Corbin Cabin/Nicholson Hollow: an "easy" SNP day hike

As I prepared for my week off, one of the things I thought I might like to try and do was complete the last five hikes (out of 26) in the “Best Easy Day Hikes” book (Amazon link at end of post). Since Chris was coming out for Sunday on Memorial Day weekend, we thought we should take on the one that sounded the most challenging of those five, which combines the Corbin Cabin Cutoff and Nicholson Hollow Loop.


This hike passes through an area that was fairly well populated before the Park was formed – the Corbin’s lived here, of course, in a cabin that still stands and is available for rental from the PATC (there’s a photo of Chris standing near the backdoor – we didn’t realize the cabin was rented until we went around front, but fortunately we didn’t disturb anyone). Also the Nicholson family lived here, farming a lot of the down sloping and relatively flat terrain, although the forest has grown over the clearings here as with other parts of the Park.

In addition to the Corbin Cabin, which is in good shape, there is a second, easily visible cabin called the Nicholson Cabin, now abandoned and just across the Hughes River. Shown in the photo at the top of this post, the guide books highlight this cabin as a worthwhile exploration “to see how the mountain people lived.” I came away with my usual impression of hard work, but strong community – something a lot simpler than how we typically define our lifestyles today.

There are other highlights on the trail – many traces of the “mountain people.” We found a small spring, and of course, enjoyed the two river crossing – Chris took a photo of me crossing the Hughes River. Near the top of the trail, in both directions, the mountain laurels were blooming, not quite at peak, but profuse.

As far as technical details go, I’d consider this more of a moderate outing, despite its inclusion in the easy day hikes book. It’s an adventure, no doubt, because of the things to check out and learn about down in the hollow. We did the 4.3 mile circuit that included a stretch of the AT, and experienced a total altitude change of about 1,350 feet – including some very steep sections.

Because I like doing it this way, we also reversed the typical direction. This approach makes the trails seem a little more private, even on a crowded weekend like Memorial Day. We had a late start, so there were fewer people on the trail – we crossed paths with four other parties, including an older couple who were about halfway up the steep climb back out of the hollow. I checked my Pathfinder and told them they were 2/3 of the way back up – “only about 400 feet of climbing left!” – but they didn’t seem to appreciate my confident and accurate report.

A quick check of the Heatwole guide (online at http://www.guidetosnp.com/web/) reveals the possibility of additional discoveries on this trail, but we weren’t able to pick these out: a third abandoned cabin, rock piles, ruins of other farm buildings, maybe even grape vines. I could pick out the areas that had been cleared for pastures and farming, though, I’ve seen enough of these areas to be able to note that.

For sheer exercise, I’d consider this hike a pretty good one, and it rates highly as a Park experience, or adventure. I think I might like to try it again, along with Snead Farm, in colder weather so that the undergrowth is gone and the snakes are hibernating, allowing a fuller exploration.