Tuesday, August 19 – We left Watauga about 9:15 and arrived at Rock Creek about 10:00 after driving 36.4 miles. The temperature at Rock Creek was about 5 degrees cooler than Erwin, probably because of the heavy forest. We were greeted by Bob, the host who was here last year. We had a good visit with him and got up to date on happenings in the area. We set up on site 27 which is nice and large and well spaced from neighbors. We then headed into Erwin to look around and then to Walmart to pick up some needed food items. After dinner, Tim and Rich stopped by with Gus and took a walk with us around the campground and along the creek.
Wednesday, August 20 – It was a very quiet night, so we slept late. Both of us were getting very shaggy, so we drove to Johnson City to get a haircut. We also wanted to check out the Nolichucky River and go back to Mahoney’s Outfitters to get some information and appropriate flies for S.M. Bass on the Nolichucky. We got all things accomplished and much better haircuts than the last ones. It continues to be warm, but about 8 degrees cooler in the campground than down in Erwin. By the time we got back, new neighbors had moved in all around us. People have been very friendly and respectful. Our hosts are very helpful and friendly as well.
Thursday, August 21 – We had breakfast and drove the eight miles over to the Nolichucky to wade-fish. When we got out on the water, it became very windy, which made fly fishing quite challenging. However, Joan managed to come up with a nice 12” S.M. Bass. John had some nice hits and follows, but no fish. Considering that this was our first time on this body of water, we did rather well. Later, we stopped by Erwin Linear Park and had lunch by the small lake that is there. They also have a biking path that is a few miles long and follows a small creek.
Friday, August 22 – We had a chance to talk with our neighbors, Greg, Pam, and their daughter Lauren this morning. They are from Lancaster County, PA. They are a very nice family and Greg grew up in this area. They are visiting his parents who still live in the area. After breakfast, we drove through Unicoi, to Limestone Cove Recreation Area day use area. We fishing for awhile, but the water was very low making fishing difficult. John managed to catch one small trout. It is a nice area that used to have a campground, but it is now closed. We hiked to the swimming area that has about a dozen breeder rainbow trout that were put in by the Erwin National Fish Hatchery that is just down the road. John threw in some salmon eggs that they gobbled up very quickly. It was fun to see how fast they are. It would be a lot of fun to try the fly rods there, but would be highly frowned upon and probably a federal crime.
Saturday, August 23 – It was a quiet night, especially for a Friday, so we slept well again. We took our coffee walk on the Hemlock Trail. It was a nice, not too long, loop above the campground. After a substantial breakfast, we ventured out on the Rock Creek Falls Trail. This was a definitely more ambitious 1.5 mile hike up to a beautiful falls. It followed Rock Creek with a few crossings over well placed rocks. We were pleased that there was actually water flowing over the falls, not like the last three that we visited at Cloudland Canyon and Falling Waters. Joan took many pictures along the way and at the falls.
Sunday, August 24 – Sadly, we said goodbye to our neighbors Greg, Pam, and Lauren, then walked over to the pavilion where we attended a worship service. It was put on by a local Baptist Church. There were only a few there, including our hosts, but it was a good time regardless, and a meaningful message. After breakfast we took another hike, but this time not quite as ambitious as yesterday. The weather continues to be perfect, but the weathermen say there is a chance we could get some rain from T.S. Fay about Wednesday. Folks who live around here (nearly everyone we meet camping) would greatly appreciate some rain.
Monday, August 25 – T. S. Fay made here appearance this morning providing us a steady rain for most of the day. This is very welcome here by the locals who have been seeing drought conditions for most of the summer. It gave us a chance to catch up on reading and assembling fly fishing information for the areas we are and will be for the next few weeks. We found several discussion forums that are written by locals who fish these waters every day. They provide the best information available about areas, fly patterns, and techniques. We were invited for pancake breakfast by our neighbors across the road, John, Lois, her son Darrel, and his wife, Jennifer. It was great to visit with them. It also appears that there is another Tropical Storm brewing near Haiti and heading for Florida.
