A trail blog after a long time. I have been meaning to start writing a travelogue for our escapades for a long time. It has been more than once that I have said to myself "OK, this is it, today when I get home after this trail I am going to start writing". Finally I have gotten around to doing it today. Hopefully I will be more persistent from now on.
Devil's fork trail was suggested by one of our friends. I had never heard about it so we googled it. The pictures seemed cool and the trail description enticed me as it mentioned several stream crossings. We were undecided till almost 11 am. Finally we decided to go and since it was just an hour's drive from Johnson City we thought we still had a good shot at the 7 mile loop trail. The drive from Johnson City to the trail was pretty with the panoramic landscape that we have gotten used to staying in this part of the country. We took I-26W and the US-23N towards Gate City, then got onto VA-72N towards Fort Blackmore via VA-71N (E Jackson Street), turned left on State Rt 619 (Big Stoney Creek Road) which becomes High Knob Road and then finally turned on Forest Road 619 which ends at the Devil's fork trail head. As we approached the final dirt road towards the trail head parking we met a guy coming back who was kind enough to inform us that the parking was full at the trail head and so we were better off parking at the roadside and just hike in the last 0.4 miles which was the dirt road. For hikers planning to visit a useful tip is, it is OK to park along the road on the left side (along the stream) if the trail head parking is full. There are "no parking" signs on the right side of the road since this is private property. From what we saw this trail seems to get REALLY crowded during weekends.
As we parked we were still in two minds considering wether we should do the entire loop or just hike to the Devil's bathtub and back since it was already 2 pm. Finally after consultation with a friendly couple who had been on the trail before and were considering doing the loop too we decided to hike the full loop. So we started the hike at around 2.10 pm. The hike to the trailhead is not much and took us 5 mins, if that. There is a clear sign that directs you to the trailhead. As we were just about to start the trail we saw a family coming back from the trail and getting frustrated because people had parked cars all around their car so that it was impossible for them to get out. Poor guys, I hope they got out soon, people really need to be more considerate while parking in such tight spots. The trail-head is actually past the steel gate. After we passed the gate there was a sign which indicated the two directions in which the fork trail went.
We decided that we will complete the loop from west to east since that way we would complete most of the hike before we reach the Devil's bathtub for a dip. The trail was very well marked to our surprise since a lot of reviews we read mentioned that it was not well marked and was confusing at times. I think somebody has done a very good job at marking the trail blazes very recently as the yellow blaze is hard to miss as long as you are not paying attention at all. There are a few fallen trees along the first 1 - 1.5 miles of the trail which obscure the trail briefly so be careful to not be deterred by those. It is an easy scramble across the trees and the trail is pretty prominent after every fallen tree. This section of the trail can be strenuous for some, since it is pretty steep, almost a steady climb of around 900-1000 feet. About 1.5 miles in the trail we reached a fork where the Devil's Fork trail continued eastward and there was a spur for Straight fork ridge trail. The hike from here on is fairly easy. We encountered about 3 stream crossings till we reached Devil's bathtub from this side. The trail itself is very rewarding with a lot of green tunnels, tiny creeks and the occasional water holes on the way. We saw a pretty fall with a water hole just 0.5 miles before reaching the bath-tub.
The bath tub itself was refreshing. We reached the around 6 pm and so a lot of the crowds had left although there were still around 20 people hanging out. I am glad we decided to complete the loop first as I can only imagine how busy this place would have been in the afternoon. We spent around an hour in the area taking pictures, jumping in the tub and just looking around. The whole area is really pretty with the bath being the central attraction and 2-3 other waterhole around it. Personally I felt that the bathtub was a nice place to take a dip but if you wanted to swim or at least float around the other two swimming areas further down the trail are better. It is overall a nice area to hangout and one can easily make a picnic out of it just hiking the east side to the trail to the bath-tub.
The trail back was short, albeit with several stream crossings. I had decided to count but lost count. I would agree with the general consensus that there were about 12 stream crossings, none of them really challenging and my feet got wet just once and that too probably because of my own clumsiness. I can imagine these crossings could be a little more tricky if there was much more water than there was today. It took us about 45 mins to hike from the bath tub to our car and we took our time enjoying the trail. The trail mileage was around 9 miles including the extra 0.5 miles hike from our car to the trail head. My assessment is, a normal hiker can complete this loop in 5 hours including ample time at the swimming holes.
We also ended up making friends and exchanging contacts with the friendly couple we met at the start since they were with us for the most part. My respect for them increased immensely after I noticed that they had packed out a bag full of trash left by other visitors on their way out. Another unfortunate outcome of a trail being easily accessible to not-so-considerate people who like to be jerks on the trail.
Overall I think this is a very rewarding trail considering the proximity and accessibility from the tricities area. Definitely a must do if you live in the area. Check the following link for the gpx for the trail and the trail map.
- Koustubh
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