trail, but it was instead a nice grade all the way down to Big Creek. Swallow Fork is a very pretty creek with almost continuous cascades over small rock shelfs so there was plenty to look at on the way down.


    Swallow Fork Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Swallow Fork Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    I heard that Afros were coming back in style but this is just crazy!


    I heard that Afros had come back into style... by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    Off and on, it kept threatening to sprinkle on me on the way down, but I think it was just the mountain tops tickling the clouds. After meeting up with the Big Creek trail, I started the last leg of the trip.


    Big Creek by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    Big Creek is a beautiful creek with big boulders, but I wasn’t looking forward to the next five miles. Very gradual elevation loss, but a hard and rocky roadbed all the way back to the picnic area. After a few miles, I took a relaxing lunch break on the creek before wrapping the last couple of miles.


    Breaktime on Big Creek by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Big Creek by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    As the forecast predicted, the rain started later in the afternoon as I was driving home. My plan for a dry trip succeeded for once and I was able to add Baxter Creek and Swallow Fork to my list of trails hiked in the park. The rest of my pictures can found here - https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzwGGZ

  2. #2
    Senior Member Twistytee's Avatar
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    Great pics as always Pat. Sorry I missed this one. Seems like you weaved the weather window perfectly this time.

  3. #3
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    Beautiful, thank you!
    The deep mystery gives rise to the spirits -Charc

    Always strive to be the best but never believe you are - Juan Manuel Fangio

  4. #4
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    Great report. That little mountain topper looks like a great CW rig. What kind of antenna? Beautiful pictures, I love that type of forest.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twistytee View Post
    Great pics as always Pat. Sorry I missed this one. Seems like you weaved the weather window perfectly this time.
    Sometimes you get lucky! More often not though...

    Quote Originally Posted by Skytow View Post
    Beautiful, thank you!
    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by lorazepam View Post
    Great report. That little mountain topper looks like a great CW rig. What kind of antenna? Beautiful pictures, I love that type of forest.
    It is a great rig for backpacking. It is an older kit-buit MTR and has 40/20/17 meters. I rebuilt an old TrailFriendly EFHW (10/20/40) for it and added a link for 17 meters.

  6. #6
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    The climb up to the Sterling fire tower is hard work but the view is always worth it. Awesome cloud action in your photos from the sunrise!

  7. #7
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    Thanks for posting this.I made the same route three years ago in reverse order.We went up the easier grade and came down the steep mountain the next day.There was snow on the ground at the campsite and the wind was dead calm.The view from the fire tower was amazing.Coming down the steep grade was a bit of an excruciating challenge and I was glad that I had packed my Tommy Copper knee sleeves which made all the difference.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Layne View Post
    The climb up to the Sterling fire tower is hard work but the view is always worth it. Awesome cloud action in your photos from the sunrise!
    Thanks! I am up there at least once a year, but it has always been on dayhikes. It was great to be up there for a sunset/sunrise.

    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    Thanks for posting this.I made the same route three years ago in reverse order.We went up the easier grade and came down the steep mountain the next day.There was snow on the ground at the campsite and the wind was dead calm.The view from the fire tower was amazing.Coming down the steep grade was a bit of an excruciating challenge and I was glad that I had packed my Tommy Copper knee sleeves which made all the difference.
    Just unpacked from a trip this weekend with Twistytee-Andy and got to experience those trails in the opposite direction. Baxter Creek is a grind in either direction and not sure either is preferable, but the scenery makes up for it. We had howling winds last night on Sterling and lots of slushy snow on the way down today. I am sure Andy or I will post something up for this trip, but here's a shot of Cosby Knob shelter as we were leaving it Saturday morning.

    Cosby Knob Shelter.jpg

  9. #9
    Senior Member Twistytee's Avatar
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    Appending to this thread rather than starting anew. Smkymtns and I completed the ~26 mile loop including Chestnut Branch to the AT, over to Crammer Ridge Fire Tower and then up the AT to Cosby Knob Shelter. Day 2 was back down to Low Gap Trail, across Big Creek and up Swallow Fork Trail to Mt Sterling Ridge Trail. We camped last night next to the Fire Tower on Mt Sterling and then finished by coming back down Baxter Creek. Temps hit 17 degrees on Sat but warmed up to a balmy mid 20s during the night. Mt Sterling stayed around 30 degrees for overnight lows but it felt much colder with the wind chill. My tap held until about 5am and then I had to get out to rescue a few pulled stakes.

    Below are a few of the highlights from the trip. Winter in the Smokies can be a magical place:

    Starting out along Chestnut and heading up to Cammerer Ridge for the Fire Tower:

    DSC02638 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    Day 1 Snow & Ice through the Trees on Chestnut Branch

    DSC02562 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    It wouldn't be the Smokies without some Clouds & Mist - Lookout off the AT

    DSC02580 by Twistytee, on Flickr


    DSC02586 by Twistytee, on Flickr
    Snow Man marks the Trail to Cammerer

    DSC02590 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    We made it! Fire Tower at Mt Cammerer:

    DSC02605 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    DSC02595 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    DSC02596 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    Taking lunch break in the tower and my water bottle is a block of ice from the hike up

    DSC02604 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    Day 2 view up Big Creek - my what a difference in elevation can do for the weather & views:

    DSC02621 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    DSC02618 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    Ending the hike on Baxter across Big Creek

    DSC02637 by Twistytee, on Flickr

    I didn't get any decent photos on Mt Sterling. The wind set-in early and we broke camp in the dark. Hopefully Pat can post some shots including the hammock set-up. He had a winter sock/top cover that I was eyeing rather jealously in the winter weather. All in all the 20 degree quilts worked well and my Superfly fought the wind on Mt Sterling like a champ. Can't wait to get back out and do another Smokies loop!

  10. #10
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    Great pics Andy! You must have been standing right next to me because I have a lot of the same pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of our camp on Mt Sterling either. But my hammock was set up between the same two trees as the previous trip, so just imagine that there was snow on the ground. The only pictures I took on Mt Sterling were a couple of campfire photos with my phone.


    Campfire on Mt Sterling by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

    I had a couple of new pieces of hammock gear to try out on this trip and I was very pleased with them. I have had a dyneema single-piece sleeve for my tarp since new and it has worked well, but I always have to flip it inside out to dry it out completely once I get home. So I ordered a single-piece mesh sleeve from TwoSpeed and thanks to Chris' super fast service, I was able to try it out on this trip. Very nicely made product and love the pockets for your ridgeline on each end. I will be ordering a two-piece set for my other tarp soon. The other two additions on this trip were the Warbonnet top cover and underquilt protector for my Blackbird XLC. Even though the temps were 20 degrees colder the first night, there was zero wind so I am not sure there was much benefit to the underquilt protector. But I really liked the top cover and in my psuedo scientific tests in the early morning, there was a 5-6 degree difference between the inside and outside temperature. But the underquilt protector sure came in handy on Mt Sterling where we were buffeted by strong winds all night. I wasn't real wild about the way the underquilt protector zips to the bugnet or top cover leaving the hammock 'loose' in the middle. I had trouble with keeping my top quilt wrapped around my left shoulder and not slipping between the hamoock and underquilt protector. I may be weird, but I like how the integrated top defines the inside of my hammock and keeps everything there.

    All of my photos from the trip are here https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzy7r9 but here's a few of my favorites.


    Andy on the AT by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    AT View by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Frosty by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Andy on the Mt Cammerer Trail by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Cosby Knob Shelter by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Cosby Knob Shelter by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Hammocks at Cosby Knob Shelter by Patrick Harris, on Flickr


    Mt Cammerer View by Patrick Harris, on Flickr

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