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In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies a beautiful little 4 mile trail called the Swallow Fork Trail. It is halfway between the Catalootchee and Cosby trailheads in the less visited eastern side of the park.

The beginning of the Swallow Fork Trail

Pedro calls the Yankees his daddy

In 2003 after losing to the New York Yankees, Pedro Martinez said in a post game interview: “They beat me. They’re that good right now. They’re that hot. I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”

The Swallow Fork

For those unfamiliar with the slang, the term means someone owns someone or has dominance over them. Midway through the Swallow Fork Trail up to the Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail, I began to feel about this trail the same way Pedro did about the Yankees.

Already a long day hiking

I had already hiked three miles straight up from Cosby to Low Gap via the Low Gap Trail. Even though it is a Low Gap, it is still the Appalachian Ridge, so the elevation gain from Cosby is substantial. Then I plummeted 2.5 miles down to Walnut Bottom.

This is where I met up with my soon to be daddy. The Swallow Fork Trail starts out innocently and follows the stream that bears its name for a gentle flat quarter of a mile. Then the trail starts to ascend. At first, the climb is a gentle up slope. Gradually the incline begins to get greater as does the strain on the thighs.

The trail begins to gradually go up. It seems gentle at first, but don’t be fooled

Swallow Fork Trail like Chinese water torture

The elevation never goes ridiculously straight up and there are no switchbacks, but for 3.5 miles the trail goes steadily up, and up, and up, and up. The methodical nature of the incline is almost like Chinese water torture. At times you almost wish for the straight up the mountain approach. “Let’s just get this damn incline over” you scream to no one as your legs wobble like jelly.

Despite the physical discomfort the trail caused, the beauty of it was not lost on me

Scenes like this helped ease the pain a bit

When hiking elevation, the distance is always muddled. After two miles when your head is dizzy and you are huffing and puffing like a freight train you feel you have gone 3.2 miles. Has to be less than a mile you think, you hope, you pray, but you are only halfway through the pain. Now you truly know what Pedro meant when he said the Yankees were his daddy because Swallow Fork Trail is yours.

Every ten minutes you need to stop and huff and puff and grab a drink of your diminishing water supply. You start to hallucinate and think you see the trail signs signifying the end of the trail in the distance around every bend only to find out the sign was just a log.

At least I could pause, take a breather, and take photos like this

You trudge on although morale is low. You begin to wonder why you ever put on this heavy god damn pack. I hate backpacking you say to yourself. I am never doing this again. This is when you realize that the trail is your daddy as your insight discussion takes on the tone of a ten year old. You now fully understand the expression.

Whose your daddy? Answer is Swallow Fork Trail

Just like in the 2004 AL Championship when the New York Yankee fans chanted “Who’s your daddy” to Pedro, the squirrels, the roughed grouse, the black-capped chickadees, and the pileated woodpeckers come out of the woods and chant the same to you as you wobble slowly up the trail.

Just when you are about to scream f bombs to the wilderness you see a break in the trees ahead. You come around the corner and you have attained the ridge and along with it the long anticipated junction. Even though I had completed the trail it was a Pyrrhic victory. It would be days before my legs and back would be the same. I may have finished, but I tipped by hat to the Swallow Fork Trail sign at the junction and called the trail my daddy and moved on.

The trail relentlessly goes up

A haggard smile before I tip my hat and admit this trail is my daddy

Backcountry trails are the way to go in the Smokies

The point of this post is many. First, I hope it inspires hikers with the beautiful pictures of this enchanting trail. Many hikers in the Smokies only hike the Appalachian Trail and miss out on the gorgeous backcountry trails. Even though this one is tough, it is not so bad if you do not combine it with an earlier climb.

Another point is to plan your hike wisely when backpacking. It is 11 miles from Cosby to the Mt. Sterling campsite. 11 miles is not a crazy distance to hike; however, in this case the 11 miles is mostly up and carries hikers up and over two ridges. It is a brutal day, so backpackers should take note of elevation changes as well as miles when planning a hike in the Smokies. Do not overextend yourself and have a trail in the Smokies be your daddy.

For a view of the trail in Spring and an account of the hike from a different perspective, check out this interesting post.
Adventure on!

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