Momentous Adventures-Benton Mackaye’s Eastside Odyssey
The views stretch out for miles from the Benton Mackaye Trail
Benton Mackaye was ahead of his time, he was the conservationist who presented the concept of the A.T. back in 1921 when he released article on the subject to generate excitement. Today, you can take his originally planned route of nearly 300 miles as it winds through the Appalachians. This loop in the Smokies utilizes a chunk of this legendary trail and the A.T. to make a grand 51 loop, highlighting some of the finest areas in the east side of this much loved National Park. I took four days to hike this loop, but I would suggest 5 now in retrospect, as the second day from Laurel Gap to Pecks Corner is a long 17 mile day. Start out at the Baxter Creek TH and start up to Sterling Mountain along the creek. The climbing ends at the foot of a high lookout tower that was covered in ice when I arrived on the scene. There is also a small, sloped camping area up here with good views of the surrounding landscape if you need a spot. Dropping off a high point here, the trail continues along a delightful ridge ramble here past Pretty Hallow Gap along Sterling Ridge. Soon in the distance, you will see a appealing notch ahead, this is Laurel Gap. Find a nice spot by the shelter or post up in this clean and pleasant hut for the night.
Beautiful morning light creeps back into the forest
The next day takes you for a short bit uphill to Beech Gap as it continues on a relatively flat ridge walk. Continue past a intersection leading to site 44, tucked away in a fold of the mountains, about a mile off the main tread. You now start a slow decent to Enloe Creek, which in the winter is a substantial waterway that cuts it’s way down this scenic canyon. Reach Straight Fork Rd, and make a right following the pavement over a bridge before rejoining the trail on the right. Cross a foot bridge and take a break at site 47, located in a beautiful spot high above the Creek. This is the last spot to camp if you don’t want to do the whole 17 mile day thing, and honestly one of the best spots along this loop. If you are on a time crunch like me, continue to climb to an intersection with Hughes Ridge and hang a right. This ridge has lovely views west into the interior of the Smokies as it slowly climbs and traverses higher to Pecks Corner, your spot for the night. Post up in this meadowy shelter or find a established camp spot.
One of the best part of winter hiking is the open views, even in a low section by Ecloe Creek
After a great night sleep in this peaceful spot, slowly ascend a half mile to the A.T. Make a right and head north on this legendary trail as it rolls slightly up and down along the spine of Appalachian Mountains. Good views in all directions open up as you travel through airy Copper Gap and up to Mt. Sequoyah where small windblown pines struggle to get a foothold in this exposed spot. One of the nicest features of the Smokies is the large availability of water high up on the ridges, both the Benton Mackaye and the A.T. have lovely springs that run across or slightly below the trail. The next few miles stay high, traversing around Mt. Chapman and Tricorner Knob, where a shelter and camps can be found a short distance down from the trail. After Deer Creek Gap, the trail starts slightly descending and changing character from rocky and rooty to softer soil. This next section before the Camel Hump was my favorite by far, as the ridge narrows and makes a sharp right where you can see your next couple of miles laid out before you in a postcard-like image. Make a couple of short climbs as you ride the Humps to Camel Gap and another stellar viewpoint of the surrounding ridges stretching out like arms in this breathtaking wilderness. After soaking that in, traverse around Ross Knob before a climb takes you near the top of Cosby Knob where nice camps and bear hangers can be found to the right. Or, drop down a short bit as a bowled out meadow starts opening up on the right reveling Cosby Shelter set in a most poetic spot with a small spring cascading closely by. The southeast views from the Shelter of Sterling Ridge and the lookout you passed only a couple of days ago show your progress and reward you with a sense of scale and wonder. Settle into a camp for the night and soak in your accomplishment with a hot meal and some chocolate. 
Get up nice and early and head out on the trail, it is all downhill from here! Drop on down to appropriately named Low Gap and onto an intersection to another lookout on the top of Mt. Cammerer. I didn’t take this short detour to the lookout because icy winds were ushering me out as another storm system was rolling in. However, if the weather looks favorable, I would suggest taking this side trip to the top for another surely stunning view and for the fact that it connects with the A.T. below forming a loop in a little over a half mile. Make a right at the Chestnut Branch intersection and follow this creek as it grows from a small trickle to a more impressive flow as other small creek merge into it in this wooded notch. When you reach the road you drove in on, make a right and follow it back a flat half mile back to your car. I used this time to reflect on my first Smokies adventure, one of rolling ridges, bubbling creeks and springs and miles of wilderness that radiated out in all directions letting my mind wander with it, I slowly came to realization of what I really found, piece of mind.
Icy trees grace the A.T.