Upper Bald River Wilderness
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- A two night backpacking trip with my son beginning at the top of Waucheesi Mountain in Cherokee National Forest, South District and descending to the Benton Mackaye Trail at Six Mile Gap. On day two we take the Benton MacKaye Trail south to Kirkland Creek Trail and drop into Bald River Wilderness. Then on the third and final trail we backtrack to Waucheesi Mountain.
Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed the video.
Backpacking With Bryan DeLay webpage: bryandelay.com/
• Upper Bald River Wilde...
Hi Bryan- enjoyed the video! Great that Nathan could join you. Always nice to see the trails and forest in the NC/ TN area! Really pretty sunset the first day … nice to have it warm up and the sun come out the next couple days. The teens seems pretty cold, but the 50s sound quite pleasant! 👌👍👍☀️☀️
Thanks Jennifer! Except for the wind on the first night, the temperatures were perfect.
Great hike, Bryan.. Nice to see Nathan with you.
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Thanks Larry! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Another great video Bryan , thank you so much.
Thank you Mark! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Beautiful camping site and you did lots of hike in this wonderful area. Really love this awesome adventures😍❤️👍👍
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Great to see you Bryan! Wonderful video. The woods are so different in the Winter and without the foliage you can see so many more things. Thanks for bringing us along on this trip!!
Thanks Chris! The mountains are totally different in summer and winter aren't they.
We both always enjoy your hikes……looks like a beautiful trip!
Thank you so much Skip and Cherie!
I enjoyed watching this one Bryan.✌
Thank you Senior Hiker 77!
Hi Bryan
Thanks for another awesome video. I enjoy your adventures immensely. Have a great day and say “hi” to Nathan for me.👍👍
🦉
Thank you Danny! Nathan's on a 10 day trip right now, so I tell him when he gets back.
A very pleasant looking trip.
Hopefully we’ll have an early spring.
Yes, a very nice little trip. I'm ready for spring too.
I appreciate your videos Bryan. I have some ole rotten knees. Cannot do the many many miles in a day that these younger folks can do.......I have always wanted to do more backpacking. You are giving me some great ideas for some short 1-2 day backpacking trips without like 20 miles of hiking in a day. Thank you. Grateful to find your channel.
Thank you very much Kim! Glad you have been able to discover some places to go backpacking.
I enjoy being out there with you, from the seat of my recliner. I love to go when I get the opportunity. Keep the videos coming .
Thanks Lauren! Hopefully from your recliner you got to experience the look and feel of this trip.
As always good video and really nice selection of music.
Thanks Johnny!
Another enjoyable video, Bryan. Haven't been there but it sure looked nice, and then when you said you didn't see anyone all of day 2, I thought wow, nice outing for sure!
Tom
Thanks Tom! Actually I forgot to mention it, but we didn't see anyone the entire trip.
Nice to be able to see the surrounding area due to the time of year (bare trees). I hope it was not too cold for you although I'm sure you're acclimatized to cold weather. Your new intro format looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Oh yes, the winter views are nice. The day before I got there it was cold, but not for the three days I was out. Of course it helps to have the right equipment. Thanks Rick!
I keep talking myself out of trips into that new wilderness, but you've inspired me to cross the road from the Bald River Gorge and check it out.
You should check it out some time. There are only two trails to access the wilderness from Bald River Road; Kirkland Creek Trail and Brookshire Creek Trail. Kirkland Creek Trail crosses Bald River immediately and there is about 13 crossings of Kirkland Creek. Brookshire Creek Trail crosses Bald River about a mile from the trail head.
@@BryanDeLay I've done an overnight up Brookshire before the wilderness designation, but I like your start up on the mountain.
Beautiful trip Bryan! Time with your boy is priceless. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Stricky! My son and I backpack together about once a month.
BTW, outstanding webpage.
Thanks Tom! A handicapped friend created and maintains the web page, so I'll let him know.
See your telekinesis mojo is back working 😉 Nice touch with the light string
Yea, just testing to make sure I still have that mental ability. That light string is Nathan's new toy. It's quite impressive actually. He got it at REI for about $20 and I think he said it weighs 1.6 ounces, but you have to hook it up to a battery pack.
That was a great adventure, I enjoyed seeing you both out there, beautiful campsites and weather and great views over the mountains.
Thanks Nicole! We had a fun time.
