Fontana lake to Forney creek

[JoeyB]

I shoved off from the Fontana marina at 3:30p.m. wed.
arrived at the mouth of Forney at 8:30p.m.
1st time in quite a while since i've seen Fontana as full as it is right now.
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hit the trail early Thursday morning hoping to hit Clingmans dome and head back down Forney ridge trail before the impending rain arrived.
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made it up to the AT then up to the dome.
hot footed it down Forney ridge trail and hit Andrews bald just in time for a bolt of lightning to flash across the sky, resulting in a long clap of rolling thunder. at that point it wasn't a good time to be 6'3" and standing there taking photos.
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spent the rest of the afternoon hiking down in the rain.
finally after turning onto the Springhouse branch, it began to come down in buckets. thankfully i found a trailside rhodo tunnel to hastily throw up the hammock and tarp, where the next 14 hrs. were spent watching the rain and listening to thunder rumbling and deadfall falling and sleeping a deep sleep that you get nowhere else but in the woods.

up at dawn the next morning to finish up the last few miles back to the lake.
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but not before one last blast of weather, paddling west with a south wind and seeing this, will get you paddling with a bit of extra intensity......
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3 days of paddling and hiking with the entire lake and mountains to myself.
i can't for the life of me figure out why more people don't get outside and enjoy the variety of things to do in our backyard.

[ed bell]

Great trip report Joey....Spent many nights out on Fontana's shores out of a kayak or canoe...At certain times you feel like the only ones out there and it's provided some great memories.

Thanks

[JoeyB]

i've been spending quite a bit of time there lately.

i really like the style of all the creek trails that lead up to the AT.
(hazel,eagle,forney)
slow, steady elevation gains, with countless swift creek crossings.
then they all have that sting in the tail as the last few miles change to a steep, in your face pitch.

then add to that the kayak trip at the start and finish, and you really come back home earning that lazy boy recliner time.

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[SGT Rock]

Very sweet. I haven't been to Andrews Bald yet. Looks nice - is there a campsite near there?

[JoeyB]

ya' know, i was surprised when i didn't see any campsites on the entire forney ridge trail.

#68 on forney creek, and #64 on the end of the spring house branch trail at the noland creek trail are the closest ones around. but neither one are even close to andrews bald.

thankfully with a hammock and tarp you can.........

[SGT Rock]

Say no more...

[sheepdog]

sweet

[Bearpaw]

Very nice report! I loved mixing up boating and hiking.


Very sweet. I haven't been to Andrews Bald yet. Looks nice - is there a campsite near there?

Andrews makes a nice day hike from the Dome parking lot, about a mile there and back. The nearest campsite is a couple of miles downhill on Forney Creek Cascade.