Devil's Creek, TN/NC

I had a day off a few weeks ago and decided to reach the remote Devil’s Creek Gorge along the TN/NC border. Devil’s Creek flows directly into the Nolichucky River from its source near the top of Flattop Mountain. The scenic gorge carved by the Devil’s Creek drainage is only a fraction of the rugged terrain which can be found along the steep northern face of Flattop. Interesting note: this makes three consecutive posts describing hikes along the TN/NC border – the border bisects the Nolichucky and follows along Devil’s Creek southward.

See?

The Nolichucky River is powerful and has chiseled a steep, wide gorge of its own, with the Unaka Range rising immediately to the north and Flattop and the other Bald Mountains to the south. The river serves as the geographic division between the two mighty mountain ranges which are among the most noteworthy in east Tennessee – with the Bald Mountains spanning a long distance south from Flattop to the Smokies.


Zoomed-in view of the Spruce forest which covers Unaka

It’s through the Nolichucky gorge that it’s easiest to reach Devil’s Creek. CSX Transporation operates a functional rail-line that follows the river at the bottom of the gorge. Parking in Unaka Springs just outside of Erwin allows easy access to the tracks, and it’s a little over 2 miles of a hike to the mouth of Devil’s Creek. The inherent dangers of walking railroad tracks are apparent; it’s also illegal.

Ignoring all that, I started my hike at Unaka Springs and made my way into the gorge. The morning was cool, as the weather had been the two weeks prior, but I quickly made my way into the heart of the gorge and direct sunlight – and it warmed up fast. The level tracks made for easy hiking, despite the awkwardly-spaced ties and large gravel, but it didn’t take long for the beads of sweat on my brow to multiply. My “built-for-the-cold” physique had grown too comfortable with the declining temperatures before my hike, so the 80-degree, high-humidity journey was a draining one.

 

The rough terrain on the northern bank of the Nolichucky

 

 

 

The rail-line had a couple of blind corners that I negotiated quickly, with rusted and contorted train parts scattered on either side of the tracks to provide encouragement. Fortunately, the only train I encountered that day passed while I was off the tracks, taking pictures of the river.

 

 

After a couple of miles of sweating and stumbling along the tracks like a hobo that had a little too much to drink, I made it to Devil’s Creek. There are several creeks that drain into the southern side of the Nolichucky, but Devil’s Creek is easily spotted – a small train trestle crosses the mouth of the creek.

The valley in the distance is Devil's Creek Gorge

 

 

Once I reached the trestle, it was apparent that Devil’s Creek is rugged and picturesque. From the tracks, I could immediately see a small waterfall and cascades, with water tumbling out of the valley. I knew a faint, narrow trail was somewhere on the western bank of Devil’s Creek, but it was difficult to find. Instead, I followed the creek itself for about a quarter-mile, snapping pictures and cooling myself from the unexpected and unwelcome heat.

 

I eventually reached a point where it wasn’t possible to continue upstream – the creek was surrounded by sheer rock on either side and it was too deep for me to be willing to wade, so I turned straight uphill to get around the obstacle. After climbing 30 feet up the ridge, I pulled myself up over an overhanging rock and stumbled onto the trail. It’s fairly common for me to lose or fail to find a trail, only to stumble onto it after a difficult climb.  I wasn’t exactly sure where the trail led – only that it went deeper into the gorge, which is where I wanted to go.

My pace was quick as I followed the narrow trail through the even narrower gorge – the trail had many places which were washed out, where the grade was too steep to maintain the trail’s edge. I was moving pretty fast and quickly gained elevation – before long, the creek was far below me and I could see several sets of cascades and small waterfalls. I knew that a larger, much more significant waterfall was somewhere along the creek, and I was fearful I would miss it. My fears were relieved, however, when the trail I had found led me directly to the waterfall.

 

 

 

It was a steep climb down from the trail to the waterfall, and instead of awkwardly stepping down the ridge, I sat down and slid – much faster. The waterfall is two-tiered, and I did my best to climb to the base of the top waterfall, but every rock offering a foothold was far too slippery. After relaxing at the base of the falls, I climbed back up to the trail and explored the otherwise un-noteworthy portion of the creek above the falls, which only became more overgrown and difficult to follow.

Looking downstream at the rugged gorge

After a lengthy and sweaty hike, I climbed out of the gorge and back down to the Nolichucky. The sun was still obtrusive and you could see the heat reflecting from the tracks. I retraced my steps from before, hopping from tie to tie, and stopped at a large rock-face that rises above the tracks and drops down to the water. I decided I had earned a rest and negotiated the rocks down to the river – I stripped my pack, my boots, tended to a few blisters, and stretched out on a warm rock inches from a deep pool in the water.

The air was cool so close to the water and the nearby rapids were the only sound I could hear; the wind carried the cool air over my body kept comfortable by the rock beneath me. It was so relaxing and it didn’t take long for me to start nodding off to sleep. I felt myself slipping in and out, and I must’ve dozed off for a little while.

I was suddenly shocked back into the waking world by a man’s scream that resonated above the roaring rapids – “LEFT!!!” Between my nap and the rapids only feet away, I had missed two rafts full of helmeted white-water rafters enjoying the same warm weather that had induced my fatigue. In my sleep-induced fugue, I interpreted the man’s command as “Oh, there’s someone on my left, I should probably move to the right.” But the only thing to my right was the Nolichucky. So, as the gleeful rafters were enjoying a beautiful early fall day on the water, they were interrupted by the site of a large man, flailing helplessly as he thrust himself into the river for no good reason. The water was surprisingly deep.

I quickly bolted out of the water and avoided eye-contact with the rafters – they were laughing heartily. My unplanned swim must have seemed like fun, as most of the rafters soon tackled one another out of the rafts and into the depths of the river. I laughed off the embarrassing moment, strapped on my boots, and climbed back up to the tracks and returned to where I had parked. As embarrassing and clumsy as the end of my hike was, that short dip in the water felt wonderful. And the same sun I had cussed earlier that day ensured I was dry by the time I returned to the 4Runner. I was rejuvenated – my lifted spirit served as quite the return on an instant of humility and a mouthful of river-water.

 

 

Thanks for reading!