Gabes Mountain Trail to Sugar Cove
Hen Wallow Falls is a beautiful sight, but a trip to Sugar Cove campsite is worth venturing further down the trail.
The scenic Cosby section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park harbors the trailheads for two extremely challenging trails: Snake Den Ridge and Low Gap (Tennessee side). It also is the jumping-off point for less strenuous paths, notably Gabes Mountain Trail. But the latter, if anything, is more rewarding—not just easier to hike—than either of the more arduous routes. I highly recommend it during any season.
Most people hike Gabes Mountain Trail only as far as the lovely Hen Wallow Falls, reached via a short spur trail barely more than two miles from the trailhead. That hike in itself is certainly a worthwhile excursion. But if you have the time, energy and inclination, I suggest continuing to the Sugar Cove backcountry campsite, situated in an attractive setting just under five miles out. It’s a wonderful lunch destination as part of a lengthy, out-and-back day hike that follows a pleasant, well-graded route.
The Civilian Conservation Corps completed Gabes Mountain Trail in 1934, the year the Smokies park was officially established. Thus, like the park, it’s been around for 90 years. Although somewhat heavily traveled to Hen Wallow Falls, the entire path is typically in good condition.
Near the start, large holly trees stand among hemlocks and hardwoods, adding a sizable splash of greenery during winter. Just under a mile out, water from a branch of Crying Creek rushes through two small culverts, positioned at either end of a handsome rock bridge.
A bit farther along the trail, especially in winter, you may be able to look back and see mighty Mount Cammerer, the northeastern rampart of the Smokies crest before the divide falls off sharply to the Pigeon River Gorge. The shortest and least strenuous hiking route to the lofty peak and its distinctive fire tower is via the Low Gap Trail from Cosby that connects to the Appalachian Trail.
Slightly more than two miles from the trailhead, you’ll see the side trail to Hen Wallow Falls on your right, with a viewing area reached in about 300 yards. The falls are well worth the effort required to descend the mostly steep, rocky, narrow spur to a spot among a jumble of rocks where the falls are best viewed. The spilling water crashes amid nearby rocks, providing quite a show especially with high water levels. Hen Wallow Falls reminds me of the less accessible and less visited Little Creek Falls along Deeplow Gap Trail, in the Deep Creek section of the park. The rushing beauty of both lifts the spirit.
If you decide to continue on Gabes Mountain Trail, you’ll soon see a fine view to the north of English Mountain, a massif that rises above the Tennessee foothills to an elevation exceeding 3,600 feet. About halfway to Sugar Cove, water gushes from a rock face. You then reach a sunny, open cove at roughly the three-mile mark. Soon you enter another cove, featuring a tributary and impressively large hemlocks and poplars.
The trail mostly flattens, a rarity in these mountains, for the final 1½ miles before Sugar Cove. A large uprooted tree just off trail has an exposed root ball as large as a bedroom, creating a crater-sized hole in the ground. Nearby, you’ll see a few patches of mountain oat grass along the trail, as well as a small boggy area.
You reach the Sugar Cove campsite just beyond a rock-hop crossing of Greenbrier Creek. Open, level places to pitch even a small tent are difficult to come by here, but the beauty of this camp along the creek more than compensates for that deficiency. You might wish to spread out on a boulder for lunch, amid unusually lovely environs that you likely will find difficult to leave for the return trip to the trailhead.
- Trailhead: Gabes Mountain Trail across from Cosby Picnic Area
- Length: 9.8 miles round trip if hiked to Sugar Cove backcountry camp
- Difficulty: Moderately strenuous if entire route is hiked
About the author: Ben Anderson is author of Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (blairpub.com).