The Cataloochee Divide
To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below:
Big Fork Ridge Loop(Opens in new window)
10 mile loop walk out of the Cataloochee area of the Great Smokies. The walk started and ended at the Cataloochee trailhead for the Big Fork Ridge Trail and included Caldwell Fork Trail and Rough Fork Trail – December 13, 2008
The huge enclosure used for the original elk release
No recent walks and not much exercise in general lately for Old Dan, but I am thankful for the time to rest and reconnect with family. But with the Thanksgiving Holiday now in the rear view I look forward to working off the turkey, gravy, and endless desserts back in the Smokies sometime soon. For now though, I’ll have to look back at a late Fall walk from last year in the BW days (BW = Before Website). Those looking for a nice workout and a relatively short dayhike to go with the short daylight hours of late Fall should check this loop out. It contains many of the typical Smoky Mountain highlights, such as nice creeks, big trees, historical homesites, and of course the famous Smokies elk herd.
Views along the trail
The walk starts out on the Big Fork Ridge Trail across from one of the tended fields that is frequented by the elk herd of Cataloochee. The elk weren’t there on this cold morning but would be there for a show at the end of my walk. The Big Fork Ridge Trail crosses Rough Fork and passes the huge enclosure that was used to contain and orient the original 25 elk before they were re-introduced into the Smokies a few years ago. After passing the enclosure the trail immediately climbs to the top of the Big Fork Ridge, a ridge that seperates the Caldwell Fork drainage and the Rough Fork drainage. The trail then descends the other side of the ridge into the Caldwell Fork drainage, connecting with Caldwell Fork Trail after crossing the namesake creek. The loop I would do today then turns right and follows Caldwell Fork Trail as it climbs up to the intersection with the the Rough Fork Trail. Don’t forget to check out the big old Poplar trees on a short spur to the right (marked with a sign).
To complete the loop I then turn right and descend Rough Fork Trail, with the highlight of this section being the restored Woody House about 1 mile from the end of the trail. The Woody House is a milled-lumber homesite that was once a productive farm. The original house was log but was covered with milled lumber once it became available early in the 20th century. Ending the day with a big show from the elk herd is always a treat, and I drove home to South Carolina satisfied with another great day in the Smokies.
A bull elk tends to his herd
Low elevation on my 10 mile loop walk was around 2820’ at the Big Fork Ridge trailhead and high elevation was near 4100’ near the Caldwell Fork Trail/Rough Fork Trail intersection. The walk included about 2580’ of overall climbing.
To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below:
Big Fork Ridge Loop(Opens in new window)