Injun Creek & Ramsey Cascades Trails, Oct. 28, 2011

Dogwoods are colorful on Injun Creek.

Today Clarence and I are going exploring along Injun Creek, a manway next to the Greenbrier Ranger Station that gets quite a bit of use. Ken McFarland takes his Pilgrimage moss walks there to see many species of bryophytes — mosses, liverworts, and a hornwort — growing within the first quarter mile. I’ve seen numerous people hiking it the two times I’ve been there studying all those tiny plants. It ties in to Grapeyard Ridge at some point, and we are going find out where.

The morning is cool and intermittently rainy. It is just light showers but steady enough to require protection. Clarence and I both opt for our umbrellas. Injun Creek, named for the small stream it follows, really should be an official park trail. It is well worn and not the least bit difficult to hike. The park has even placed a couple of footlogs spanning the little creek for the convenience of hikers; therefore, it receives at least some degree of maintenance.

Injun Creek is a pretty little stream.

The ranger station probably sits at about 1500 feet. Any elevation gain along the manway is slight at first. It follows the creek past several flat areas where there must have been buildings or farm land or orchards in the past. There is a rock-lined spring on the right. A little more than halfway in we climb a small ridge overlooking the creek below on our left. The ridge line leads to a wide, flat area that attracts our attention. We quickly realize this is a campsite, and putting two and two together, we get 32.

Campsite #32 is on Grapeyard Ridge. When we hiked that trail two days ago, we passed a sign indicating that the campsite was 200 yards down a spur trail. Turns out that spur trail is none other than the Injun Creek manway. Clarence and I continue to the junction with Grapeyard Ridge and confirm this. Looking at a map, the manway probably tops out at about 2300 feet. Clarence estimates a length of 1.75 miles.

Flaming Red Maple at Campsite #32

The campsite looks very inviting — level and relatively open. A gorgeous Red Maple is flaming its signature color. Along the ridge path, fallen wet leaves of Red Maple shine like bright rubies on the ground. The manway/trail is quite rich and lovely overall. I see Ebony Spleenwort, Umbrella Magnolia, Witch Hazel in flower, White Oak, Muscadine Grape, Hornbeam, Sweetshrub, Spicebush, and the winter foliage of Toothwort. On the flat areas near the bottom and at the ranger station, there are several Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida) with dusky red foliage. There are also numerous patches of Lung Lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) on tree trunks and even adorning the large stem of a grapevine.

We meet a group of ladies hiking in the rain to see the doomed engine. Taking this manway, just hang a left on Grapeyard Ridge, and you’ll find the wreckage just a short distance down in the shallow rills of little Injun Creek’s modest beginnings. I don’t know how far it is from the ranger station to Grapeyard Ridge trailhead, but Greenbrier Road, Grapeyard, and Injun Creek make a perfect triangle on the map totaling no more than 8 miles by my guesstimate. Now I understand why so many people use this manway. Who could pass up a rare loop hike that features the desolated remains of heavy machinery? Injun Creek deserves official designation as a trail with its very own sign!

Lung Lichen on Injun Creek

Back at the ranger station, Clarence and I debate our next move. It’s raining, it’s nearing lunchtime, and we’ve got an afternoon to kill. The choice is obvious. Eat and hike Ramsey Cascades Trail. He may not want to hike all the trails in the Smokies, but Clarence does enjoy the thrill of notching another one when given the opportunity. The impressive water feature at the end of Ramsey is calling him. I’ve got nothing else to do, so we eat lunch, don rain gear, and head out.

I decide not to take my camera and risk getting it wet since I documented the trail in April 2010. There aren’t many people here thanks to the weather, and with little gear to weigh us down, we make excellent time despite having to step carefully in the wet leaf litter and clamber over boulders. Having done it before, I am certain the end is near many times before we actually arrive at the cascades. Wishful thinking perhaps. Finally, we crest the last huge boulder and stand before that roaring crash of water tumbling down the rock face. We only stay a few moments, then turn and head back. The rain stops, and we put away our umbrellas but leave our raincoats on to combat the chill going down. Overall the entire eight-mile hike takes about four hours. This shows I can move fairly well when not hobbled by a camera and the desire/need to use it.

A land snail enjoys the wet weather on Injun Creek.

It rains off and on, mostly on, throughout the night. Next morning we are striking camp in cold, wet conditions similar to our arrival 10 days ago. It’s been a great trip, though. If Injun Creek is 1.75 miles, then our grand total is 77.1 miles. Not shabby at all, especially given that our final hurrah is none other than Ramsey Cascades! We are both ready for more. Other than being a bit sleep deprived (I’m still not getting a full night of zzz’s when camping, plus the Barred Owls would tear into one another in the middle of the night — now THAT will get you sitting straight up at 4:00 a.m.!), I could easily keep going. I can really feel the results in stronger, firmer leg muscles. What I wouldn’t give for this to be my backyard!

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