Foster Creek Trail Hike Route Map

My hike around the Foster Creek Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...

Foster Creek Trail Hike Route Map

My hike around the Foster Creek Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Foster Creek Upper Trailhead -- 2,240'

I'd begin my short hike form the upper junction of the Foster Creek Trail and Forest Road 5026. Unsurprisingly, I was the only one there...

Foster Creek Upper Trailhead -- 2,240'

Leaving the parking area beyond my car in the previous shot, the start of the trail is clearly marked alongside a bullet-riddled sign for the gated forest road...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,250'

This portion of the hike would follow the extension of Forest Road 5026 north for about the first 4/10-mile...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,260'

The forest surrounding me was a fairly normal mix of hardwoods and pines...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,270'

On the right, towards the creek, the terrain was noticeably wetter...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,280'

Passing a beautiful area of the forest carpeted in a thick mat of club moss...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,290'

The trail as it nears the northern extent of its loop...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,290'

The route now dipped slightly to cross Foster Creek itself via a large buried culvert...

Foster Creek -- 2,290'

Looking downstream, from atop the culvert, at tiny Foster Creek...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,300'

The road the trail had been following immediately turns back south beyond the creek and splits. Stay right to remain on the correct route...there are no blazes to indicate this however...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,290'

Looking down towards Foster Creek, which once again becomes hidden underneath the foliage...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,280'

The route remains fairly flat along this first southbound stretch...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,270'

I soon arrived in an area where the logging, which created the wide road I was following, took place not many years ago...

Foster Creek Trail (midpoint creek spur) -- 2,260'

A faint path could be seen leading down towards the creek at the mid-point of the loop. This path allows for a short-cut back to the upper trailhead...

Midpoint Creek Spur -- 2,250'

I decided to take the short jaunt down to the creek via the midpoint path. The spring green filling in the understory was beautiful...

Foster Creek -- 2,240'

I discovered that, if I had wanted to cut the loop short using the midpoint path, I'd have to get wet...it seems the trail picked the widest part of the creek to make its crossing. I turned back to the main route...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,260'

Back on the main "trail" I now entered a rather ugly area where the USFS conducted clear-cutting operations a short number of years ago...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,280'

I really started wondering at this point why the Forest Service hadn't decommissioned this trail by now. At the very least it needs to be rehabilitated or re-routed...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,270'

This was really getting ridiculous...here the logging road the trail was following splits, at a large muddy area. Looking at my map (as there are still not blazes to be seen anywhere) I determined the route continues down the right fork...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,270'

If there was an upside to the logging area I was crossing it was that I could enjoy some limited views of the surrounding hillsides, covered in a fresh coating of spring green...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,260'

Beyond the muddy split the trail descends a bit. Take note of the V-split tree just to the right of the path in center distance...it's an important landmark to spot if you want to stay on the correct route...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,250'

Here I'm standing beneath the V-split tree I had you take note of in the previous shot. The road continues ahead from here and, indeed I followed it a bit as there was nothing to indicate I shouldn't. It soon, however, petered out with no obvious trail continuing on. After a good 20-minutes of looking around I noticed a faint path leading towards the wood-line alongside this tree. Exploring along it a short distance I indeed discovered this was where the Foster Creek Trail now turns. Again, there's no trail blaze in sight here so you'll have to keep a close watch out for this exact spot to continue on the hike...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,250'

The faint trail leads towards the young pines seen in the previous shot then makes a left alongside them, descending slightly towards the trees beyond...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,240'

Once in the woods the trail, thankfully, presented itself more clearly again...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,240'

Passing another small cluster of pretty club mosses...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,240'

As the path descended towards the creek it became quite cluttered and overgrown again in spots...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,230'

Veering right around one of the larger pines seen along the way...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,230'

Here the trail dips through a small mud pit...luckily the plethora of fallen branches allowed for an easier crossing...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,230'

The trail as it makes the turn at the south end of the loop...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,220'

Do my eyes deceive me? Could that be a bridge AND a trail blaze ahead?!?!

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,220'

This was literally the first blaze I had spotted the entirety of the loop thus-far (it was, in fact ,to be the only blaze I'd see on this hike)...

Foster Creek -- 2,220'

Looking down on Foster Creek from the bridge at the south end of the loop...

Foster Creek Trail -- 2,220'

Beyond the bridge the trail continues back towards the road through a small field of early-blooming ragweed...

Foster Creek Lower Trailhead -- 2,220'

Just like that I was back at Forest Road 5026, at the lower junction of it and the Foster Creek Trail...

Foster Creek Lower Trailhead -- 2,220'

Looking back at where the Foster Creek Trail enters the woods from the lower trailhead...

Forest Road 5026 -- 2,230'

From the lower trailhead I now just had to make the short 1/3-mile walk north on 5026 to get back to my car...

Forest Road 5026 -- 2,240'

I had mixed feelings as I finished this hike. Mostly, I was frustrated. The Foster Creek Trail should exist as a pleasant, easy loop hike in a seldom visited and wonderfully quiet corner of the Pisgah Ranger District. As it is, due to the logging which has taken place recently and the seeming disinterest which the Forest Service seems to have had thus-far in rehabilitating the trail, the Foster Creek Trail is a mess. I sincerely hope there are efforts made in the future to save this little footpath but, in the short term at least, there's no indication of this happening...