Little Sam Trail Map

Route map of the Little Sam Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...

Little Sam Trail Map

Route map of the Little Sam Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Little Sam/Flat Laurel Creek Trail Junction -- 5,500'

This is the northern terminus of the Little Sam Trail (left), as it departs the Flat Laurel Creek Trail about 1.2-miles from Black Balsam Road...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,550'

The trail will be gradually climbing for the next mile or so, and is fairly rough as it goes...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,580'

About a quarter mile above its northern terminus the trail passes through this rugged rock cut...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,600'

A brief break in the trees provides a look at nearby Mount Hardy (6,110')...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,640'

There's only on stream crossing on the Little Sam but it's a pretty one, as you'll see in the next couple shots...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,640'

Looking upstream at the crossing...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,660'

In many places on this trail old, rusted cables protrude from the ground...evidence of the logging which took place in the area in the not-so-distant past...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,680'

One of the larger lengths of exposed cable...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,700'

Some of the larger outcrops along the trail are covered in these foliose lichen...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,740'

The most serious incline, which is a brief one, occurs just before the trail reaches the MST...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,750'

Just before reaching the MST there is a large rock outcrop you can scramble up for a view of the surrounding ridges...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,750'

Looking north from the top of the outcrop. Little Sam Knob (5,862') is the peak in the right...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,750'

Looking south from the outcrop you get a close view of the backside of Devil's Courthouse (5,670')...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,750'

Another view from the outcrop...

Little Sam Trail -- 5,750'

This middle-of-the-trail campsite is located just prior to the Little Sam's junction with the MST...

Little Sam/Mountains-to-Sea Trail Junction -- 5,750'

The Little Sam Knob Trail (left) at its southern terminus, where it meets the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the vicinity of Chestnut Bald.