Autumn Boondocking Trip-- Cherokee National Forest With the Family

Sign on a tree indicating Old Doc Rogers 

Autumn Boondocking Trip-- Cherokee National Forest With the Family

Kenny, Dana, & Gabriel Koogler 

Thursday Oct. 22, through Sunday Oct. 25, 2020

Photos are here: Autumn Boondocking Pix in Doc Rogers Country 

  We had been promising our youngest grandson, Gabe we'd take him camping again this year.   We made plans to keep our promise to him for a long weekend last Thursday through Sunday.  He spent the night Wednesday so we could get going early on Thursday.   We had only tried boondocking once before back last year, but we loved it!   Boondocking is camping without hookups of any kind.  Self contained.   We found out we liked it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that you do not have to make reservations!  Kenny's work schedule makes it tough to predict when we can go.   Boondocking means we go when we can and no need to reserve a site.  No need to worry about cancellations.  We can boondock for three nights for less than it costs for one night in a typical campground.   We also like the no cell phone signal, no wi fi, no tv reception.    It greatly reduces screen time, tech time and enhances our outdoor experience.   

       We were hoping to enjoy hiking and exploring and the pretty Fall colors.

Gabe says his favorite thing is camping and I believe it!  He is Mr. Outdoors.

Above: I am standing up through the sun roof taking pictures. Gabe is peeping up at me like what is wrong with you old woman? 

He is getting bigger and stronger and much more able to hike now.  It makes it more fun to get out to do things together.    We brought along the RZR because he wanted us to do some riding.  It is tagged for road use on any road forty mph or less.    We hauled all that stuff down to the Cherokee National Forest to camp along Tellico River.    The trip down seemed like it went extremely fast. 

Above:  First day. Getting ready to go for a ride on the forest service roads. Gabe and Papaw

It is nice that Gabe is learning to tolerate car trips better too!

    We arrived in the area around midday.   We had stayed at Birch Branch last September.   Today we selected Davis Branch which was about half mile further up the road.  The entire drive was beautiful, but it just got prettier the further up the river road we went.   Our campsite was glorious today. We had blue skies with perfect temperatures.  Lots of sunshine making the leaves glimmer gold, orange, red, bronze, rust, and the sourwood leaves shone a peculiar coral color.   Tellico River flowed by the back of the campsite and was constantly audible.   

This tree above really caught my eye when we pulled up.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  It was such a gradient of colors! 

Above; a quick shot of our camp site. It was lovely.

     Kenny had Gabe with him and they were making all kinds of adjustments. I decided it was as good a time as any for me to snag a few pictures of the river.

Looking both upstream and down was like a post card.   Yellow leaves and shining waters and cascades all around.   I talked Gabe into being a kid and putting aside helping Papaw for a few minutes.  He loves to help both of us, but he is Papaw's boy.    

    Below:  A view downstream on Tellico River behind our campsite.  

          We headed out Thursday afternoon to do some exploring.  We  planned on taking Gabe with us to see the old Doc Rogers hospital ruins.  We would try to come in from Lower Smithfield Road and Hwy 68 using the RZR.   It would be a shorter and easier way to be able to bring the little man.   The hike in from Waucheesi Bald was tough and no way we'd do that with him.   I had promised a lady at the visitor center if I ever figured it out I'd be sure to share it with her.  We set out to do that and the drive out was lovely.   We stopped first by Green Cove on the way.   It had been a long time between visits to the pond and the tabernacle.

Above: Fall colors along the road at Green Cove

Below: Kenny and Gabe on the fishing pier at Green Cove Pond

Below:  A view of Green Cove Tabernacle.  It is an old timey brush arbor style meeting house to worship. 

Below: placard telling about the founding of the tabernacle

   A big part of the plan for today was to find the way to Doc Rogers hospital off Hwy 68 so that was next.   It took awhile to get round there.   We didn't have any trouble finding our way, and the ride was very very pretty.   It took us up high on the old Bald River Road.  It looks like they are prepping it for the day when it becomes a detour for the current Bald River Road.  People will mess their drawers when that happens.  After all, Bald River Falls is the only waterfall in the entire southern half of the Cherokee National Forest.  😜

Above: glorious view from Smithfield Road trying to visit the old hospital ruins

Above: we stopped at the check dam along Bald River to let Gabe see the 'waterfall" it creates.  