Hey Bryan, I’ve been meaning to do that hike as a loop taking the Brookshire Trail south to BMT west out to Waucheesi bald then backtrack to Kirkland creek trail north down to the forest service road and a short walk east back to the trail head at Brookshire Creek. I think it’s about 21 miles. It starts with a wet crossing of the Bald River right off the bat, so I may wait til warmer temps to try that one! Also, I think there are numerous crossings coming down the Kirkland Creek trail. In fact, it may have been you who posted that video a few years back!? I go to the Smokies frequently and love it there, but sometimes it’s nice to go places where you really get a healthy dose of solitude and the campsites aren’t trampled down to bare dirt with trees that have been hatcheted up by, shall we say, less than informed visitors. Thank you Bryan for another great video. ps. have you ever considered Indian Peaks Wilderness in CO? The double pass loop (also referred to as the Pawnee/Buchanan loop) there is pretty amazing and although it’s close to Boulder it’s not as crowded and overrun as RMNP to the north. Happy Trails, Dony
Yes Dony, it was my video of Upper Bald River Wilderness that I posted a few years ago. I remember you asking some questions about the loop. If you start at the Brookshire Creek Trail Head, you don't cross Bald River until about a mile in. On the other hand, Kirkland Creek Trail crosses Bald River immediately and there are about 13 crossings of Kirkland Creek. I'm aware of Indian Peaks Wilderness, but never backpacked there. Colorado has become so crowed, especially in the Boulder area.
Thanks for putting together this beautiful video Bryan! So amazing that you can be out in February and not encounter snow; very different from conditions out west. Love your tarp setup, is that a Solomid XL? Very cool and versatile pitching.
Thanks ShastaBubba! It is nice to be able to backpacking year round. The tarp is a Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid.
I had wondered about whether there was a trail down from Wauchessi to the BMT. Seems I recall Tipi using that to connect the Upper Bald River Wilderness to the Warriors Passage. I figured it would be worth a go, even if it was a bushwack as the distance is short, and navigation would be just follow the ridgeline down until meeting the BMT. I will have to use that approach to explore that part of the BMT as I've not been on that past Sandy Gap.
The only other time I hiked down from Waucheesi to the State Line Trail was about 2003, before the BMT was extended into Tennessee. At that time the connector trail and the State Line Trail was very rough and mostly unmaintained. Since the extension of the BMT, it appears this unnamed trail is being maintained by the BMT trail maintenance crews so they can get quick access to the BMT. The last half mile of the road up to Wauchesi Mountain is pretty rough and a high clearance vehicle is required, although with that tower on top I would think they have to do road maintenance occasionally. If you use this approach try going south on the BMT from Six Mile Gap. There are some really nice view of the valley before you get to Tate Gap.
Thanks Bryan. I've driven up there before and yes a high-clearance vehicle is recommended. I am planning a trip over President's Day weekend so maybe I may head up there.
Wonderful videos, Bryan! I've got some experience hiking out west (Big Horns, Sawtooths, etc.) but my family and I are going to the Great Smoky Mountains in mid March. Was wondering if you knew about water availability at site #26 (Dripping Spring) and at the Derrick Knob shelter. The shelter's spring seems to be, from what I can find, a sure thing, but I've heard varying reports about the spring at site #26. Will have our 11 and 8 year olds with, so we want to be sure about things before heading out. Thanks!
Thanks Christopher! We've had a lot of rain in the last 2 months and the water levels are pretty high right now. Water at Dripping Spring should not be an issue in March. It's the first water source at a campsite to go dry in the park, but that's normally not until September or October.
I'm always looking for new destinations here in Tennessee, and you've always got new ones I've never seen before! That's why I'm a subscriber. I'll be looking this one up on the maps, although I suspect your unnamed trail isn't on mine. Should be NatGeo #781, I think?
Thanks for watching my videos Michael! Actually NatGeo #781 does not show this trail, but the trail is easy to find.
Thanks
Glad you enjoyed the video Mark.
**Beware*** The Government has outlawed filming in all National Parks as of Oct. '22. You must have a permit to film inside of those parks now! Be careful not to get caught if you are making money off YT with your videos!!
th-cam.com/video/0KfHLO1Ss4I/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the information, although this is not a national park.
@@BryanDeLay Yes I know Bryan, I could only tell you by your last video you posted here. I go to GSMNP all the time to backpack and video my trips, I didn't want anyone of my favorite backpacking channels to get in trouble, so I've warned them all. Hope you are doing well, continue to post more videos that I enjoy watching!
Again thanks for the heads up! I appreciate you watching my videos and glad you enjoy them.
Great video! I’m curious if you have ever done a thru-hike or something you’d do in the future? Maybe Appalachian Trail?
Thanks Vonnie! I enjoy multi-day trips with no resupply and my longest trip was 11 days. I even section hiked about 750 miles of the AT, but I've never had an interest in doing a thru-hike.
