Porters Creek Trail, Smokies

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
2/29/2024	7.8 miles	5 hours 46 minutes	1,533'	1.8 mph	115.7 miles

Parking: 

• Porters Creek Trail Trailhead, Greenbrier Road. Parking pass required.

Map:

• National Geographic Great Smoky Mountains National Park East

Directions:

• Take Porters Creek Trail to the end. Return the same way. 

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

• 100 Favorites - Porters Creek Trail

We left Krumm at home and joined Phyllis and Paul on a 100 Favorites hike. We took our car without our Smokies parking pass, but luckily there was a pay station on Greenbrier Road before the trailhead. On the hike we passed a set of stone steps on the right leading to a clearing. I believe this was the location of an old homesite, as there were several stone walls near it. Continuing on, we reached the Ownsby cemetery. We noticed many of the graves were from 1907-1909. We wondered if there was some sort of outbreak at the time. We continued on and visited the collapsing John Messer barn. Behind it was a house built by a hiking club in the early 1900's - but camping at it is not allowed. We continued on, paralleling Porters Creek. We passed by a hill covered in green already, and the very beginning of spring wildflowers. I bet the area will be carpeted in them in another month. We passed Fern Branch Falls. On the way back we climbed higher to get a closer view of the falls. We continued past the falls to the end of the trail at campsite 31. We stopped and Glen and I made a hot lunch. We loved this hike, but there was a ton of blowdown on it. Multiple waist high trees to navigate over! On our hike back, we met a group of women from Maryland who travel together every year, and this year was their Smokies year. So cool!

The beginning of the trail is on a gravel road.

Ownby cemetery

Short detour to a barn and cabin

It looks like the barn is being dismantled. It sounds like its collapse was very recent.

Spring house

I read that it was allowed to be used by club members until the early 1980's

There were 3 old mill stones on the property

Checking out the second floor of the hiking cabin.

Violets

A sturdy but still a bit vertigo inducing bridge

One of many trees down on the trail.

Working on climbing over this blowdown.

Fern Branch Falls

Campsite 31, the end of Porters Creek Trail.
The little brown book mentions this site gets lots of bear visits.

Trying out a wood stove.

Everyone has an opinion on how to get a fire started....

More blowdown

In a few weeks, I bet the ground will be carpeted with these.

Climbing higher up the waterfall.