Date: 2016-10-28
From: Watauga Dam Rd.

To: Dennis Cove Rd. 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Another moving day. We had everything ready to go and met Carl outside for our shuttle at 7 am. We didn¢t have cell service or WiFi, but Carl reported that the rain was over and we had a nice hiking day on tap. He was right, the day was absolutely splendid. Good news since we were going to hike through a beautiful section of the AT. I drove our car to the end point for today and parked it there, then Carl drove both of us to our starting trailhead. Here¢s an overview of the route. We started at Wilbur Dam Road with a quick climb to a rocky knob that overlooks Watauga Lake (the sun was just coming up), followed by a rapid descent to a service road. After a 0.4 mile walk along the road, we crossed the Wilbur earthen dam that creates the lake. For the next 3 miles the AT weaved around the periphery of the lake, sometimes rising well above the lake then dipping down to the beach level. Along the way we passed the Watauga Lake Shelter. This shelter was closed several years ago due to bear activity in the area. It was reopened this spring, but the bears came back and the shelter was again closed and no camping is permitted in the area. We¢ve heard rumors that it may be closed permanently. Eventually we wound around the lake to a recreational area with a large sandy beach and a variety of park amenities. At this point we crossed a busy road and started a 3-mile steady climb to the top of Pond Flats, followed by a long steady descent about the same distance. At this point we had about 3 miles left in the hike. But it was an interesting 3 miles. The descent from Pond Flats took us to the banks of Laurel Fork creek and we hiked along the creek upstream to Laurel Falls. The creek is relatively wide and cascades down a rocky course. The AT crosses the stream several times. At one point the AT diverges from the stream and climbs the side of the canyon up toward the Laurel Fork Shelter. The trail goes across some interesting rock outcroppings and offers bird¢s eye views of the stream below. Then it drops quickly back to the side of the creek. Now the trail gets closer to the water¢s edge and finally seems to disappear around a large rock formation. But in fact it curves around the rock on a narrow ledge not far above the water level. Once around the rock the trail starts to climb over a rock scramble that ends a hundred yards later with a terrific view of Laurel Falls. This year the falls is diminished from previous years because of the drought in the area, but it¢s still beautiful. A side trail leads around to the base of the falls where swimming is permitted, but there is a dangerous whirlpool close to the falls. If you don¢t take the side trail, the only other route is up a steep rocky incline. It¢s not really a rock scramble since there is a path of rock steps that leads all the way to the top. But it¢s a very long and tiring climb. I would hazard a guess that it may be 300 feet or more. Fortunately we have slack packs instead of heavy backpacks. The trail continues to climb, but less aggressively. Then it passes through several notches, skirts along a rock wall and crosses another creek on a high footbridge. Once across the footbridge, the trail levels off and a half-mile later pops out on Dennis Cove Road (where our car was parked). All-in-all it¢s a unique section of trail, with really interesting sights and terrain and we had gorgeous weather. What could be better?(A side note for John S. and Pete S.: the last photo shows Princess with orange draped over her slack pack. It may look suspiciously like UT gear, but it¢s all that we could find to hopefully alert hunters with itchy trigger fingers. At least it¢s good for something.) After our hike, we drove to Butler, TN and the Iron Mountain B&B where we¢ll spend the night. We haven¢t stayed here before, but it¢s very nice. A spacious home, built to be a B&B with outdoor decks and terrific long range views of the mountains. A short distance down the driveway is a trail that leads directly up the mountain to the AT.