Well! We finally made it to the AT again! Long time since we planned to go to the GSMNP last July. This time we decided to skip the SMNP and begin our hike north of it (for several reasons).
With my 60th birthday coming up, I had a crazy hankering to spend it on the AT. So on Thursday, March 14, we drove north to Waynesville, NC to spend the night before beginning our hike the next day.
We have been in training for 8 weeks before this hike, using our wonderful "walking around the soccer field, up and down the bleachers, up and down the hill from the creek" method. We will see if it keeps us from getting sore this time.
We will be "slackpacking" most of this trip. That means we will be spending the night at various hostels along the way and taking only a daypack with us out on the trail each day. There is only one section that is too long without road access to allow us to do this. So we will have one night in the tent on the trail, not even at a shelter.
Keep reading for a day by day progress report of our hike.
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam
APRIL 20, 2012
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At Cody Gap we needed water, but found that
the water hole was off the trail down a steep bank, so decided to take our
chances and walk on, hoping to find water on the trail. We did find a very good water stream right
before Yellow Creek Gap.
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At 12:00 we stopped for lunch at Yellow Creek
Gap, SR 1242. We had hiked 7.6 miles in
3.5 hours.
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We first spotted Fontana Lake from the top of
the mountain long before we got to it.
It was a welcome sight, but we didn’t know at the time that it would be
a long time before we actually got to it.
It was a long descent into the valley.
We finally came to NC Highway 28 right before the Dam Marina. We still had 1.4 miles to go over a mountain
to get to the dam and the Visitor’s Center.
After a bathroom break at the marina, we began climbing again to cross
over to the Fontana Dam. We were tired
and ready for it to be over; therefore did not welcome the climb that was ahead
of us. Putting one foot in front of the
other, one step at a time, we finally made it to the Fontana Dam at 4:00.
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Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam - Moderate
15.4 miles in 7.5 hours
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| The Cabin in the Woods, Stecoah Gap |
Today we slackpacked. Whoo – What a relief! We woke up bright and early in the beautiful
Cabin in the Woods, made our breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, packed up our
lunch, water and a few snacks and called for a ride. Phil, Donna's husband, had us up to Stecoah Gap in ten
minutes. We started our hike at
8:20. As was to be expected, it was a
steep climb out of the gap. But without
our backpacks it was an enjoyable hike and a welcome break.
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| The Cabin in the Woods, back porch with a view of the mountainside. |
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| The Cabin in the Woods, Stecoah Gap |
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By 9:30 we were at the Brown Fork Gap Shelter
but since it was off the trail, decided not to go in to see it. We would have seen some of our comrads there;
a few who had made this shelter their goal the day before. A few had stopped at
Locust Cove Gap. So, we were without
our usual company today and we missed the camaraderie, but did meet another
young man today who was thru-hiking and trying to be the first to make it to
Mount Katahdin wearing the skele-toes.
We are interested to hear if he made it all the way, since they did not
look too stable to us.
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At Cody Gap we needed water, but found that
the water hole was off the trail down a steep bank, so decided to take our
chances and walk on, hoping to find water on the trail. We did find a very good water stream right
before Yellow Creek Gap. .JPG) |
| Can you see Fontana Lake down there? |
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At 12:00 we stopped for lunch at Yellow Creek
Gap, SR 1242. We had hiked 7.6 miles in
3.5 hours.
The remainder of the day was up and down
(literally), but nothing compared to the day before. The ups were steep but not too high, and the
downs were not too bad. Many welcome
gaps of rolling ridge-walking. Some
spots were rocky, some spots were muddy and slippery.
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| See Fontana Lake through the trees? |
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We first spotted Fontana Lake from the top of
the mountain long before we got to it.
It was a welcome sight, but we didn’t know at the time that it would be
a long time before we actually got to it.
It was a long descent into the valley.
We finally came to NC Highway 28 right before the Dam Marina. We still had 1.4 miles to go over a mountain
to get to the dam and the Visitor’s Center.
After a bathroom break at the marina, we began climbing again to cross
over to the Fontana Dam. We were tired
and ready for it to be over; therefore did not welcome the climb that was ahead
of us. Putting one foot in front of the
other, one step at a time, we finally made it to the Fontana Dam at 4:00. .JPG) |
| Hwy 28 goes through Fontana Village. |
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We wanted to see the “Fontana Hilton” shelter,
so made ourselves trek down the hill for a glance. It indeed was the largest shelter we had
seen. It was two levels on each side of
a center breezeway; built to shelter 24 people.
