Sawdust Pile - 8/26/06
Hazel Creek, Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park

This was our 6th trip to Smoky Mountains Natl. Park. In the tradition of pushing ourselves a little further each trip, we traded the canoe paddle across the lake for a longer hike through the mountains. Instead of paddling ourselves across this time, we took the ferry from Fontana Marina to the start of Hazel Creek Trail on the north shore of Fontana Lake. Before the area was flooded to make Fontana Lake, Highway 288 connected the small towns in the area with the rest of the world. When the lake was created, a portion of the highway became submerged and the old towns were on the north shore were abandoned and forgotten. The portion of that old highway that is still above water is now called "Hazel Creek Trail" and follows Hazel Creek deep into the Smoky Mountains. I should point out that this "highway" is just an old gravel road. The road and it's bridges over Hazel Creek are still maintained by the park and are used by rangers to patrol the park as well as by hikers (like us) to explore the park's beauty. Along the road there are several ruins from the old town that was there long ago that make for fun exploration. At the start of the trail there is an old house called the "Calhoun House", which has been maintained through the years and is apparently now used as a ranger station of some sort. From where the ferry dropped us off, we hiked 3.6 miles to campsite #85, which is known as Sawdust Pile. As I said, the "trail" is actually an old road, so that made for a relatively easy hike in terms of terrain and the only issue was distance. Josiah was such a trooper and made it there and back in one piece, with his pack on his back the entire time. The campsite area was pretty big and even though we had to share it with another party, there was enough distance between our camps to give each party enough privacy. Hazel Creek was really pretty and its water was refreshingly crisp and cold, which made for great drinking water when the time came. There are lots of trout in the creek, so it was common to see people fishing its waters every now and then. We had plenty of fun relaxing and exploring the area. When the sun went down, we lit up our Snow Peak gas lantern for a bit. The light attracted tons of flies and other insects as well as 2 smart frogs who provided us with some cheap entertainment as they used their long tongues to feast on the bugs garthering around the lamp! We slept under a wonderfully clear nighttime sky and about 20 feet from the soothing sounds of Hazel Creek. The next morning, we packed up and headed back to make the 1pm ferry pick up back down at the Fontana Lake. All in all, it was a great trip and only fueled our desire to do more, see more and push ourselves even harder next time. The best thing that we got out of this trip was that Josiah got to built up a little character. At one point on the trail, he really wanted to give up and go back to the first campsite, but he pushed on and learned the value of not giving up, accomplishing a set goal and the personal satisfaction that comes with doing that! Enjoy the pics and the movie clip!

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