Tuesday, August 26 – It rained all night and has been raining all day too, never real hard, but a steady rain just as well. We needed to go to the laundry-mat anyway and stop at Walmart to stock up again. In between, we explored and found another place to fish on the Nolichucky River. We will return there as soon as the rain stops.
Wednesday, August 27 – It finally stopped raining this morning and the sun came out for awhile. There was some excitement in the campground because a limb had fallen the evening before and landed on the top of a trailer across the road from us. Thankfully, it did not do any damage. We had heard it fall, but could not determine what it was or where it had landed. The same was true for another that fell just after we went to bed. It sounded like a gunshot. It turned out to be a sizable branch that landed on the neighbor’s fire pit. The rain had apparently soaked into dead limbs and weighed them down enough to make them let go. After breakfast we drove back to Wautauga Dam to visit our new friend Clyde again. We took the back roads over the mountain, which made a very scenic ride. Before heading back, we stopped at Stoney’s pizza for dinner. While we were there it poured. We sat by a fire in the evening and were serenaded by thunder in the area.
Thursday, August 28 – We went to bed last night with the weatherman forecasting a 20% chance of rain. Well we got the 20%, and it rained all night and into the morning. Finally, it stopped and we decided to check out the Nolichucky to see if it was fishable. It was not. It was a roaring torrent and impossible to even get close enough to fish. As a backup, John had been reading in our book “Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia” and found Rock Fork Creek which is close by. We drove and found it through really beautiful country. John said, “Now I remember why we fell in love with this area when we came through last year.” We parked alongside the road and walked down to the creek and fished it for awhile. Joan caught a nice 8” rainbow trout by standing on a big rock and casting down into a pool. So much for the theory that you have to sneak up on them. This will be an area we will return to. Tim and Rich stopped by for awhile in the evening.
Friday, August 29 – We took our coffee walk around the loops and found the campground nearly full. Hopefully, they will be considerate campers this weekend and not make too much noise. After breakfast, we headed out for another explore. This time we wanted to check out Horse Creek. We talked to the ranger, host there, who was very informative. The campground is right on the creek and nicely laid out. There are no hookups, but there are warm showers and flush toilets at the swimming area that is close. We went down to the picnic area that is also along the creek and has a special fishing restriction that allows only children and those over 65 to fish. Since Joan is still way too young, John took advantage and fished for a few minutes. Sadly, there was nothing hitting. The ranger also told us about another fishing/camping area on Paint Creek that we might want to check out. We went over there and found it in a gorgeous area and a very nice campground. There is a road that runs by the creek that is entirely in Cherokee N.F. We parked and fished it for about an hour, but only caught very small trout (fingerlings). The stocking of these creeks stops in June, which means that they might be fished out by now. The total absence of locals fishing on a Friday late afternoon, in this prime trout area might be a clue that there is not much going on. We would have focused on fishing for S.M. Bass in the Nolichucky River, but it is still running way too fast to fish.
Saturday, August 30 – We had a lazy day today. We started looking at fishing areas in Georgia where we will be next week and checking regulations. We sat by a fire in the evening. The weather has been perfect the last couple of days.
Sunday, August 31 – We went to church with out neighbors, John and Lois, at John’s brother Bill’s church not far from here. Folks were very friendly and inviting and Bill gave a meaningful message. Afterwards, several of us went out to eat at a local Chinese Restaurant. The school-age boy who was working there kept us entertained while he was waiting on us. We talked for quite a while with a couple, Matt and Cassi, who just bought a camper like ours off Craigslist and had questions about how some things were supposed to work.
Monday, September 01 – It was very quiet on our loop last night and this morning. Today we started minor packing to get ready to leave tomorrow. Besides a couple of walks around the campground, we stayed close to home. Tim and Rich came over for dinner tonight and we enjoyed talking with them. They are making plans to come back home to Florida over Christmas and visit their grandmother. We also enjoyed a fire in the evening.
View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/RockCreekRecreationAreaNFSCampgroundErwinTn
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