FONTANA
Labor Day brought a multi-sport weekend for us. On Saturday, Christy competed in the Biltmore Lake Triathlon near Asheville. Afterwards, we headed to the Fontana area, where we planned some dayhikes and a mountain bike ride.
We headed for the mountains on Friday evening. We drove to Montreat (just east of Asheville) and spent the night in the campground there. I had called for reservations the day before and had snagged one of the last sites. It seemed like a nice campground, though we never really saw it. We arrived at dusk, and left well before dawn the next morning. The triathlon started early, forcing us to get up and break camp before 6am.
Christy completed the 750-meter lake swim, 20K bike ride, and 5K run while I spectated. She finished 5th in her age group, which was a pretty good showing, though she wasn't really happy with her performance.
Christy's sister Megan, Megan's boyfriend, Shawn, and our nephew Nathan arrived shortly after the race ended. We had lunch together before beginning the long drive to Fontana.
We were driving down a huge hill when we passed an unmarked police car. He pulled out behind us and followed us for 5 miles before turning on the blue lights. He certainly wasn't the typical traffic cop. His unmarked car had a scuba diving license plate on the front, and he wasn't even in uniform. He informed us that we had been going 67 in a 45mph zone, which came as quite a surprise. We thought we'd been driving 60 in a 55mph zone. He told us that 45mph zone was extremely well marked. (On the drive out Monday, I counted exactly 1 sign to this effect. One sign is enough, but does that constitute extremely well marked?)
To make matters worse, Christy couldn't find her license. She had needed it to check in for the triathlon and hadn't returned it to her wallet. The officer asked if she had any other ID, so she gave him her Scuba diving certification card. Given the scuba diving license plate on his car, it was worth a shot. A conversation about diving ensued, and Christy finally found an old, expired license. He let us go with a warning, and we were very careful to watch the speed limits the rest of the way. This was the first time I ever heard of someone getting out of a speeding ticket in the North Carolina mountains. Once we were back on the road, Megan called Christy on the cell phone. She had to know what had happened. Christy's response? "I showed him my boobs and he let us go."
We drove through Robbinsville and headed over to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. We finally arrived at the trailhead, but found the parking lot full. We parked in the middle of the road (along with a bunch of other people) and hit the trail. I'd wanted to bring Christy here for years, but the long drive had always prevented it. Shawn was already impressed, and we hadn't even left the parking lot. He raved about the beauty of the forest, but I told him he hadn't seen anything yet.
We hiked the double-loop trail through the largest remaining virgin forest in the eastern United States. Joyce Kilmer is more like a sanctuary than an ordinary forest. The trail took us past huge hemlocks and massive tuliptrees. The largest trees were well over 100 feet tall and over 16 feet around. We stopped for numerous photo opportunities and reveled in the beauty of the woods.
We finished our 2-mile hike and drove to Fontana Village to camp. The drive took us along the lovely shores of foggy Cheoah Lake before we reached the campground just below Fontana dam. The campground was crowded and very open, making privacy hard to come by. The location was ideal though, with the Smokies on one side and numerous attractive destinations in the Nantahala National Forest on the other.
One of those attractions is Fontana dam itself. At almost 500', it is the highest dam in the eastern United States. We had camp set up by 6:30, so Shawn, Nathan, and I decided to hike up to the top before dinner.
We found the dam trail at the far end of the dam campground. The hike up the dam hill was pretty tough, but switchbacks made the grade reasonable. The dam path was blazed blue, but we still missed a tricky turn were the route leads off the heavily used horse trail. A short hike through dam thorns and brambles led to a gravel road. We were almost at the top of the dam hill when Nathan announced that he was thirsty and he wanted to go back. We told him that there was a water fountain at the dam, and that we'd get water quicker by continuing on. He threw a brief tantrum, but eventually agreed to continue.
We reached the top of the dam a few minutes later. All tears were forgotten as Nathan raced right past the water fountains at the visitor's center to run out along the dam. We hiked along the road that crosses the dam, and Nathan was fascinated by it. The views down the Little Tennessee River past the campground were stunning, and were only topped by those across Fontana Lake to the Smokies.
We eventually walked over to the visitor's center, where we found the dam water fountain out of order. We took Nathan into the bathroom, where we all got water out of the sinks. We found showers here as well, but decided to return to camp first before cleaning up.
That evening we cooked burgers on the coals before enjoying some adult beverages around the fire. We enjoyed a sky full of stars and the river flowing by before retiring for the evening.
SNOWBIRD
We got a late start on Sunday. We had debated hiking in the Smokies, but ultimately decided to explore the Snowbird Wilderness. My only hike there had been a 3-day backpacking trip about 7 years earlier. All I remembered from that trip was a bunch of stream crossings, miles of thorn-covered trail, and an encounter with 3 undercover FBI agents hot on the trail of Eric Rudolph. I was eager to get back there and see what else the area had to offer.
The drive to the trailhead was bewildering, but we eventually found our way to the dirt forest road that follows Big Snowbird Creek. The road features a number of primitive (and free) campsites along the stream. It would've been an ideal place to camp, but every site was passed was occupied.
We reached the trailhead, and were surprised to find a number of cars already parked there. My previous trip had been over a holiday weekend, but the three FBI agents posing as fishermen had been the only other people around. It looked like we'd be running into a few more folks this time.