The showers and water fountains that were advertised in our 2011 Thru-Hiker’s
Companion though were not in service and looked like they had not seen water in
awhile. There were showers, though, at
the Visitor’s Center, but we didn’t have a towel or soap with us, so we were
unable to use them.
Our vehicle parked in the Visitor’s Center
parking lot was a welcome sight. The first thing we did was take off our boots
for more comfortable shoes and then went to the soda machine for a cold
drink. Unfortunately, my camera quit
working before we got to the dam and we could not take pictures to prove that
we had made it—but I promise you that we did!!
91 miles in 8 days.
Nantahala Outdoor Center to Stecoah Gap
APRIL 19, 2012
Nantahala Outdoor Center to Stecoah Gap - Strenuous
13.6 miles in 10 hours
Nantahala Outdoor Center to Stecoah Gap - Strenuous
13.6 miles in 10 hours
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| River's End Restaurant at NOC. |
We visited River’s End Restaurant again for
breakfast before setting out on the trail at 9:00 a.m. This section of the trail was everything we
heard it would be – very steep and a long uphill climb. Eight miles of elevation climbing from 1723’
to 5062’ at Cheoah Bald. It was
definitely the most strenuous day we have had on this section. We reached Cheoah Bald at 3:00 p.m. It was a beautiful view from the
top of Cheoah Bald.
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| A view of River's End Restuarant from across Nantahala River. |
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| Nantahala River at NOC |
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| Nantahala River at NOC |
Wayah Shelter to Wesser Bald Shelter
APRIL 17, 2012
Wayah Shelter to Wesser Bald Shelter - Moderate
10.6 miles in 7 hours
At Tellico my breath was taken away with the beautiful wild azaleas in bloom in pink and red.We had seen lots of them sprinkled throughout the forest already, but here they were concentrated in one area and close to the trail.
10.6 miles in 7 hours
No storm last night as forcasted. That was an answer to prayer, we could just
see our tent washed down the hill with a gullywasher.
We climbed 3 or 4 steep inclines before reaching Cold Spring Shelter where we stopped for lunch and water. We met Nightwalker going back down the trail lickety split. He had forgotten to take his GPS equipment off "Pause" at their last stop. Uh oh! He had to retrace his path almost a mile and back.
Several men had reached the shelter before us. As usual, I immediately looked for the privy and noticed that, standing in front of the shelter, you could see directly into the privy to the seat. Well, I just said, "Turn your head, boys, cause I gotta go." And I went.
The mosquitos were very thick at this shelter. Out came the repellant again.
We climbed 3 or 4 steep inclines before reaching Cold Spring Shelter where we stopped for lunch and water. We met Nightwalker going back down the trail lickety split. He had forgotten to take his GPS equipment off "Pause" at their last stop. Uh oh! He had to retrace his path almost a mile and back.
Several men had reached the shelter before us. As usual, I immediately looked for the privy and noticed that, standing in front of the shelter, you could see directly into the privy to the seat. Well, I just said, "Turn your head, boys, cause I gotta go." And I went.
The mosquitos were very thick at this shelter. Out came the repellant again.
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| Burningtown Gap, Elevation 4236 |
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| View from Copper Ridge Bald Lookout, Elevation 5080' |
Copper
Ridge Bald Lookout was a pretty place for pictures so we took a few. From there, it was a lot of downhill hiking
to Tellico Gap.
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| Rocky Bald Lookout, Elevation 5030' |
At Tellico my breath was taken away with the beautiful wild azaleas in bloom in pink and red.We had seen lots of them sprinkled throughout the forest already, but here they were concentrated in one area and close to the trail.
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| Beautiful orange wild azaleas at Tellico Gap |
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| Beautiful pink wild azaleas at Tellico Gap |
Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Shelter
APRIL 16, 2012
Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Shelter - Strenuous
11 miles in 7 hours
After a good night’s sleep at Sapphire Inn, we were ready to go again. We walked over to McDonald’s for breakfast and got extra to eat later on the trail. We were packed up and ready for the return shuttle to Winding Stair Gap before 9:00. Unfortunately, our shuttle driver was not so ready. It was 9:45 before we were on the trail and ready to start our day’s hike.
On the ride to the gap we met two interesting men, Clyde and Nightwalker. Nightwalker has been commissioned by the Appalachian Trail Conversancy to update the AT distances. He had 7 or 8 pounds of equipment in his pack. They started at Springer Mountain in early April and it was our privilege to coincide with them on this part of the trip. We leapfrogged with them to the NOC but lost them when they decided to slackpack backwards from Stecoah Gap.
