Sunkota Ridge, Martins Gap and Indian Creek Trail Loop Hike at Deep Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park is always a challenging adventure. On Sunday July 19, 2020 a group of us headed up the mountain to the popular tourist stop, Clingman’s Dome. My mother, my nephew, Silas, Rhonda and I found parking and headed up the steep paved path to the towering overlook. It was 66 degrees with a bit of a chill breeze blowing. It was a perfect day for a hike at elevation. The sun was shining between rolling cloud banks that hid and revealed the stunning majesty of the mountain range. Mom and Avery headed back to their car and Rhonda, Silas and I trooped out to Andrew’s Bald. The Bald is 1.8 miles from the Clingman’s Dome parking area, a steep challenging 1.8 miles. The trail was magical, it had that Middle Earth feel I get sometimes when the terrain and lighting are otherworldly. The play of the light on the greens of the forest, the smell of the fir trees giving one a memory of Christmas Past, and hinting at the promise of Christmas to come, the sights and sounds going out the fairly popular trail and emerging on the Bald all combined to make the short adventure a lovely way to spend a few hours on Sunday afternoon. God is good and his creation is amazing. My place in it is finite and I am ever grateful for the chance to explore.

We drove back to our campsite, campsite 64 at Deep Creek campground feeling good. Mom had to leave our camp unexpected due to a family emergency, and when I arose Monday morning it was to find myself sharing the campsite with Rhonda. We had gone from 5 to 2 over night. Our original plan had included one monster hike to finish the short vacation, but without our shuttle up the mountain we rearranged our plans from a through hike from up on the mountain to a loop hike we could easily do from where we were. We plotted out 12.5 miles and packed up and headed out.

This is the other side of hiking, after our cool trek at elevation we set out and it was hot, not only hot, it was oppressively humid. We walked out Deep Creek Trail beside the Creek we had tubed on Saturday. The water looking cold and inviting as we trudged on. We made the turn onto Indian Creek Trail and passed the waterfall and headed towards its end. Indian Creek Trail is an old road bed and is a fairly easy walk. We chatted and sweated. We stopped at the creek and dipped our handkerchiefs and mopped the sweat off our brow and wrapped the cool cloths around our necks. At Campsite 47 we talked about the heat and about aborting the hike, but we pressed on.

We climbed up Martin’s Gap, this was new trail to me. The trail narrowed and we crossed some foot bridges. We dampened our cloths and began the climb towards the gap where Sunkota ridge crossed Martin’s Gap. The climb was arduous, more so because of the humidity combined with the heat than the elevation gain. The air was so thick it felt like one was having to press through it. This hike became one of those personal challenges, one where a body tested the limits of their endurance against hostile elements.

Surrounded by the beauty of the mountains, hoping for a breeze or any kind of relief from the heat, we climbed. One foot in front of the other, trying to judge how steep the trail was ahead, the world narrowed and we climbed. Conversation dwindled to one word exhortations. Simple questions, “you ok?” passed back and forth. Encouragement, “We can do this.” Trying not to focus on discomfort but on enduring we pressed our bodies beyond comfort. Once a body gets so far back the only way out is forward. There is no looking back. When we reached the trail intersection we took a long break and looked at our map to make sure that the chosen route out was the shortest. It was, it involved a bit more climbing much to our chagrin, and we pressed on after we hydrated and snacked.

The 3.8 mile section of Sunkota Ridge that connects Martin’s Gap to the Deep Creek Loop Trail stretched before us. We climbed, we descended, we ridge walked, we climbed, we descended. We were given a bit of relief with a bit of a breeze and we celebrated. About half way along the trail we heard loud crashing in the woods below us and wondered what animal was crashing around. Elk? Deer? Bear? Whatever it was it was big and we were still a long way from civilization. We had seen no other hikers on trail since we had left Indian Creek Trail many miles behind us. With a bit of an adrenalin rush we actually picked up the pace and the sounds of animals in the woods came again. Bedraggled, red-faced and drenched with sweat, we finally began an earnest descent.

When we finally got to the Loop trail we headed towards Indian Creek where we finally met other hikers again. Deep Creek was congested with tubers and we watched them as we headed towards the vehicle. Tired, but feeling accomplished we stopped creekside to soak tired feet in the cold water.

Adversity comes in many forms. At times it is easy to avoid adversity, but it is adversity that hones us, that strengthens us and pulls from our depths resources we would never tap otherwise. Who are we? What are we capable of? When it gets too hot, when the pressure gets too much, when we tire and our bodies scream at us to stop, what comes to the surface? Do we fold? Is it too much? Or do we press on and overcome? And when it’s done and we look back, do we say, I’ll never go there again or do we acknowledge that if we ever go there again, we have the will to overcome?

The world is in a place we have never been before, adversity has arrived. It wears different faces for different folks, the question is do we fold, or do we press on? Until next hike!