The first two miles of this route can be driven in a 4WD vehicle, then the trail merges with the blackwater creek which you'll be wading in. If you choose to begin at the trailhead where the sign is you can avoid the jeep road and the creek wading, but it adds mileage to the journey. There is a structure built at the end of this route in memory of the firefighters who died in 1937 in a massive wildfire. For those who feel the need to go beyond, the trail continues on up to the peak of Clayton Mountain. Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed this area "the most scenic 50 miles in the United States."