The walk through Swinging Lick Gap and Panther Gap was pretty pleasant; several times the trail went right down the middle of a stream.
Suddenly at the top of a hill, we came to a wide open clearing which looked like an excellent place to sit in the grass and take a break. Going off to the north of us was a grassy knoll with a trail running the length of it leading to the top of Siler Bald. I understand it is a very popular hike for locals to come for the magnificent view from Siler Bald. In fact, we hiked part of the way up with a gentleman who was doing a day hike to Siler Bald. However, we did not feel that we had the energy to make the extra distance to the bald, so after our break, we continued following the white blazes of the AT.
11 miles in 7 hours
After a good night’s sleep at Sapphire Inn, we were ready to go again. We walked over to McDonald’s for breakfast and got extra to eat later on the trail. We were packed up and ready for the return shuttle to Winding Stair Gap before 9:00. Unfortunately, our shuttle driver was not so ready. It was 9:45 before we were on the trail and ready to start our day’s hike.
On the ride to the gap we met two interesting men, Clyde and Nightwalker. Nightwalker has been commissioned by the Appalachian Trail Conversancy to update the AT distances. He had 7 or 8 pounds of equipment in his pack. They started at Springer Mountain in early April and it was our privilege to coincide with them on this part of the trip. We leapfrogged with them to the NOC but lost them when they decided to slackpack backwards from Stecoah Gap.
The walk through Swinging Lick Gap and Panther Gap was pretty pleasant; several times the trail went right down the middle of a stream. .JPG) |
| Swinging "Lick" Gap, Elevation 4100' |
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| Panther Gap, Elevation 4480' |
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| Our hiking buddy going up to Siler Bald. |
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| Siler Bald |
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| Wayah Gap, Elevation 4180' |
From an elevation of 4600’ we dipped back down to 4180’ in Wayah Gap, then had a strenuous climb back up to 5342’ at Wayah Bald. I have often said the AT wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the gaps – they always go down, then you have to go back up to where you started from.
We met a young man named Josh and his female friend thru-hiking together. They had started hiking on April Fool's Day at Springer Mountain. We saw them frequently along the trail although they seemed to get a late start each day and hiked until bed time usually.
We met a young man named Josh and his female friend thru-hiking together. They had started hiking on April Fool's Day at Springer Mountain. We saw them frequently along the trail although they seemed to get a late start each day and hiked until bed time usually.
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| A frequently seen sign at the gaps on the highways.
We passed Qwyatt
on the trail and chatted with him for awhile.
We found out that he had stayed at Saphhire Inn last night with his
wife; he saw us walking back from McDonald’s this morning when they left. So he got an earlier start than us. We asked
about his destination for the day and he said as long as he could find two
trees close enough together, he could stop anywhere and hang his hammock; he
usually doesn’t try to make it to a shelter.
We warned him of the storm which had been forcast for the night and he
said he didn’t worry, he had a cover.
That’s the last time we saw Qwyatt, we wish him well. He was a very nice man.
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Big Spring Shelter to Winding Stair Gap
APRIL 15, 2012
Big Spring Shelter to Winding Stair Gap - Easy
9.1 miles in 5 hours
Today was suppose to be a 12.2 day which meant it would be late when we get into Franklin tonight and not give us much time to rest before starting again tomorrow. But, thanks to our decision yesterday to go on over Albert Mountain, we will have more time to restock and do our laundry this afternoon when we go into town. That’s one of those decisions that you hate at the time, but are glad you did it.
As we were approaching Rock Gap Shelter from the trail above, I couldn’t help but notice that we could see right into the privy as we passed by. Good thing no one was in there! In fact, we found this to be true of several privies in NC- not very private.  |
| Elevation 4160' |
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| First view of US 64 from above. |
At the paved road intersection beside the sign pointing the way to Standing Indian Campground, we met Qwyatt, a thru-hiker, waiting on his wife to come spend the night with him in Franklin. He offered us a ride into Franklin but we still had 3.7 miles to go before we quit, so we continued across the road and into the forest again. He promised to pick us up at Winding Stair Gap if we were there when they went by. We found a good water source just past the intersection and refilled our water bottles.
