Mt Sterling via Big Creek

Hello, and Whoa!!, what a great backpacking excursion (7/27-7/29/09). This walk began at the Big Creek trailhead which we followed the 5 mls. up to campsite #37. Here we set up a base camp late in the evening just before the first of several thunder showers began. It rained both nights and was very pleasant temperature wise despite the humidity.
Big Creek trail is relatively easy hike w/ a slight incline most of the way amounting to less than a 2000' elevation gain over the 5 ml. distance. This trail is a dual use trail and parallels Big Creek w/ several popular swimming holes along the first mile or two.
The #37 site is a large flat area in a bottom surrounded by mountains allowing access to several trails in different directions. We barely noticed the other campers at this location because of it's size and everyone contributing to the quiet peacefulness.
Monday we got a relaxed start up the Swallow Fork trail and were blessed w/ having the entire distance of the roundtrip dayhike to ourselves for observation, contemplation and discussion. The natural gifts of the green plants and blooming "rodo's", a version or two of Aster's, some Coneflowers, Indian Pipe, Bee-Balm, and the funky Turk's Cap near the top of Sterling, and other summertime blooms were spectacular and will bring me back again. This trail also parallels the creek it's named after and branches of itself and others for more than 2mls. of it's 4ml. distance.
We enjoyed the clouds atop Mt Sterling from the firetower, had lunch and walked to the watering hole for campsite #38, which is located up here, before we started our return trip. After finishing the filtering I stood up and turned around to see a healthy bear coming our way and only about 50' from us. It appeared as startled as I but only looked at me and continued walking when I said calmly, "hello, we're just getting some water but were finished and will be leaving now". I quietly told my hiking partner, who was still sitting w/ her back to the bear to stand up and not freak out that there was a bear right behind us. When she stood the bear stopped and I continued my "dialogue" w/ it ensuring it we were leaving and that there was plenty of water. My friend saw the bear and slowly spread her arms to appear bigger while asking me "is that a big bear?" Suddenly...in my mind I became a PhD wildlife biologist w/ a vast knowledge of the black bear in Southern Appalachia and responded "naaa, about average",(Deputy Fife). Which was probably true based on the limited number of bears I've seen. I'd guess it to have been around 200 lbs.
The curiosity of these remarkable animals is great and while it sniffed the air and watched us we slowly began moving out of the way and up the trail we had come at which point it began moving in the opposite direction.
Along the return trip of Swallow Fork the rewards were great w/ a new perspective and appreciation of the plants, animals and water.
Our return to the camp came just before the rain began to fall. Peace

A Weekend Walk

Hello, This excursion encompassed 3 days, 2 nights out, w/ lots of rain on the second day as I climbed the Swallow Fork Trail to Mount Sterling.
The walk began out of the Big Creek area w/ the first 2 miles a steep climb up Chestnut Branch Trail to the AT. A great "cardio" workout, if one so chooses.
I'd met a couple from Maryland leaving the parking area just before me, who were going to be walking the same route over the next few days as I was and we met again at the top of this 2 ml. "startup trail". We all agreed on it's challenging incline.
Now on the AT I continued to gain elevation at a lessor rate until reaching the Mt. Cammerer spur at which point I chose the .6 ml spur and to go sit on "White Rock" for lunch and lunch. Once finished here I put my boots on; after noticing the beginnings of a blister, and moved back to the AT and the almost 3 mls to Cosby Knob shelter where I'd be staying as campsite #37, was booked, on the computer at least. When the heavy storms woke me later that night I was glad to add the 1.6 mls RT spur to my trip.
The next morning I awoke, had coffee and oatmeal, w/ the one other man who was up and chain smoking cigarettes, and climbed back on top of my sleeping bag as the intermittent but often heavy rain continued. I thought I'd wait and see what developed w/ the weather as I would have at least partial light until near 9pm and would be walking about 9 mls to #38 on Mt Sterling. So I was in no hurry. The rest of the groups which filled the shelter that night began to stir over the next few hours until restlessness seized the group of men from Sevierville and vicinity and they began to put on their packs w/ differing levels of eagerness to set out. (It was interesting how one was wearing a bush-cheney '04 shirt, made me wonder how he can endorse a cause which opposes those things he talked so highly of,??, the outdoors)
This group set out after putting up there cell phones, no really, and were followed soon after by a small group who were hiking the AT section through the GSMNP, 75+ mls. They were from somewhere near Charlotte I believe and I invited them to view and contribute their experience on WMBB, if they'd like. The rain seemed to be stopping for a while anyway and so I finished my packing and said goodbye to Jessie who was hiking sections of the AT and would be completing the current section soon.
I hope she'll contact Meg the Hiker for future excursions.
As I walked the days route I stopped and appreciated several times the beautiful shades of green in different shapes and the full streams flowing along much of the Low Gap Trail and the Swallow Bottom trail which become Big Creek. Dude! That's a big creek! Down around #37 where I first saw Big Creek it looked as big as the Little River and the Swallow Fork was big for a while as I walked along the trail which paralleled this fork for almost all of the 4 mls which this trail extended.
About a mile from #37 it began to rain again and did so for most of the next 3 mls+.
The trail at times would be acting as a channel, or in many cases a pond, for the soaking rainfall.
As I trudged through this portion of my excursion I reviewed my preparedness, paid attention to physical challenges such as hypothermia and exhaustion,(and blisters), and kept a positive attitude about my learning through this experience.
I arrived at campsite #38, w/ the clouds shrouding the 5842' peak of Mt. Sterling, and wondered around the site area trying to determine where I wanted to set up my tent. Once done I set up and got to cooking some dinner, oatmeal and beef jerky, w/ an energy bar for desert. It happens that I grabbed something off my shelves at home that was not necessarily camper friendly so if I wanted something hot I'd have to have half of my breakfast, Ala, oatmeal.
The water for this site is about a half mile from the tent area down Baxter Creek Trail. While here I met up w/ my friends from Maryland again who had arrived already and were relaxing in there tent when I got there, and an avid hiker from Memphis who when he completed his excursion in a few days would have been BP'g in the GSMNP for around 3 weeks. Rock on! He said when he comes over from Memphis he likes to make the best of it.
The next day was a beautiful walk back down approx. 7 mls to the car.
Some notes here. The evergreens atop Mt Sterling and the vicinity were awesome as were the decaying remnants of the Hemlock's. Much of this walk was covered under the canopy of the forest, often open underneath for views in the "mid-day darkness" aided by the clouds. At one point (see picture) there was a bright hole in the flora which caused me to squint my eyes as I appreciated the open vista allowed by the break in the foliage and realized how much of a different world exist in these forest. As vast as my little world was as I walked under the trees this small bright opening put in perspective how small I really am and how important it is for me to take action to protect the wild life. Peace