I enjoy and appreciate your videos. Your passion for hiking and being out in nature is a pleasure. I also think how great it is that you can hike with your son on many of the trips.
Thank you Vonnie! I try to go backpacking once a week, and if I miss a week like this one, I'm very ready to go by the second week. My son and I go together about once every 4 to 6 weeks. I can generally keep up with him on the flat and down hill sections, but he blows me away on the climbs.
Monday morning....2-1/4" of rain before it turned to snow. Less than 2" on the ground. We just missed an epic snowstorm. Bryan, how did you make out in E Tenn....?
No snow, just rain in Knoxville, although it probably snowed in the mountains.
@@BryanDeLay Ok, thanks for responding. It's been an odd winter in terms of the lack of snowfall around here but heck it's mid Feb and I've got my sight set on spring !
Me too!
Tom, my son is doing a 10 day loop in Cherokee NF and called me late yesterday afternoon when he had a signal. He went over Bob Bald (5,400 ft) yesterday and there was 9 inches of snow there.
@@BryanDeLay That's really cool. Thanks for the update. And I'm very impressed with your son. That is quite the trip, especially for February.
Last time I was on Waucheesi Bald our ham radio group did a VHF contest there near that tower. Beautiful spot! How is the road up there?
The last half mile is pretty rough and a high clearance vehicle is needed.
Great video, as always. Can you please tell me which Montbell jacket that is? Thanks!
Thanks Scott! It's a wind jacket and I've had it for about 4 years. Looking at Montbell's web page this exact jacket is not available, but here's the new version with some stretch material: www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=25014&p_id=2303139&gen_cd=1.
@@BryanDeLay thanks! 🙏
👌👌👍👍
Thanks Bolle!
@@BryanDeLay No, I guess there is me thank you for all the work you hav done so I can sit here in Norway relaxing an enjoy your videos!
Glad you're enjoying my videos. When I mentioned the high was 57 F (13.9 C), right about now you're probably thinking that'd be nice.
@@BryanDeLay I like temperatures from 8-15 celcius. If it's up to 25 i sweat. However, I am used to cold temperatures. In North Norway in summer it's between 6-9 celcius. That is normal.But it can be up to 35 celcius.
Yep, 8 to 15 C is great backpacking temps. Not sure if I could ever get used the winters there.
Hi Bryan! I'm not real familiar with that area. I've fished for trout on Snowbird Creek in Robbinsville. But looks like you were further west. Did you begin at Waucheesi Fire Tower? Thanks for sharing!
Yes J Mash, this area is a little west of Snowbird Creek and on the Tennessee side. Snowbird Creek is a really nice area too. The quality is not great, but here's a link to a video I did of Snowbird Creek about 10 years ago: th-cam.com/video/hqWgT7__mH0/w-d-xo.html. There is not a fire tower on top of Waucheesi, but there is a microwave or some kind of tower there.
Hi Bryan! New subscriber here, I have really enjoyed your videos, they inspire me to get out to the mountains more often and I really appreciate you sharing all that knowledge.
Just a quick question, I also live in eastern Tennessee and I notice in all your videos you’re using a tarp only as a shelter, have you had any issues with bugs, spiders or snakes? I have a flourless shelter but I only use it in the winter months but I’d like it to keep using it during spring but I’m concerned about bugs and snakes I just wanted to know how you deal with that. Thanks again and keep the good work!
Thanks for subscribing Jonathan and glad you are enjoying my videos. I've been using a tarp since 1998 and if I think mosquitoes will be bad I use a Sea-to-Summit bug net ( www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-Mosquito-Pyramid-Shelter/dp/B00BTO42PK/ref=sr_1_6?crid=GXFIFQ3SKZT2&keywords=sea%2Bto%2Bsummit%2Bbug%2Bnet&qid=1676932486&sprefix=Sea%2Bto%2BSummit%2Bbug%2Bnet%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-6&th=1). Rarely do I use it in the southern Appalachians, but use it frequently out west. Also I've never had an issue with snakes.
Thanks a lot for the help!! I’ll look into that net. I really appreciate all you do
The old timers used to call Waucheesi Mountain "gold mountain" because they thought it was the source of all of the gold in the area. No doubt some of it came from there.
Thanks, I've never heard that before.
Your videos never disappoint. Did you replace your camera with a newer model or another GP10?
Thanks Chris! I got a Hero 11 and there are several improvements over the 10 I had that I really like.
@@BryanDeLay I'm trying to decide between an Osmo Action Camera 3 and an iPhone 13 with the idea of documenting my future trips. Decisions, Decisions!
Although I've been really pleased with GoPro's, lots of people like the Osmo cameras and the iPhones. A difficult a decision!