View from Old Bald River Road.  Down below the road here somewhere close by is Sophia Falls!  

  We made our way round to the Old Doc Rogers Road.  We started seeing two things that were concerning.   The first being a maze of roads going this way and that.  The second being lots of signs saying Private Property. Keep Out. No Trespassing.  A man passed us on a side by side and waved.  We sat there trying to cipher out which way to go.  We wished we'd flagged him down to ask him.  We headed in the direction he was going to try to catch him.  We did catch him sorta.  He was behind a forest service gate and was fastening it closed.  According to the readings I was getting from the GPS unit it was the way we would have needed to go.   So now we know.... it is not possible to get there from the road.   Disappointing, but not the end of the world.   

It is worth mentioning here that Kenny pointed something out to me that I had not paid attention to before.    On a Cal Topo map you can see two tiny black boxes where the Doc Rogers hospital site is.    On out from that further along the route of the Benton MacKaye trail is an additional site that says RUINS.   The first time I spotted that on the map I assumed that was the hospital ruins.  It isn't.   We need to get round there and find out what that was!  

   We were getting tired of being out on the road with the RZR.  Gabe was so sleepy and nodding.   We went back via the Wildcat Road and up the river road instead of back the way we'd gone.  It was faster that way.   We had promised Gabe we'd stop to let him see Bald River Falls.   We stopped and let him enjoy the view of the falls.   He loved it. It is beautiful, but the gaggle of people there is a bit off putting especially the snarl of traffic.   The good news is the forest service has plans to fix all that!  

Above:  Beautiful Bald River Falls 

Above: ugly mess of traffic and pedestrians on the bridge at the falls.    

    Back at the campsite we got ready for supper.  We fixed something quick and easy because we were all tired and hungry.   Gabe was distressed because he wanted to play with the little boys at the next campsite.   We told him we were ok with it, but we'd have to ask their parents. Folks are funny now with the covid thing going on.   He was ready to walk over there with me and took my hand. He then changed his mind and turned bashful and refused to go.   Instead we carved his jack o lantern and enjoyed the campfire.  I chased him around with pumpkin guts on my hands like a zombie.    That cheered him up.  He was beyond tired from not having a nap today and all the activity.   

Below: Gabe being silly like his Jack o Lantern is biting his fingers.

He picked out the design for it. He wanted it spooky.  

 

Above: nice campfire going

Above: our campsite  in evening before it got too dark

   It wasn't long til Gabe was ready to go inside.  Round about 7:45 p.m. he was ASKING to go to bed.   We had worn him out.    I was tired too so we turned in early.  We figured that way we could get up and have a full day of fun on Friday.  Before I fell asleep I put my mind to figuring what we could do tomorrow.  He was dissatisfied for some reason.   I talked it over with Kenny and we opted to go to Murphy, North Carolina in the morning.  We'd do some more townie type stuff interspersed with outdoor stuff.   Gabe likes to be on the go to be happy.

  Saturday morning we had breakfast and got going with a fairly early start.  

Our plan was to head toward Murphy, North Carolina, but we would hit up some of the things in Tellico Plains on the way.   Gabriel has never been to the visitor center in Tellico Plains except for a pitstop.  We went by there today me with my news for Mary Nell about the no go on the Doc Rogers hospital from SR 68, and Gabe with his checking out everything.     We got him a Cherohala Skyway t shirt he wanted.

