Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Dec 14 Twenty-Mile Loop Hike

 


It's not a 20 mile hike. It's an 8 mile hike in the Twenty-Mile section of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. A nice loop hike can be done from the Twenty-Mile Ranger Station. I followed lovely creeks and many many bridged crossings. The morning started out freezing but warmed quicker than yesterday. 



Starting out on a gravel/dirt road, it's an easy walk alongside Twenty-Mile Creek. At the first trail junction, I headed left up the Wolf Ridge Trail alongside Moore Spring Branch. Since this is also a horse trail, each crossing had a log bridge and a ford. The cold start meant that there was a thin layer of ice on the logs, making for slow but safe crossings. 


At the next trail junction, I turned right onto the Twenty-Mile Loop trail. Although this is not a loop itself, it does enable one to accomplish a loop by connecting the Wolf Ridge Trail and the Twenty-Mile Trail. No longer alongside a creek, this trail ascended and descended over 3 miles to the next junction.  


Turning right again, now on the the Twenty- Mile Trail and back toward the trailhead. This trail was an old road and looks like it could be passable for 4WD vehicles. There was a side trail leading to a series of cascades. 


Much of this trail had a swath cut in it from recent rains. It even crossed some bridges like an aqueduct. 






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