Baxter Creek Trail to Mount Sterling

Hike Name: Baxter Creek Trail to Mount Sterling Location: northwest NC Length: 6.2 Submitted by: Mike the HikerDog Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more North Carolina trail reviews North Carolina national parks North Carolina state parks
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Description
This is one tough but very rewarding hike. We climbed the trail on Memorial Day weekend 2006. The ratings of "very strenous" are accurate. The general grade is straight up - over 660 feet of elevation for every mile of trail (4,100 feet in 6.2 miles). The trail essentially climbs a series of ridges at right angles to each other until you hit the summit run, a straight up climb of just about 1 mile. You know you are there when you hit the firetower.

On the trail you will go through at least two vegatation zones and the most impressive collection of wild rhododendren you ever see - they literally enclose the trail for long stretches!

Water is located 0.4 miles below the peak and 700 feet below the main trail. The Baxter Creek trail is a no horse trail, so teh conditions of the trail are excellent with moderate to light rock. Roots are heavy in some stretches, but overall the trail is very smooth.

Campsite 38 at the top is limited to 20 people - necessary because decent campsites are very limited. We had three parties of two and one of four the first night and one of two and one of six the second night.

We hiked out to Laurel Gap Shelter as a dayhike on Day 2, a 10 mile roundtrip. You drop rapidly (700 feet) from the summit of Mt. Sterling to Pretty Hollow Gap, a crossroads between the Pretty Hollow Gap Trail/Swift Fork Trail and the Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail. The hike to Laurel Gap is pretty easy, with a couple of rises before a long run along around the peak of Big Cataloochie Mountain.

Bugs at the campsite were terrible, the only major drawback, so bring DEET.

Directions to Hike
From Newport, TN head south in I-40 to Exit 451. Go right at the bottom of the ramp and then left. Follow the Pidgeon River past the hydroelectric plant. At the crossroads go straight to the trailhead.

Contact Information
Great Smoky Mountain National Park Backcountry Desk Reservations - (865) 436-1231

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