Prior to proceeding to stage our vehicles at Heiss Mountain Trailhead and begin our hike, we hiked in from Big Soddy Trailhead to check on the water level and flow of Board camp Creek. The Bridge was still out and the water in Big Soddy was flowing pretty good due to recent rainfalls. We didn't want to hike all the way down from Heiss Mountain just to find we couldn't cross the creek and have to hike all the way back up the trail. We all agreed that we would probably all get our feet wet, but the creek was crossable. We continued to Heiss Mountain trailhead and parked off highway 111. This cutoff about a mile from the hike, but we offset this with the 2 mile in and out at Big Soddy Gulf Trailhead. The sky was clear and the temperature was 24 degrees when we started our hike at 9:40 am. Once we were on the trail, the wind subsided and we were very comfortable with the hike. The trail was clear except for the spot where we had to run under a waterfall. along a bluff shortly after passing Board Creek Campgrounds. This was about halfway along the trail. Shortly after enjoying the unavoidable shower, we stopped and had our snacks. We continued our hike and crossed the creek at Big Soddy, where we all got our feet wet. as we thought we would. We finished the hike around 2:30 under a clear sky and the temperature was a pleasant 50+ degrees. A great 8+ mile winter hike on a nice trail with good friends.
If you would like to see some pictures taken during this hike, click here.