This is the description of an approximately 10 mile, three day, weekend backpacking trip with a three thousand foot change in elevation, the equivalent of a 16 mile hike on level ground. The trip will be in the Joyce Kilmer Widerness in the Nantahala and Cherokee National Forests west of Robbinsville, N.C. off state road 1127. Trails covered will include Naked Ground, Bobs Bald, and Stratton Bald Trails. The trip is intended for scouts of varied experience in hiking and camping from intermediate on. Total distance under pack will be approximately 10 miles. Altitudes will range from 2200 to 5200 ft. Maximum elevation change is 1000 ft in 0.7 miles. Except for two stiff climbs going in, the grades are generally moderate. The actual trail distance does not indicate the strenuous nature of the trip. On Saturday, after a three mile hike and gradual thousand foot climb, we have a final pitch of another thousand feet over approximately 0.7 miles. This is a very tiring but manageable day: the equivalent of a seven mile day on level ground but feels like fifteen. Temperatures may range from the 20's F. at night to the upper 80's. Most of the trail is shaded.
The Joyce Kilmer Wilderness is one of the few remaining stands of virgin forest in the eastern United States. The Tulip Tree or Poplar grove near the southern entrance is magnificent. The flora vary srikingly with sharp lines between stands of deciduous and coniferous forest. The hike in along Little Santeetlah Creek provides opportunities to lunch beside downed hemlocks with rings that can’t be counted during one meal. The view from Naked Ground, the bald gap at the head of the Little Santeelah Creek watershed, is not to be missed. This is a place to come back to.
|
Telephone contact may be tried; call 593-0290 (Mr. Filpus) or 740-4351 (Mr. Hock). Much of the area has poor cell phone coverage.
See the troop's personal equipment list for details. Sneakers or boots are recommended as foot gear. The pack should contain sufficient material for a three day campout. Assume extremes of weather; i.e., pack clothes for 20OF to 85OF. PACK as LIGHTLY as YOU REASONABLY CAN ! Share items where you can to reduce weight. Optimize tent use to reduce weight.
Food (except Thursday lunch) and equipment will be coordinated at the troop meetings by patrol. Pack a bag lunch for Thursday. Pack a no-cook lunch for Sunday that can be easily distributed to individual scouts. We hope to be on the road by lunch-time, but would rather pack the extra meal than be hungry.
Estimated travel time is six hours from Chapel Hill.
I40, Smoky Mountain Exressway, US19 west to Topton, US129 north to Robbinsville, SR1127 to Joyce Kilmer Memorial entrance and Naked Ground trailhead.
Drivers will leave Chapel Hill Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. We will assemble at the Naked Ground trailhead between 12 noon and 1 p.m.
Reliable water is available at camp and along most of the trail to Naked Ground. No water is available coming down much of the Stratton Bald Trail; be sure to have 2 liters of canteen space for the Saturday hike. Come with full canteens for lunch Thursday and the trail afterwards.
Pack a complete change of clothes, shoes, and a towel to leave in the car at the trail head.
The following book and maps were used in the preparation of this material and are relevant to he trip but are not required:
Joyce Kilmer - Slickrock Wilderness Trail Map, National Forest Service, 1976.
Joyce Kilmer -Slickrock Wilderness and Citico Creek Wilderness Trail Map, National Forest Service, 1988.
Santeetlah Creek, N.C., 7½ Minute Quadrangle, U.S. Geological Survey, 1940.
Tapoco, N.C. - Tenn., 7½ Minute Quadrangle, U.S. Geological Survey, 1940.
North Carolina County Maps, Ed. C.J. Puetz, c. 1987.
North Carolina State Transportation Map, 1989.