If you had 9 days in November...
...where in the Southeast would you go backpacking?
Mountains - to - Sea Trail , North Carolina
Hike Clingmans Dome and Mt. Mitchell , a 6,600 summit.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
6,684 feet.Originally Posted by johnnybgood
"If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl
Erwin to Damascus
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
Crap ! I hiked all day and came up 84 feet short.6,684 feet.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Here's some thoughts:
Grayson Highlands, overnight parking lot, Wilbrun Ridge loops and using part of the AT to explore Lewis Fork and the Little Wilson Creek wilderness areas. Get the MT ROGERS HIGH COUNTRY AND WILDERNESSES map and check out some of the loops. November would be cold up around Wilburn Ridge but you'd have enough time to explore most of the trails on the map including the rocks atop Wilburn Ridge and the AT. Did I mention it might be cold and windy? And it's always nice to pase thru Scales on foot and cruise up the ridge overlooking Scales and set up camp.
Someone mentioned the Mountains to Sea Trail and I could easily spend 9 days backpacking thru the Wilson Creek area including all the trails around the old Greentown trail(now part of the MST) and going north on foot to Harpers Creek and the Lost Cove Creek area. Loop back for a great November hike. Warmer than Graysons.
Then, of course, there's the 35,000 acres of the Slickrock and Citico wilderness in NC/TN. You could park around the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and hike up to Naked Ground and drop off the other side onto Slickrock Creek and head to the Lake and circle back up either Nichols Cove or Stiffknee to the BMT and follow it back to Bob Bald and down again to Kilmer on the Haoe/Jenkins Meadow trails. And you gotta get up to the Hangover for a night.
My wife and I hiked this area for five days last November and didn't see a soul during the week except some hunting dogs. It is in my opinion some of the finest non-AT hiking the South has to offer. I must warn you though, when we woke up in the morning after a rainy night on the Hangover the tent was covered in a solid sheet of ice.
You're right, there's a definite tendency in the NC mountains to rain for a day and then turn to ice and snow by morning. I saw one guy in a hammock who left his pack out in the rain overnight at 5,260 feet and it froze solid by morning and he couldn't get a zipper opened or closed. I left a dogpack out overnight in rain/freeze/snow and by morning it was a frozen mess and the zippers could not be closed. So, I sometimes keep all the food bags in my vestibule overnight.
Great ideas all! Keep it coming. I'm getting lost in daydreaming about being out there in the cold, wet, and wind. Perfect!
Any ideas about Florida Trail?
Either:
Benton MacKaye Trail, Springer to the Ocoee River.
Bartram Trail - full length.
Foothills Trail - full length.
Due to lower elevations and your hike being in November, the fall colors might be best on the Foothills Trail. The BMT and BT may have lost most of their colors already.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Foothills Trl is great - but it can be done in much less than 9 days
B mac thru the smokies would be good too
Others have posted some great ideas, so I won't duplicate them. I will add the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area as a possibility.
RainMan
.
[I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35
[url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]
.
..He corrected u about 84 ft....& has this at the bottom of his page..Crap ! I hiked all day and came up 84 feet short.
"Tis better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." ...lol..
Atkins VA south to Dennis Cove TN. About 125 miles, you hit the Grayson Highlands, Damascus and end up at one of the best hostels on the trail.
Anything's within walking distance if you've got the time.
GA-ME 03, LT 04/06, PCT 07'
True, but there are a few blue blaze or "spur" trails on it to hike along and explore.
You could also start at Jones Gap.
Lots of great waterfalls in the area from Jones Gap to Oconee State Park and more with their own trails. That whole area and over toward Franklin or Cashiers is ate up with falls.
Check out "The Waterfalls of South Carolina" by Ben Brooks and Tim Cook.
Crap ! I hiked all day and came up 84 feet short.Did you miss the sarcasm, I actually thought it to be damn funny.
Back to the question of the original post:
The higher elevations might offer a rewarding autumn view if taken in October with the foilage being at its peak... of course you won't be alone in admiring the sights.
November in the upper elev. could be icy so I'd have a plan A and a plan B while watching the weather.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
1) I don't recall having solicited insignificant opinions.
2) As a proud North Carolinian, I was informing the poster as to the actual altitude of Mt. Mitchell.
"If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl
Right on, Rain Man. I spend a week at BSF every June-- it is a best-kept secret in the south!Others have posted some great ideas, so I won't duplicate them. I will add the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area as a possibility.
Rain
.
Who pissed in your Cheerios
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
..ty EGADs.......took the words outta my mouth..lol..
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
