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Length: 5.0 miles
Rating: Strenuous
This strenuous
creek headwater trail is 5 miles long and rises 2,300 feet, connecting
Cataloochee Valley and Mt. Sterling Ridge. The lower end of the trail
follows the beautiful Pretty Hollow Creek, which is easily viewed from the
old roadway.
There is a magnificent stand of huge hemlock at the last crossing (a
log bridge), about 3 miles from the trailhead on Cataloochee Road. Local
lore say there is a fantastic section of virgin forest up Cook's Creek,
but the only trail is a rough fisherman's path. After that last stream
crossing, the trail becomes very muddy. There are several 100-yard
sections of deep mud that must be conquered before reaching the gap.
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