Chattanooga Hiking Meetup

Bear Creek at Cloudland Canyon (9 miles Difficult)

March 9 · 9:00 AM
Cloudland Canyon State Park

BEAR CREEK TRAIL

at Cloudland Canyon

Sections of this hike will be rugged and strenuous.

This hike is not a beginner hike.

Meeting Time: 9am

Meeting Location: Cloudland Canyon State Park, Main Parking Lot, where the overlook, interpretive center, rest room facilities, etc., is. Just stay straight on the park road and it is almost the last thing you come to.

Hiking Distance: approximately 9 miles

Hike Rating: moderate with some difficult sections

Hiking Time: approximately 5-6 hours

Join Greg Foster on this beautiful and challenging hike. Greg is an experienced hiker, having hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and most of the the Pacific Crest Trail. He has also contributed significantly to the creation of the Bear Creek Trail, so come check it out.

There is a crossing of Bear Creek on this hike, so there is the possibility that the water will be up and that we will need to take off our shoes and socks to cross, so be prepared for that. (IE: Water Shoes or Crocs). You will need to be adventurous to take on this hike.

Although the hike will be tough and long, we will go at a relatively slow pace to be able to accommodate the tough terrain while enjoying the beautiful scenery that this fantastic trail has to offer.

Things to Bring:

Day pack with Plenty of water

Snacks/lunch

Treking poles if you have them

Water Shoes and Extra socks

Huge Smile!

** Just a reminder that Georgia State Parks do charge a $5/vehicle parking fee.

Hike Leader Contact Info

Greg cell [masked])

email [masked]

Please be sure to dress appropriately according to seasonal temperatures/weather.

NO-SHOWS: As with all Meetups, if you are a "YES" and you discover you cannot come, please be polite and change your RSVP to a "NO" as soon as possible. Don't be a "no-show". Organizers try to ensure that we don't leave anyone behind, and if we are waiting on you when you know that you are not coming, it only holds up the group unnecessarily. Please be considerate. Also, it isn't necessary to RSVP 'No or Not Going" unless you are changing your status from a Yes. Mostly, we just need to know if you ARE GOING!

WEATHER: As with all outdoor events, if it's raining/stormy or very poor trail conditions, we may have to cancel. If the weather is questionable, please check this event page before you leave home.

CARPOOL

For those interested in carpooling from Chattanooga, please meet at the Walmart on Cummings Highway at 8am. Meet toward the back of the parking lot, closest to the road (so as to allow the closer spots for paying customers) right where you pull in. You may want to stand outside of your cars so that others realize that you are part of the carpool. There will not be an organizer at the carpool. The hike leader will meet you at the park. Plan to leave promptly at 8:10 from the Walmart to head to Cloudland Canyon. Please be courteous and anticipate sharing in the cost of gas with your drivers.

Please make every effort to arrive early or on time

so that you do not hold up the group.

Join or login to comment.

Jennifer Walls

Great hike, great hike leader!

0 · March 11
Shawn Tobin

Greg was an outstanding guide. The river crossing was awesome and nobody acquired hypothermia or fell into Bear Creek River. The view was awesome from the rim. Jackson was a great companion. Looking forward to more hikes. I learned a few new things today: Diamond Blaze and Cairn (correct spelling). The wild turkeys were beautiful.

2 · March 9
- Greg Foster
  
  Thanks Shawn. 'Twas nice meeting and hiking with you and your daughter. Look forward to our paths crossing again soon. :-) G
  
  0 · March 10
Greg Foster

Good Day for Hike! Good Folks to Hike with! Good time was had by all. LIFE IS GOOD!!

0 · March 10
Ken Hicks

Hey guys ...I ended up out of town for the weekend so I will not be there tomorrow. I hate to miss this one!

0 · March 8
- Rhonda
  
  Hey Ken, any time you have to change your plans, please be sure to change your rsvp also. Thanks for letting us know, though.
  
  0 · March 8
- Ken Hicks
  
  Hi Rhonda ...will do on the RSVP thing next time. Thanks!
  
  1 · March 9
Mary Carlisle

Just wondering if anyone is driving down to Cloudland tomorrow from the northern side of Chattanooga. Wanting to share the drive and cost.

0 · March 8
- View all 4 replies
- Greg Foster
  
  Good luck with this, Mary. Worse case, it is just about 18 miles from Nooga to CCSP and about a 30 minute drive, depending on which route you take. The top of the Mtn., scenic hwy route is most fun, uses the least amt of gas but takes the longest. :-) Hope this helps a 'litl. G
  
  0 · March 8
- Mary Carlisle
  
  Thanks for the reply - guess I'll be going it alone. It's going to be 1.5+ hour drive, so I'll just follow what my GPS tells me, maybe on the way home I can take in the scenery.
  