Two trails leave from the parking area, and we promptly started out on the wrong one. We accidentally followed the Kings Meadow Trail to a bridge over Big Snowbird Creek before realizing our error. We returned to the Snowbird Trail, and followed it on an old, rocky railroad grade well above the creek. It was a pleasant walk through the woods for 3 miles until we reached a small clearing at an old homesite. The sunny opening provided a pleasant spot for lunch. The remains of an ancient bus were nearby, gradually rusting away to nothing.
We saw a couple groups of hikers and a few backpackers before we resumed our hike by crossing Sassafras Branch and hiking deeper into the wilderness. A mile later we reached our first destination of the day. We found a steep path that led down through the rhododendrons to the creek. Shawn and I explored it, and found the descent to be downright hazardous. I slipped and fell once for my trouble. To make matters worse, the path came out well downstream, and out of sight, of Big Falls. We went back up, and discouraged the girls and Nathan from coming down. After a brief discussion, they decided to head back. Megan wasn't feeling well, Christy was sore from her triathlon, and 8 miles is pretty much Nathan's limit. Shawn was up for more though, and I wanted to make it to Middle Falls. We decided to continue, while the girls and Nathan would take their time heading back.
We went about 100 yards before reaching 2 more side trails heading down. We took the second one, and followed it down to a rock at the brink of the falls. Big Falls isn't, which is to say that it's actually rather small. It's scenic though, and there is a great swimming hole at the base. To get there, we probably should have taken the second trail leading down from the main path. Remember this if you hike the Snowbird Wilderness and want to get a good look at the falls.
We continued upstream and missed a key junction. As a result, we ended up at a creek crossing. There were several folks here puzzling over maps they'd gotten at the Snowbird Lodge. That probably explains the numerous cars in the parking area. Apparently customers of the lodge come out here frequently. We doubled-back, and found the correct trail, which heads up some steps away from the obvious path. We followed this up and then back down to a bridge over the stream. On the far side, we found a campsite and another junction.
The scenic option is to continue directly upstream. However, this requires wading the creek a dozen times. We didn't have much time, so we opted for the bypass trail, which took us over a fair hill before descending back to the creek. Eventually we rejoined the main trail, and headed back downstream. Before long we reached another side path down to the creek. We followed it to the brink of a large pool at the base of Middle Falls. This waterfall is quite lovely. Although it's only about 20' high, it's very wide and the water tumbles over a sheer rock face. Its height may not be that impressive, but it is one of the prettiest waterfalls in the area.
After a nice break, we hiked back upstream. Instead of retracing our steps, we decided to make a loop over Burntrock Ridge. We followed the trail to a ford, which Shawn negotiated barefoot. Then we followed a lightly traveled footpath up a small stream. Eventually the path left the valley and climbed across the wooded crest of the ridge. A short but steep descent followed, and we arrived at a nice campsite on Sassafras Branch. Just downstream, we found a pair of marked side trails to Sassafras Falls. The second led to the base, which provided a nice view of the high cascade. Shawn was very impressed with this waterfall, though I thought the low water level took away from it.
We followed the trail another mile until it rejoined the Snowbird Trail. From there, we backtracked on the main route for 3 more miles, finally reaching the car well over an hour after Christy, Megan, and Nathan did. They had enjoyed a pleasant afternoon playing in the creek, and didn't seem to mind having to wait for us. I think they were just glad they hadn't finished the full 11-mile hike.
We headed back to camp. On the way, Christy asked Shawn and I if we planned to hike up to the top of Fontana Dam again. My response? "Hell no, I ain't doing another dam hike!"
TSALI
Megan, Shawn, and Nathan headed home early on Monday morning. Christy and I had different plans. We drove over to the Tsali recreation area to do some mountain biking. Well, at least Christy did some mountain biking. Somehow, my helmet wasn't in the car. I had no idea how that had happened, but I wasn't about to ride the Tsali Trails without it. Instead, Christy rode most of the right loop on her own. The right and left loops are open to bikes on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. On the other days, those trails are open to horses. While Christy was riding, I decided to go for a trail run. I ran for 40 minutes on the Thompson loop, and it nearly killed me. It's been a long time since I've run in the mountains, and I've forgotten what it's like to run uphill for a mile or more without a break in the terrain. Christy actually got back before me after having ridden most of the right loop. She was still pretty sore from her race, so that was enough to satisfy her.
We headed for home, but decided to take the scenic route. I had never driven the section of the parkway from Balsam Gap to highway 215, so we decided to check it out. As luck would have it, the rain that had held off all weekend finally found us. We drove that section of the parkway, but I still didn't see much of it.
We did make one stop on the way. We did a short hike on the Mountains-To-Sea Trail to a meadow full of blueberries. We took along ziplock bags, and spent 30 minutes or so collecting blueberries for the next weekend's pancakes. It was a good time, despite the fog and drizzle and an unseasonable chill in the air. Eventually the rain picked up, and we hustled a mile back to the car.
Our visit to the Fontana area was a good one, but I left feeling unsatisfied. We had originally planned to canoe on secluded Calderwood Lake, but ultimately decided to leave the canoe behind. I hadn't gotten the chance to bike the Tsali trails either, and our original plan to rent inflated kayaks and paddle the Nantahala Gorge went unfulfilled. We'll definitely be back to do those things, and more.
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