We reached Winding Stair Gap along with four young men. They gathered beside the parking lot while I ventured out to the side of the road to stick out my thumb to hitchhike. They said to my husband that I should not be playing like that because someone might stop. He said I wasn’t playing; I was really trying to hitch a ride into town. Wait-up joined me in my efforts and in about 15 minutes a car suddenly pulled over to the side of the road. A nice lady inside said “Y’all look like good folks.” “We are,” I said, to which she said, “Well, get in!” So we stuffed one backpack in the already-loaded trunk of her small car and another one we crammed in the back seat with me. I don’t know how many times that sweet lady said, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Well, I couldn’t believe we had hitchhiked either but we did, just part of the AT experience!
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| Catch-up hitchhiking into Franklin. |
Lynn is a retired educator, just like us as it turned out. She took us right to the Sapphire Inn where we had already reserved a room. If you read this, Lynn, let us say again “Thank you!”
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| Wait-up hitchhiking into Franklin. |
NORTH CAROLINA SECTION
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Today we drove to North Carolina and began to put our logistics into place to begin our second section hike from the NC/GA line to Fontana Dam, NC. First we drove to Franklin and checked out the Budget Inn and the Sapphire Inn. The Budget Inn was full and we liked the Sapphire Inn better, so we made reservations for Sunday night and dropped off a resupply box. Then we drove to Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser and made reservations for a two-person room in Basecamp for Wednesday night. We parked the car at NOC and checked and rechecked to make sure we had everything we needed for our first three days on the trail. It’s a scary feeling to leave our car realizing that if we didn’t take it with us now we would not have it tomorrow when we started out on our hike and would not see our car for 6 days.
We were excited to get our adventure underway and arose the next morning with the sun, went to breakfast downstairs and then relaxed to look at our Thru-Hiker’s Companion once more while waiting on our shuttle. The Companion was nowhere to be found – I had left it in the car! OMG! How could we hike for 6 days without our Companion? We depend on it to plan our stops at shelters or campsites and also to know where water is along the trail. Okay, what are we going to do now? Making a mad dash downstairs to the public computer, I found that someone else was using it. So back upstairs to wait. Time was running out, but finally we got to the computer and quickly found a list of trail features with amenities on Summitpost.org. Thank goodness I remembered seeing it before and knew it was there. It doesn’t have a description of each site like the Companion does, but it will do for now. We printed it out just in time before Joyce arrived to drive us to the trail. RELAX…..! We are ready to go.
Today we drove to North Carolina and began to put our logistics into place to begin our second section hike from the NC/GA line to Fontana Dam, NC. First we drove to Franklin and checked out the Budget Inn and the Sapphire Inn. The Budget Inn was full and we liked the Sapphire Inn better, so we made reservations for Sunday night and dropped off a resupply box. Then we drove to Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser and made reservations for a two-person room in Basecamp for Wednesday night. We parked the car at NOC and checked and rechecked to make sure we had everything we needed for our first three days on the trail. It’s a scary feeling to leave our car realizing that if we didn’t take it with us now we would not have it tomorrow when we started out on our hike and would not see our car for 6 days.
We are using the same wonderful shuttle drivers out of Hiawassee that we used in September in Georgia. Joyce and Sally are two retired ladies from Florida who moved to GA and have a beautiful home near the Blue Ridge Gap. We have learned to find shuttle drivers who live close to your point of need in order to keep the cost down. Joyce and Sally are very reasonable. Sally met us at NOC and took us back down to
Hiawassee, GA to spend the night at the wonderful Holiday Inn Express (King
size bed with Jacuzzi and free HOT breakfast for $80 plus $10.16 tax). The
Holiday Inn is conveniently located next door to the wonderful Daniels
Steakhouse where they have all you can eat buffets, which we took advantage of for
our evening meal.
We were excited to get our adventure underway and arose the next morning with the sun, went to breakfast downstairs and then relaxed to look at our Thru-Hiker’s Companion once more while waiting on our shuttle. The Companion was nowhere to be found – I had left it in the car! OMG! How could we hike for 6 days without our Companion? We depend on it to plan our stops at shelters or campsites and also to know where water is along the trail. Okay, what are we going to do now? Making a mad dash downstairs to the public computer, I found that someone else was using it. So back upstairs to wait. Time was running out, but finally we got to the computer and quickly found a list of trail features with amenities on Summitpost.org. Thank goodness I remembered seeing it before and knew it was there. It doesn’t have a description of each site like the Companion does, but it will do for now. We printed it out just in time before Joyce arrived to drive us to the trail. RELAX…..! We are ready to go.
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