Two nights at Frozen Head with my Clark
NX-250 , 4-27-2012
Last spring, I took a little trip to Frozen Head
State Park near Harriman, TN. I began my hike mid afternoon on the Spicewood
Branch trail with my first night's destination being Tub Springs Campsite.
Spicewood Branch is 2.5 miles long and all of it is up hill! At the end, the
trail intersects with the Chimneytop Trail for a little over a mile to the
campsite. Frozen Head is an awesome place to test your stamina! There are some
very challenging routes to get to the top of the mountain. For your effort, you
are rewarded with a lookout tower with views all the way to the Smoky Mountains
on a clear day.
The temps were in the 50's, so it was perfect weather! I set up my NX-250, and the rest of my site and was just beginning to think that I'd have the whole camp to myself when I heard voices coming up the trail. It turned out to be a man and his wife, followed by two young girls and a young boy. I guess this guy was old school because they all had external frame packs that were at least a foot over their heads. They were pleasant enough and the kids were very well behaved. After dinner, I never heard them again.
For dinner, I had mountain stew by coleman... not very good! I piddled around camp for a while and went to bed early. The first nights sleep was awesome! I never got cold with the temps dropping to the 40's.
On Saturday, I woke up to find the other campers packed up and ready to go. I got up after they left and had breakfast and decided to hike the half mile up to the lookout tower. As I neared the top, I realized that it was going to be a wasted trip. The clouds were blowing over the mountain and there was no visability. There was a guy at the campsite who looked like a middle aged boyscout. He had pulled two of the cooking platforms together and had set up his tent on them, about four feet off the ground.
I returned to my campsite, packed up and headed down the South Old Mac Trail. My route was to take the Judge Branch Trail to my night's campsite. The trail was down hill with a few ups thrown in for good measure. Most of the views were blocked by leaves and all of the new spring growth, but I enjoyed the hike. I was reluctant to leave the top of the mountain, but needed a short hike out on Sunday. I chose a campsite near the stream and had a nice afternoon complete with a nap! Just before dark, a bunch of guys strolled into camp. The campsites are pretty spread out, so there was a good bit of distance between me and them. The night passed by with me relaxing by the fire and having another great nights sleep in my Clark.
The next morning, I had a liesurely breakfast, packed up and headed home. Another sucessful weekend out there!
http://youtu.be/jdY1N-31R-0
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