Brief Description:
This National Recreation Trail takes us
from Waucheesi Bald down the west side of the mountain then across
Wildcat Creek in the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National
Forest.
Length:
6.2 miles
Difficulty Rating:
Moderate
Elevation Gain:
Lots of elevation loss, but not
too much elevation gain, maybe 500 feet.
Hike Leader:
Rick Harris 423-253-6358 (h)
Harrisri@aol.com
Directions to the Trailhead:
We will
leave from Hardee’s in Tellico Plains at 9 a.m. The trailhead is on Old
Furnace Road which turns off the Skyway across from the Tellico Beach
Drive-In. See the pamphlet
on our website for exact map or the trailhead and the trail. We will
leave cars at this trailhead, then drive to the top of Waucheesi Bald to
start our hike.
Trail Description:
This trail is a NRT first built by the Boy Scouts out of
Knoxville back in the 60s. However, the area that the trail traverses has
been damaged by several forest fires started by an arsonist in the 90s,
forcing closure of the trail. Ken Jones, myself and others have worked very
hard to reopen this trail in the last several months. It is now open and
well worth a hike. The hike will start on top of Waucheesi Bald, go down the
old fire tower road a ways then head off the steep west side of the mountain
on a series of
switchbacks. Eventually the trail crosses a creek, then
crosses the Bald River Road, then over a knob which experienced one of the
fires (some uphill, maybe 300 feet). The burned trees gives the area a
moonscape appearance and the views are great from here. Then we cross
Wildcat Creek Road and go down to the creek itself. We will wade across the
creek (bring wading shoes and a towel to dry your feet off afterwards), then
up the other side of the valley to our cars (the only significant uphill,
maybe 500 feet). We will then have to retrieve our cars on top of Waucheesi.
Afterwards, we can eat at one of the restaurants in Tellico Plains.
Post Trip Report:
Nine hikers went on this beautiful hike on a cool crisp spring day.
We were worried that the trip would be smoky from a controlled burn, but we
lucked out because the wind was blowing the smoke away from us. We left our
shuttle cars at the Old Furnace Road trailhead, then drove to the top of
Waucheesi Bald to start the hike around
10AM. The 360 degree view from the
top were fantastic. We could see the Cumberland Plateau, the White Bluffs on
Starr Mountain, Big Frog, Little Frog and the mountains along the state line
far to the northeast. We headed down the mountain first on the old Fire
Tower Road, then headed steeply down the west flank of the mountain on a
series of switchbacks to Mule
Pen Gap and Tobe Creek, where we stopped for
lunch. From there we crossed Bald River Road, then headed over the
burned-out area and crossed Wildcat Creek Road. We then reached Wildcat
Creek where we changed into river shoes and carefully crossed the deep
water. Jake played in the creek for at least a half hour, chasing minnows
and whatever. After drying our feet and putting our hiking shoes back on, we
climbed the valley up to our cars on Old Furnace Road. We then retrieved our
cars and finished the day off by eating supper at Nut'n Fancy in Tellico
Plains. Hikers included Rick and Brenda Harris with Jake their golden
retriever, James Anderson, Liz Carter, Pam Sullivan, Kenneth Johnson, Marc
Bernatti, Esther Nunley and Al Rymer.
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