Porters Creek Manway

“Looking for someone who has HIKED the Porters Creek Manway to Charlies Bunion.

Have read all the stuff on the net about it. Now planning a hike to include that section. would like to email/talk to some folks who can provide some first hand experience.”

“TD I think one of my scouts has done that. I'll ask him when I see him on Thursday.”

“There are folks who have done it obviously.. and it is on my list of HAVE to do soon!”

“So, you making up for lost hiking time?

I hope so. Grab it while you can. Feast or famine ya know.”

“BTW I hear there is a route that splits off of Bote Mtn Trail that climbs Thunderhead called the Dissappointment trail.”

“LOL.. naw.. you know me. I plan my trips and events MONTHs in advance.”

“I have also /heard/ of a manway back behind Ramsey Cascades.”

“You settled yet or still looking?”

“They park is ridled with old trails and roads.

I once met a guy who had hiked every trail in the park and was now doing all the old railroad grades. He had some antique deed maps that showed all the trails. Pretty cool stuff.”

“ya, smokiesgirl is into that also.. she has some KEWL old maps.

:)

as for me.. life sux right now.. but I am still hopeful.”

“the porter flats dayhike i kin do blindfolded....but i looked in my little trail book where i keep notes about different bp hiking trails i did in the smokies and in April of 1980, i wrote (about Porter Creek manway) "yikes, got lost ...could not find the "way"...must for sure be a manway not a womanway"
that was a LONG time ago...maybe has been more used and visible. good luck...i miss the area...”

“ya that's the one OM.. maybe we can talk more about what you rememebr.”

“i dont know what the web has for a trail description, but i was using the Hikers Guide to the Smokies (little blue book and map) back then and it had you count how many times you forded the creek... then look for "obscure" such and such.....like i said, i did not get very far as it got real steep, real fast and it was like climbing a wall of laurel and rhododendron, iwas going to do a loop ...get to charlies bunion then to leconte then down to gburg. it said do not try to descend that trail....it was a really long time ago....not sure if it has changed.
Porter flats was an ole stompin grounds for me when i lived and worked in that area.....there is an old graveyard and homestead along that trail and so many great swimming holes and thinking spots...
that is what i remember......
get out there! and find the way!”

“TD:
I have been up the manway from CS31 to the Bunion. I believe we did it last spring, if not it was 2000. Camped at CS-31 and did the manway as a day hike. At any rate it is a good hump and not to be done with anything more than a fanny pack. The trail is loosely maintained by some local hikers up to a point at least the trees are cut off most of it. It follows the creek up and the last quarter mile is about 60% grade (a pure scramble). As I recall it you cross back and forth across the creek several times till you get to the steep part. There you will begin seeing little piles of stones where the trail would otherwise be hard to follow. there is a stretch where you are walking up steep inclined rock with the creek flowing across it. A fall would be potentially serious so I would not attempt it in my normal winter walks. I have a cool photo of my partners on this area if you want me to send it, I don't know how to post it. At any rate near the top you will have to climb up and over/around some big rocks and use a lot of hand holds near the top. There is a lot of trash there as you get into throwing range of the AT, trashy people piss me off. When you get to the steep area my group (4) found two trail options left and right maybe 500 feet below the top. I went to the left and it was later decided that right and angling up would have been better. We came over the top onto the AT exactly in front of the Dry Sluice Gap trailhead and supprised the AT shelter maintenance guy who was eating lunch there. I believe the walk up took about 2.5 hours. Its too tight and balance too iffy to use a pack at all. Please be careful, falling would really suck. I think it may be too late now to do it as I would be nervous of snakes while climbing over the rocks. I believe we did it in March. I believe this is the trip where we found like 60 baloons that had floated in from some graduation in Severville or some such. I have humorous pics of us packing them back out. Best of luck
M”

“You can go down it to but whoah baby is it faster that way.”

“1. Further north(east) of Dry Sluice Gap trailhead on the AT within about one mile there are the remains of an old trail shelter at "False Gap." It is about 100 yards down an embankment to the north of the AT, but it cannot be seen from the AT.

2. There is a manway from somewhere on the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail to the Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower (refurbished) at White Rock.

3. There is a manway from just across Big Creek that goes to the left, while Baxter Creek Trail goes to the right. It rejoins Baxter Creek Trail about 1.5 miles below CS#38 at Mt. Sterling”

“wow.. great information.. thanks guyz!!”

“Sorry to be so slow.. a TR on the Porters Creek Manway trip..

http://members.tripod.com/towndawg/manway.htm”

“maybe its html

Porters Creek Manway”

“Here's a TR from a guy who emailed me.. asking about the manway.. and hiked it last weekend..

