Joyce Kilmer Hikes

Tuesday morning we got an early start and headed to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. We were the first ones there and set out on the double-loop trail.

The lower loop climbed steadily through a beautiful, almost rainforest-like forest.

At the top of the lower loop we reached the memorial rock, then continued onto the upper loop where the giant tulip poplars began to appear.

The trees in this old-growth forest are just amazing.

Black cohosh was flowering in the deep shade, rich soil, and the moisture of the forest.

At one point the early morning sunlight cut bright crepuscular rays through the hazy forest, it was really striking.

After finishing the upper loop, we finished up on the lower loop crossing over Little Santeetlah Creek.

Another car pulled in as we took off.

We drove farther up the road and made a quick stop at roadside Verlie Falls.

Summer foliage was thick and the water was low; it would look much better with higher flows in winter.

From there we continued on and parked at the Haoe Lead Trailhead near the top. The first tenth of a mile was fine, but then the trail became extremely overgrown.

It wasn’t steep (we’d already driven most of the elevation), but the dense vegetation made progress tough.

We did get one open view looking down toward Santeetlah Lake, and the wildflowers were excellent, Turk's cap lilies and beebalm were in bloom.

After the junction with the Deep Creek Trail we climbed into the clouds and the forest turned very foggy. If the trail hadn’t been so overgrown it would have been a really nice hike.

We pushed about two miles to the top of Rock Creek Knob (no views) before turning around. On the way out we stopped at Maple Springs Overlook.

A short accessible trail led to an overlook, which delivered phenomenal views.

Then we continued on for a few more waterfalls.  

We drove down to US-129 and pulled off at Bear Creek Falls.

Its a 12-foot cascade on the Cheoah River right beside the road.

There’s a second Bear Creek Falls a short distance downstream where Bear Creek joins the river, but foliage blocked the view and I couldn’t cross with Amaroq. Our last stop was Yellow Creek Falls. A short trail of just over a quarter-mile follows Yellow Creek to the scenic waterfall. We had it to ourselves at first.

I pulled off my boots and waded while Amaroq took a nap. As I was drying off, a group of teenagers arrived for a swim. They all stopped to say hi and pet Amaroq; one girl was especially enthusiastic, swimming behind the falls and jumping from the big rock. We said goodbye and headed out.