Getting Our Feet Wet on Forney Creek

The Forney Creek Trail follows its namesake for most of its 11.4 miles.  Forney Creek is one of several major creeks that rise on the flanks of Clingmans Dome and other high mountains along the "spine of the Great Smoky Mountains" along the NC/TN border.  Springs and drainages feed into the main stem of these streams, and as they tumble down the mountains, they gain momentum and volume of water.  On the North Carolina side, many of these streams flow into Lake Fontana, often having their own embayments where the mouths of these streams have been inundated by the lake.

Our hike began at the Clingmans Dome parking lot o the Forney Ridge Trail. This high elevation trail follows Forney Ridge, but we only hiked the first mile to get to the start of Forney Creek Trail.  Going a little farther along the ridge will take you to Andrews Bald, a popular destination for day hikers from the Clingmans Dome area.

The start of the trail at high elevation near Clingmans Dome.

At first the trail dropped sharply through the spruce forest crossing some seeps and small streams that are the headwaters of Forney Creek.  Before long, the sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance and the trail began become less steep as it followed a logging railroad grade.  This made our overall descent easier.

Cascades on the upper part of Forney Creek 

Natural water slide at Camp 68.

Iconic Great Smoky Mountan stream: lot of rocks and green moss.

 There are no bridges on the upper 7 miles of Forney Creek, except for a few footlogs over tributaries. Unlike most footlogs in the Smokies, these have no handrails, so slow and easy get you across.  There are seven major crossings of Forney Creek on this section, some rock hops and at least four required wading through knee-deep water.  On most the current was swift, but manageable.

Retaining wall along a section of the old railroad grade that serves as the trail. 

One of several wet crossings.

As the elevation dropped as the day went on, the temperatures warmed quickly. Each stream crossing gave us a chance to refresh our feet in the cool water.  There were no major problems on the crossings as we stepped carefully and used our poles. The trickiest crossing involved climbing over trees washed down the stream and some large rocks against the far bank.

Another crossing.

After a last crossing, we put our boots on again and followed the Lakeshore Trail to the tunnel that marks the "Road to Nowhere" that was begun on the North Shore of Lake Fontana but never finished by the U.S. government.  At the Lakeshore Trail parking area a bus met us to take us back to Clingmans Dome and our cars parked there.  While the bus ride adds an hour-and-a half to the day, it allows one to get in a long hike without having to arrange other transportation or set up a lengthy car shuttle.

Our hike covered 15.5 miles, and I netted about 9 new trail miles.  Now that I have over 420 miles of the 800+ miles of trails in the Smokies, I am getting more "frequent hiker miles" or bonus miles by having to hike over some trails to reach new trails or to finish a hike.

One last picture from the day.