:)

His name is Ronnie (SmokyMountainHiker).
=================================

Ahhhh a crisp cool morning. Joe gets to my house right on time, 5am. We stop at McDonalds in Sevierville for breakfast, 2 bacon egg and cheese, and biscuits and gravy, if you were wondering. We make it to the Porters Creek trailhead by 7:00, and start hiking at 7:20. Just past the gate we notice a set of steps leading up to an old home site. The first part of this trail is on an old roadbed that lead up into this pre park community. At .07 miles we notice an old cemetary, the grave markers date back to the early 1900's. Some families continue to put flowers on to this day. At 3.6 miles we reach the end of the Porters Creek trail at campsite #31. It is 9:00. We take a break, and waste 20 minutes trying to find the begining of our adventure. A hike that has been in the making for 4 or 5 years. I had never asked, so no one bothered to tell me where the begining of the Dry Sluice Manway began. Supposedly this is the route of the Whaleys who settled this fertile valley in 1800 from NC. The start of the trail is at the far end of campsite 31. One step into the Mtn. Laurel, and it was evident why Chris Fox told me that,"he hoped it was dry." Everything was covered with water. I put on my light weight rain jacket and never took it off the rest of the hike. Some kind people in the past had placed cairns (stack of rocks) marking the trail. The trail was easy to follow except for a couple of times we had to stand and look in every direction to find the cairns. One huge cairn, we thought was a major turning point in the trail but just turned out to be one that the rocks were plentiful by, I guess. We crossed the creek 13 times and finally reached a creek bed that did not have running water, but it was wet and slick. These were some of the wettest rocks I have ever tried to stand on. After what seemed like a 1/4 mile of walking up the creek bed, we hear running water. Just above us are several small waterfalls. The water runs into a pool and it must go under ground through a tunnel and exit down below. Then we reach a huge wall approximately 200 feet high and 200 feet wide it is wet and covered with moss. The rain continues to fall just enough to keep us wet. I had forgotten my water proof rain pants, boy was that a mistake. My legs were soaked. The large wall was angled about 60 degrees. We were climbing on all fours at this point. Eventually we see a side trail leading out from the wall. It is a trail, but some sections of it are a 70 degree angle. Joe hears voices down below, there are people hiking this same unmaintained manway the same day we are. Unbelievable. We exchange hellos and continue on. Then we hear more voices in the fog. They are from above. We make small conversation with the voices from above until we step out on the AT at exactly 12:37. 3 hours to the minute to hike 1.5 miles. Just a wee bit slow. The people on the AT had ridden horses up from Smokmont in NC. They had came up the Dry Sluice Trail. That is the way the Whaleys came up in 1800 to go down the way we came up. Judging from the angle, I doubt they went down there, but I can't say for sure. It was too foggy, and rainy to see anywhere. Could not even get a picture of us climbing out of the manway. As we came upon Charlies Bunion we met a man and his niece, they were from Montgomery MD, and NY in for a family reunion. There was no view at the Bunion, but a family was there and Joe took a group picture for them. On the way to Ice Water Springs Shelter, we were over taken by a man and his daughter, David and Lauren, from KY. After talking a few minutes we realized they were the ones coming up the manway behind us. It was evident they were in better shape than me. They hurried on out of sight. We ate lunch at the shelter. There was a group of men there training for a hike in the Grand Canyon. We left the shelter at 2:10. I was so exhausted I did not even stop at the intersection of the AT, and the BLVD trails. If I had hung around too long, I might have went to Newfound Gap and hitched a ride to truck. There were no views from any portion of the BLVD trail. It was 5:00 when we made it to Mt. Leconte lodge. This was my 31st trip, and Joe Flemings 6th. The office was full of people going to spend the night. I talked with Henry Neel, a lodge employee. His birthday is Oct. 27, Happy Birthday Henry! The lodge is going to be open until Nov. 27th, but the last night to spend the night is the 26th. Then it will close for the winter. Joe had to drag me on the trail at 5:30. I called home only to get my answering machine. I said,"we only have 9.1 miles to go, and we are running 1.5 hours behind schedule." That got alot of attention from the campers on the porch of the office. They wished us well, and we were off. The Trillium Gap trail did not seem as rocky as it did the time we hiked it at night. Night was falling fast. We reached Trillium Gap at 7:00, and it was dark. After a couple of mini Snickers Bars, and putting on our headlamps, gone again. This would be the toughest 5. 5 miles I have ever walked. The fog was setting in, and the rain became heavier. The leaves were falling on the trail making it almost impossilbe to see. There was no way to tell how fast we were walking, but and hour down this trail, we heard a loud screeching animal sound. the goose bumps were all over my neck and back. Joe assurred me it was only a wood pecker. He may have guessed, who knows? It was 9:25 when the reflectors on the gate crossing the road came into sight. Finally 22 miles, and 14 hours and 10 minutes we are at the truck. I started to call in sick, but since my boss reads my write ups, I thought I had better go in and make a small contribution the company today. Hope you enjoy!”

“This guy ever hear of paragraphs?”

“Good report. Have you met this guy, TownDawg, or just have had emails back and forth?”

“Haven't met him yet.. but he posts on that OTHER board some.. :)”

“Great trip report. I'm impressed!”

“Man, Towndawg!! If we would have done that trip as a dayhike, I would have crawled back to my truck in Greenbrier!!
But he didn't climb up that beast with a backpack!”