You Never Step In The Same River Twice

AT to Charlie’s Bunion/Sweat Heifer Creek Trail/Kephart Prong Trail – 10/5/12 - 12 Miles

Very excited this morning, anticipating a trifecta of my favorite things:  (1) hiking on a gorgeous fall day in the Great Smoky Mountains (2) with new friends who have never been to Charlie’s Bunion (3) plus a few extra miles on my own.  I must figure out a way to do this for a living. 

After breakfast this morning Christine, our GSMNP ranger-leader-friend for our Trails Forever volunteer week, treated us to a slide presentation she had created from our work week and gave each of us a DVD copy.  A great catalogue of memories of our unique experience!  After that, our group began to dissolve, a couple of people leaving for the long drive home, some hiking in different areas.  Sarah and Helen and I headed to Newfound Gap to check out the Appalachian Trail – Charlie’s Bunion, here we come! 

A beautiful beginning

The AT was busy, of course, because Charlie’s Bunion is one of the most popular and iconic points in the Park.  The hike is moderate, gradually gaining elevation, and in many places you can look down on both sides as though you are straddling a wide fence dividing North Carolina and Tennessee.  For many visitors this is the only place they set foot on the AT and not everyone makes it the four miles out to the Bunion (remember, it’s four miles back).  But every step of the way was a celebration for me.

Dog hobble showing its fall colors was the stand-out of the day

We passed Tina, Frieda and David along the way and caught up with the other Sarah from our work crew at Icewater Spring Shelter.  We had a leisurely lunch, enjoying the sunshine after work days in the rain, and the four of us pushed on to the Bunion.

Charlie’s Bunion is a magnificent rock bluff facing Tennessee, once sleeping underneath the typical Smokies soil and trees and then uncovered by two events:  a fire in 1925 that destroyed the vegetation followed by a particularly vicious cloudburst in 1929 that washed away the exposed soil.  A crew that included Horace Kephart and his friend Charlie Conner took a hike to check out the damage after the storm.  The story goes that when Charlie removed his boots and socks to tend to his sore feet, Kephart likened Charlie’s bunion to the rocky outcropping. 

Helen and I out on the farthest point of the Bunion

Our Trails Forever crew with a random guy from Atlanta.  He took photos of us first and we invited him to join in.  Loads of people at the Bunion today and we had to take turns to get pictures.

Mount LeConte, the second highest point of Tennessee and third highest point in the Smokies.

We left Charlie’s Bunion and began our backtrack on the AT.  My friends were hiking back to our starting point at Newfound Gap and I planned a longer route via Sweat Heifer Creek Trail and Kephart Prong Trail.  At Icewater Spring Shelter we parted ways.

The intersection of Sweat Heifer Creek Trail and the AT.  From here I’ve got about 3,000 feet of descent.  Hope my knees are ready for it!

I’ve hiked Sweat Heifer Creek Trail only once before, in the opposite direction, climbing up from Kephart Prong to the AT, so this excursion was a sweet treat indeed, in a different season and rolling downhill.  The previous hike was solo, cold and crunchy with snow and there was evidence that I had company ahead of me.  Never met them face-to-face, though.

The first quarter mile of trail appeared unloved, narrow and faint, but eventually it grew more distinct.  Purple asters, the last of the fall flowers, were hanging on. 

A very recent blowdown.  I had to suck in my belly to scoot around this one.

“Hiking Trails Of The Smokies,” aka the “brown book” contains descriptions of every trail in the GSMNP, but the write-up of this trail is surprisingly lacking.  At about the halfway point there is a sharp left turn (going downhill)at a gap where there are rusted buckets and other artifacts, perhaps evidence of a work crew from years long past.  There is no mention of this spot in the brown book. 

Soon after this point I heard a rush of water that grew louder and louder.  Funny, I didn’t make much note of water features on my prior hike.  I wonder why not?  The first cascade didn’t photograph well but was really beautiful in person, sparkling in the afternoon sun.  This is a tributary to Sweat Heifer Creek. 

The thick carpet of leaves crunched with each step and I made many attempts to photograph the trail at ground level.  How about if I blow this up to life size and hang it on the inside of my front door?  Then every time I leave home I’ll feel like I’m walking right into the Smokies.

Again, the increasing roar of water and this time it was the real thing, Sweat Heifer Cascades, where the creek tumbles across the trail, spilling from ledges into pools and forming more cascades.  This hike just kept getting better!  My heart was joyful.

Just before the junction with Kephart Prong Trail I reached a footbridge crossing Kephart Prong. 

I didn’t realize at the time how close I was to the intersection and the Kephart Shelter.  I sat on the bridge to have a snack and watch the ever-changing flow of water.  Paraphrasing a saying attributed to Heraclitus, “You can never step in the same river twice,” what does it mean for you?  Many interpretations.

A few steps later, I walked up to Kephart Shelter and chatted with the fellows who were stopping there for the night – oh, how I envied them!

The two-mile walk down Kephart Prong Trail went quickly and soon I was at my car, set to return to base camp for one last night with the trail crew.  This was a rare time when I was not ready to end my hike – I felt I could keep going for miles.  But the sun was going down soon and all good things must come to an end…until next time.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares drop off like autumn leaves.”  ~John Muir