  

Above and below: views up and down the road along the old Joe Brown Highway

We stopped at the Coker Creek visitor center next.    They have some wonderful items.  Part of the plan was to stop in Coker Creek to see Fort Armistead and then on to Camp Rolling Stone.  Neither of those thins should take long.   We went from the visitor center following the directions I had from a guidebook I'd actually bought in the visitor center in years past.    We were doing pretty well, but once back the side road there were quite a few turns that looked like possibilities for the spot.   We followed a man on a tractor to flag him down and ask him if he knew where we needed to turn?   He was very nice and at first said it was down along Joe Brown Highway, but you can't go there.   I told him I wanted to visit Camp Rolling Stone too, but that was down there?  He got himself sorted out and agreed he was confusing the two places.  He went on to tell us where the turn was ,but he cautioned us not to go there  unless we wanted to go to jail!   It is heavily surveilled and the powers that be are not playing.  The man who donated the land went back there to walk around and within five minutes was in handcuffs being lead away.      I thanked the man very much for the warning as well as the information.   I told him we were crossing that one off the list.   He grinned and said he didn't blame us.   

Below: Gabriel starts to hike the Unicoi Turnpike Trail 

    I have since had a very nice lady on Facebook offer to show me the route of the Unicoi Turnpike Trail soon.   I took her up on it.   That trail goes near to Ft. Armistead and that part I will forego.    Another very thoughtful lady shared the official paper they put out on the closure.  The fort is off limits now, but may be reopened at some point in the future.  It is a Trail of Tears historic site and was damaged by the archeologic dig.  SAWS (Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards) repaired the damage this Summer and also said that after some time to heal it may be reopened.   I don't know why the federal government or whomever in authority wouldn't contact the appropriate persons in the tribal government prior to any disturbance of the ground?  In my opinion the first thing they need to do in cases like this is ask permission of the tribal council and secondly a Native American shaman needs to be present. Someone to represent their interests and 

protect the artifacts and any burials.   All this friction could have been avoided.

Above: a pretty scene down the trail near its start.  

Below: I liked this view of the trail because to me it was more discernible as an old road here.  I once saw the fee schedule for people, animals and vehicles that was levied on this toll road. 

    We headed on down the road and turned on Joe Brown Highway.  We found the trailhead for a piece of the Unicoi Turnpike Trail and Camp Rolling Stone.  Joe Brown Highway was beautiful today.   It runs from Coker Creek to Murphy, but we'd not be taking the long way round today.    We parked and got out to hike to the site of the old Civilian Conservation Corps site.  They were the tree army and planted trees and did conservation work back in 1933. These work projects helped bring the United States out of the Great Depression.   My dad was a YCC kid and I had a grandpa who was a CCC stonemason.   

Below is a photo of the info board regarding Camp Rolling Stone

      The trail was very pretty.   It had the look of the old toll road it represented.

We followed it a short easy distance to Dalton Branch then turned right.  We were looking for evidence of where they dammed up the creek to form a swimming hole.  We found it, but it was not what I had expected! I thought they actually dammed the creek up in its bed forming a swimming hole. That was not the case. Dalton Branch is too small for that.  Instead they constructed a rounded earthen berm/dam and diverted the stream to flow in and fill it.    We could see where the dam blew out at some point in time!  

Above: a look at Dalton Branch flowing by. There is rock cribbing in several spots along here.  You can also see where the stream was bridged in the past. Below is a photo that shows rock cribbing to shore up the bank and probably a spot where a bridge existed.  Most likely made of wood which has long since rotted away.

      Next we walked out into the forest to check out a set of steps, the remains of a large chimney and a stanchion from some sort of manmade structure.  We also saw numerous fir trees still growing in rows. Non native trees to this area, but planted by the corps just the same.  You can see something similar at the old CCC camp along Kephart Prong in the Smoky Mountains.   Gabe was a trooper.  He was enjoying the hike and being in the woods.  Being off trail concerned him a little. He wondered how we'd get back to the truck.  He was pleased when he realized Nanny and Papaw had some sense of direction.  We easily circled round to the trail again.    It is worth mentioning that I took a photo of a large chunk of white quartz rock embedded in the base of an evergreen tree.   I can't help wondering if this was some sort of former survey marker from the past?  It reminds me of stuff you see along the Meigs Line.   I read that Benjamin Hawkins, Indian agent and surveyor came through the area on the turnpike in the past. 

