Hickey Fork to Camp Creek Bald

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/18/2022	12.1 miles	7 hours 11 minutes	2,746'	2.2	711.4

Parking: 

• See 100 Favorite Trails Map

Maps:

• Gaia GPS app (for navigation)
• Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Tennessee-North Carolina, Maps 3&4 (not ideal for navigation)
• 100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge (for directions)

Directions:

• See 100 Favorite Trails map
• We also took a detour to see Chasteen Creek Cascade off of the Chasteen Creek Trail

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

• 100 Favorite Trails #44
• Lookout Tower Challenge, Camp Creek Bald

We joined Karen, Diane, Leslie, Kathy and Michael on a trip to help Karen finish her 100 Favorite Trails list. This hike takes a couple of side trails up to the Appalachian Trail. From there, it crosses the AT and continues to Camp Creek Bald. This area is very close to Jones Meadow, where we had just done an AT section hike a few days ago. We stopped and had lunch at what we thought was the chained off fire tower. It turns out it wasn't the tower at all :) From the communications tower, we continued just a little further up and found the short fire tower. The cab of the tower was locked. Nearby decaying buildings were filled with nasty looking barbed wire. We ended up doing this hike as a loop hike. Portions of the trip up were steep and a bit slippery, so we took an alternate route down, which was easier. All of us wondered why this hike was on the 100 Favorite Trails hike and didn't feel a strong urge to do it again. The trails were in some need of maintenance (especially a sawyer), and there were minimal views (at least in the summer).

Long log bridge with a support in the middle

Using a rope to help cross a slick rocky area

Massive blowdown

Not the fire tower

Short fire tower. Which also had barbed wire to help prevent people from trying to go to the top.

A bit of the view from how far we could climb

Looking down at one of the buildings filled with barbed wire

Look at that good dog in a down stay.

Cut leaf cone flower

A really hard log crossing across the trail.
Most of us needed help to not slide down the mountain.