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| Boogerman Loop | ||
| Trail Features: | History, Old Growth Forest, Streams | |
| Trail Location: | Cataloochee | |
| Roundtrip Miles: | 7.4 miles | |
| Total Elevation Gain: | 1040 feet | |
| Avg. Elev Gain / Mile: | 281 feet | |
| Highest Elevation: | 3710 feet | |
| Trail Difficulty Rating: | 9.48 (moderate) | |
| Parking Lot Latitude: | 35.63157 | |
| Parking Lot Longitude: | -83.08865 | |
Directions to Trailhead:
From Exit 20 off I-40, almost immediately, take a right (heading west) onto Cove Creek Road. Roughly 4.7 miles from the turn-off the paved road ends and you’ll begin driving on a gravel/dirt road. The road is
passable for low clearance, two-wheel drive passenger cars; however, you should expect some rough, washboard sections. Just need to drive slowly.
At 5.9 miles you’ll reach the Park’s gate. At 7.6 miles you’ll reach the paved turn-off to Cataloochee. Turn left here. At 10.7 miles you’ll pass the Cataloochee Campground. Just beyond this, on the left, is the trailhead for the Caldwell Fork and Boogerman Trails.
Trail Description:
The Boogerman Loop hike begins from the Caldwell Fork trailhead and immediately crosses one of the longest footbridges in the Park.
At just over 0.8 miles you’ll reach the first Boogerman Trail junction. Turn left here onto the Boogerman Trail.
Once on the Boogerman Trail it will soon become quite apparent that you’re hiking in an old growth forest. You’ll pass several very large trees, including white pines, yellow-poplars, as well as eastern hemlocks – including many dead and dying – victims of the hemlock wooly adelgid infestations.
Fortunately for us modern day visitors, Robert Palmer was very protective of his forest and rejected all buy-out offers from lumber companies to harvest the wood on his property. As a result, some of the tallest trees in the Cataloochee Valley are found along this section of the Boogerman Trail. According to the Volume 2 #1 issue of Smokies Life Magazine, the Cataloochee Valley is home to three eastern hemlocks that stand more than 170 feet in height.
You’ll pass the former Palmer home site at roughly the 2.3-mile mark. At roughly 3 miles from the trailhead there used to be an old wagon wheel sitting against a tree on your right. Not sure if it’s still there or not, but we obviously missed it.
Other than the initial climb, and another short stiff climb near the half-way point, the Boogerman Trail is a very pleasant hike in the woods.
At just over 4 miles from the trailhead you’ll come to a very impressive rock wall – roughly 70 or 80 feet in length, and maybe 3 feet in height and more than 2 feet in width. These are the remains from the old Carson Messer homestead. As you continue down the hill you’ll find a few other walls as well.
Upon reaching the old Messer homestead the trail begins to follow a small creek, the Snake Branch, which you’ll cross over several times without the benefit of a bridge.
At 4.7 miles you’ll reach the Caldwell Fork Trail again. Turn right here to complete your loop hike.
From here the trail follows the Caldwell Fork of Cataloochee Creek all the way back to the trailhead. In fact, you’ll cross Caldwell Fork at least a dozen times. There are a couple of trail junctions that you might find a little confusing. These side trails are simply used by horses to ford the creek. You may also want to note that as a result of the horses, the trail can be quite muddy at times.
About a third of a mile from the trail junction you’ll reach a section of trail where the path seems to disappear. Just follow the creek bed for about 50 feet or so and you’ll easily pick-up the trail again on the left side of the creek.