Below is my mysterious chunk of white quartz grown  into a large tree by the branch.   It may be just coincidental, but it may also have been a purposeful marker. 

Above: another look at Dalton Branch. I liked this peaceful little cascade. 

            **Edited to Add-- January 23, 2021 I heard from a fellow named John who is a historian for the Boy Scouts of America.  He reached out to me to see if I would allow him to include my video of Camp Rolling Stone on the page he had put together about it.  I told him of course and was honored to be asked.   He has placed the video on there now.  I am including a link to the history page here.  Camp Rolling Stone was a boy scout camp after the CCC era.  The page to that history is here:   Camp Rolling Stone --Boy Scouts of American History

Below: It is hard to illustrate in a photo, but the berm of earth is curved.  It is the wall that helped construct a swimming hole for the CCC workers.  The stream was diverted to help fill it and keep it full enough and fresh for swimming.    

Below is a video of us walking round the camp that better shows things hard to capture in a photo.

Below: a photo of the earthen dam where it blew out letting the swimming hole be ruined.   Who knows how long ago this happened?  

   We crossed the creek again toward something large and manmade.  It was a chimney and a big one it was at that!  

   Below is a photo of Gabe climbing up in the chimney pile.  Kenny hollering at him to be careful and watch for snakes! We saw several dead in the road on this trip.  They are still out. 

Below is a shot of the back side of that chimney.  I'd like to have seen it when it was whole.   

Below is an old set of steps to a building we found. 

Above:  beautiful orange leaves in the woods

     Once we'd satisfied our curiosity about this camp we hiked back to the truck.  We doubled back to another location I'd wanted to check out. Doc Rogers Fields.   I know precious little about it.  I know it is a camping spot and has a loop hike there supposedly.  I'd love to hike it and learn more.

Hopefully I will for I enjoy it so much.   Today we stopped by the sign board, but it had almost nothing to tell us.   The fields were pretty with Fall colors.

We had more stuff to do today so we did not linger here. 

above and below: views of Doc Rogers fields.  I think they were associated with the gold panning days.  

     Now Joe Brown Highway goes from Coker Creek all the way to Murphy, North Carolina, but it takes AWHILE to get there like this. Every aspect of our day was being influenced by the fact we had our four year old grandson along.  This trip had to keep him satisfied. It wasn't about what I wanted or liked.   I prefer to take the old road, but it was not the day for it.  I plan to drive that entire road again soon and come up with a blog post and good directions for the sights along it. Points of interest as well as how to drive it.

      We took Hwy 68 and then turned and went on the main road through Ranger on to Murphy.  Once we got there it was evident we were 1. not in Tennessee anymore and 2.  Tribal law reigned supreme here.  Many businesses were either not open for dine in or were limiting occupancy.   We needed to get lunch in a timely fashion so we finally just went through the drive in window at Zaxby's and ate in the truck.   We did a little shopping in Murphy and checked out Logan's Run thrift store.  It was nice but the only thing we found today was a complete Pop the Pig game for Gabe for  $1 !  He loved it and fooled with it most of the way home.  I cannot get used to him knowing numbers now.  It astonishes me.   

           We stopped by Fields of the Wood on the way home.  Originally we planned on doing this.  Once we got close Gabe said he wasn't interested in going anymore.  Kenny told him we'd at least pull in to see it from the parking lot and then he could decide if we wanted to stay or go.   He took one look around and was in love!  We were staying.  The gift shop and snack bar was closed, but everything else was open.    We visited the top of the prayer mountain.  We climbed the tall stairs all the way to the top past the giant ten commandments and the golden rule.  We checked out the baptismal pool, the garden tomb, golgotha rock,.. Calvary... the missionary airplane, the runway, and last but not least the cross up on the very tip top of the mountain with the flags of many nations.   It was beautiful.  I enjoy it more with every trip.

We made a donation. It is free, but donations are welcomed.   You could feel the Holy Spirit upon this place.   It is peaceful and splendid.   The views from the mountain top are gorgeous of the Valleytown Mountains in the distance. 