  0 · March 8
- Jennifer Walls
  
  If you want to meet me at my house you can ride with me the remainder of the way. I live on top of Lookout by Lula Lake. Call or text me at [masked]
  
  0 · March 8
- Mary Carlisle
  
  Thank you Jennifer - that was a kind offer. Sorry to all members that I signed up for this hike and then at the last minute cancelled. I did really want to do this hike, but decided the long drive was not what I wanted to do. I did however check this sight last night to make sure there were spots open so I would not hold a spot when someone else could not go. I also waited last minute just incase there was someone who lived on the northern side of Chattanooga. I won't be making that mistake again though. I didn't need a rude and arrogant rebuke this morning when I called to let the hike leader know my change of heart. Again, sorry to all the members - THIS WON"T HAPPEN AGAIN - I'll go with my dog instead.
  
  0 · March 9
ruthie moseley

sorry to miss this--something came up

0 · March 9
Jane Peterson

Is the meetup time eastern or central?

0 · March 7
- Rhonda
  
  All CHM events (regardless of where the event takes place) are posted in eastern time since the club is based out of Chattanooga, and Chattanooga is in the eastern time zone.
  
  0 · March 7
- Jane Peterson
  
  Thank you : )
  
  0 · March 8
Greg Foster

WooooHoooo!! Weather Update here on Lookout Mtn for Saturday. 61 Degrees, Sunny, 10% chance of rain. Purrrrrfect!

0 · March 7
- Chris Krato
  
  You know, that's just going to make the creek that much colder.
  
  1 · March 7
Deborah Webb

After the rain today, I am wondering about that water crossing. Will it be a swim? Not worried about getting wet in the warm weather, but it's been cold, and hypothermia is a bummer.

0 · March 5
- Greg Foster
  
  Deborah, as with all our events, if you are uncomfortable with this hike then you may want to consider not doing it. The last thing we want is someone doing something they are uncomfortable with, Ok. We will not be swimming Bear Creek. :-) No Waterwings required. The water is up and has been all winter. It will be appx 2 feet deep but not too swift. As stated in the description of This Hike...."Difficult and You will need to be adventurous to take on this hike." The river crossing in a main reason for this description. You can look at pictures from last Friday if you want to see what this is like. Hope this helps. G
  
  0 · March 6
Greg Foster

Hello Everyone.... Getting Cited for this Hike? Hope So! FYI - did this one on Friday with a sm group, 32 degrees, in the snow. FUN, actually! Anyway, Bear Creek is up and will most likely remain so until we get to cross it. So count on a nice icy foot bath. :-) Bring some light creek shoes to wear in water is a suggestion, Hiking stick or Treking poles are nice and either shorts or pants that will roll up or zip off. Water was appx 2 ft deep on Friday. Lastly, Fret not, We will teach you safe stream crossing techniques. :-)
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me. Look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones!
Happy Trails,
Greg.....aka - S'do :-)

0 · March 4
Shawn Tobin

Looking forward to it. I hope the creek is low as it often floods.

0 · March 3
Mary Carlisle

I would love to carpool from Chattanooga as I'm coming south from Pikeville. Just want to make sure before I head down that there will be someone there to carpool with. Thanks.

0 · March 3
Heather Seigler

I'm so sad, I just found out I would will be out of town this weekend. Please do this hike again, I REALLY want to go! Sorry!

0 · February 27
Greg Foster

Hello fellow adventurers, had someone ask about the river crossing , so thought should post this. We have a-lot of water up here so, yes...we are going to be crossing a river. (Knee deep more or less - depends) That is one of reasons this hike is rated "difficult." Are you Smiling? So, one can go barefoot and some people do, but I suggest that folks have some sort of water shoes to wear cause it is slippery. Sandals, Old Tennis Shoes, Crocs, whatever. Also a walking stick or treking poles would be handy as well to help keep you from falling. Fret not, We will teach you safe stream crossing techniques.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me.
Happy Stream Crossing Trails,
G

0 · February 25
Chris Krato

Hey Greg, is the meet time eastern or central. I'm assuming eastern, but want to be sure.

0 · February 23
- View all 3 replies
- Greg Foster
  
  Good point. We are in GA so it is Eastern, though we are very close to Bama or Central.
  
  0 · February 24
- Chris Krato
  
  Thanks, that was my guess. Just went to Cloudland with Little River Canyon group yesterday. They post their hikes in central time.
  
  0 · February 24
- Greg Foster
  
  Kewl! Saw they were here, almost joined ya, but was hiking w/ friend farther N on Mtn. How was your hike? Bout to walk out door and do something similar right now, but with very small meet-up group called "me and my dog, Jackson" :-) C Ya on 9th.
  
  0 · February 24
Greg Foster

Looking Forward to sharing this neat trail with you all! Going to be Fun! We even sometimes see wild goats on this primitive trail, so remember your camera. See Ya Soon and Happy Trails, G

0 · February 17