My outing at the start of last Monday was the tale of two days. This blog is day one which featured finishing a trail, in the Cherokee National Forest (CNF), that I have been flirting with for a couple of months the Doctor's Ridge Trail, and then camping at Old Forge. One went well (the hike) and the other not so much.
Let's talk about the good first and that was the hike on the Doctor's Ridge Trail. I had thought of doing this 1.1-mile trail a couple of times with the closest coming back in February but wasn't sure where to part. So, since the upper trailhead was on the way to Old Forge Campground I decided I would do it first. I figured it would be downhill because this trailhead is higher than the one on Greystone Road. But, when one thinks this they are sometimes wrong. This trail is actually easier from starting on Old Forge Road. Anyway, the trail heads down a quarter-mile before a turn left and flattens out.
At the halfway make it reaches a small branch before it heads up at a steep clip. You will notice it is steeper than the final hill on the return. Once topping it will flatten out before coming to a junction, to the right is the actual Doctor's Ridge Trail which goes down to Greystone Road. The other trail to the parking area at the corner of Walter's Road. Then is back the way you came. There is a winter view on the return. I think it was easier from Old Forge Road but it's not bad from either direction.
Well, that brings us to the aborted camping trip at Old Forge. After finishing the hike I drove on to Old Forge Campground. I need to say that I don't know if it was fully open because the bathroom was still locked. However, I paid my money for site number eight and set up my tent. Then this guy showed up and was just strange and gave off a weird vibe. I am not going to get into the whole story here, but since I was the only person camping it just didn't feel right. So, I packed up and headed home. While my camping excursion was canceled I still was coming back to hike on Tuesday for day two...