These mountains have a certain soft light about them that always appeals to me.    The Fall colors were unmatched.   I look forward to coming back to hike their trails and have a picnic with a view!

Click the link embedded in the top of this paragraph for information in case you'd like to visit this special place yourself.  It was built by the Church of God of Prophecy.   

below: fountain at Fields of the Wood

Prayers in the bin below at the top of the mountain of prayer. 

Gabe walking the line at the prayer mount

Above: Gabe prepares for the long walk up the steps. He made it look easy!

Above is Gabe sitting at a stone picnic table at the top of the mountain

The view from the ten commandments mountain

Below is the beautiful baptismal pool.  

We are Baptists.  We believe in following Christ in the baptism of full immersion in water like John in the Jordan River.   

Garden tomb.. the stone has been rolled away and is empty.  Christ has risen!

Running like the wind on top the mountain of faith

Flags of all nations. God made and loves all. 

Below a view of the Valleytown Mountains from the cross monument

Glorious Autumn foliage atop the mountain

    Once we got done and headed back toward the camper Gabe dozed off. He got him a decent nap today for once.   He fights sleep and nap time.    I gave him a dose of allegra for children because he had been sneezing and had a runny nose.    

             Saturday we got up and had breakfast and got going to do some hiking.     We first went up the road to Holder Cove Falls.  He loved it, but couldn't believe what a short walk it was.   I could tell he was game to do some more hiking which was great.  

Below: golden leaves of the sassafras tree 

Below: pretty Holder Cove Falls 

Below: Little man is pretty proud of himself. He's ready to go!

    We moved on to North River and drove up to do another easy hike to Sugar Cove Falls.   It was a beautiful drive the entire way.  North River is quiet and pretty.  

North River in her golden glory

A salamander we spotted.  

Sugar Cove Falls is not huge, but it is scenic and the forest around it is always pretty.  We  had it to ourselves. 

Looking up into the canopy

Papaw and Gabe looking up at the trees

Above: pretty trail to Sugar Cove Falls

Golden forest.  It was as pretty as anything we saw in Utah.  Way more colorful than the Smokies last week. 

Fiery leaves up high along North River

Cherohala Skyway drive back was one spectacular scene of color or views after another!  

    We hiked to Sugar Cove Falls and were impressed with how well Gabe did. He was not tired, but his runny, stuffy nose seemed to be worsening.  The allergy medicine wasn't helping.   We headed back to camp and later went in to Tellico Plains to get some childrens cold medicine for relief.   We got him Sonic the Hedgehog movie at Red Box and we all enjoyed it. It was way better than I would have guessed.    Actually cute and very funny. 

     Gabe felt better after taking some cold medicine.  It began to rain in earnest after supper.    It was extra good that we had a movie. We played Pop the Pig and played with toys and read books.   He asked again to go to bed tonight.   He was worn out.   He slept pretty well, but through the night I could tell he was getting worse.  By Sunday morning he had green snot flowing out of that poor little nose.  The medicine broke it all loose.   We headed home on Sunday and I made plans to take him to the pediatrician on Monday to see about this illness.  Sure enough he had a sinus infection and required an antibiotic, but we managed to have a fine weekend.   I'll take him camping again for he was fun and such a good boy.  He told me "Nanny, you know what my favorite thing is?  Camping!"  That is reward enough for me!

**Things to Know About Boondocking in the Cherokee National Forest **

All campsites are first come,  first serve. No reservations in dispersed camping.

No hookups at all in dispersed camping. 

Potable water and a sewage dump station conveniently located along the main road.  Easy to pull through with a large camper.

Areas for tent camping 

$10 per night for a site

Numerous choices of sites all up and down Tellico River and North River. 

If you don't like boondocking then Indian Boundary Campground has hookups, but they DO  require a reservations.  

Open dates vary year to year, but 

generally are from first weekend in June to first weekend of Nov. 

Campsites at Indian Boundary are $20 per night. 

Below is a video of Sugar Cove Falls 

Last, but not least.. a short video of the Tellico River by our campsite