View Full Version : Gaitlinburg Resupply
Doing a week + long hike in the Smokies next summer, and planning on resupplying in Gaitlinburg. I've heard that it's sort of infamous, however, and this concerns me a bit. How are the commodities? Will probably just need to get to a grocery store to resupply, and grab a meal before heading back out, probably won't be spending the night. How easy is it to get a ride down into Gatlinburg? Thanks guys
It's pretty easy to hitch from newfound gap into town...
and during certain months, there's a bus that runs through there..
gatlinburg is a tourist town with plenty of taffy and t shirts but I can't think of a decent grocery store in town..there is an outfitter right at the border with the park in case you need any gear...
hikerboy57
01-13-2014, 10:23
there is an noc right in gatlinburg.there is also a full grocery store right outside of town
there's plenty of places to eat in Gatlinburg, there's a good biker/sportsman's bar/grill across the street from the NOC Outpost, and any kind of food you desire along the main st. There's also a small country market across the street from NOC outpost. Easy to hitch into town from Newfound Gap, just look tired, hungry, and forlorn, and the tourists will have pity on you and take you anywhere you need to go, maybe even buy you lunch! :)
Old Hiker
01-13-2014, 12:34
If you hitch during a week-end and see Mr. Booth, tell him "Thanks" again for Old Hiker. It was pretty easy for a ride: had two other Trail Angels come up and offer.
Dollar store at the far end of town by the laundromat. Opposite direction from where you first come in from Newfound Gap. Don't rely on old data books, one laundromat is closed and I had to wait another 30 minutes for the next trolley. This was in March. The summer trolley schedule may be a lot more often. Subway by the Dollar store as well.
My work happened to take me into gatlinburg today---there's a food city (grocery store) just about 3 miles from the downtown area...
theres sidewalks that run along the road but I would think its easy to hitch or take trolley out that way...
If I recall the Dollar Store didn't have much but I made do with what was there.
There's a nice restaurant by the Grand Prix Motel.
hitching is not legal in the park - "yogi-ing" a ride by talking up the tourists at the newfound gap lot will get you down the hill - to get back up hitch before the entrance sign to the park
I've hitched numerous times in the park--all with success---and within view of rangers and nobody has said anything to me suggesting otherwise..
The rangers know its a common thing that hikers do...
max patch
01-13-2014, 15:08
Nothing wrong with Gatlinburg as a trail town. Got everything a long distance hiker needs. And more.
May very well be the easiest hitch on the trail.
Gatlinburg is alright, to get resupplied in, if you must get resupplied in the park, the N.O.C offer shuttles and has a complete shuttle list, Hitching isn't hard from or back to Newfound Gap, but Remember Gatlinburg is a TOURIST town so things are a little pricey.
Slo-go'en
01-13-2014, 17:22
The only problem with resupply in Gatlinberg is the grocery store is a long way off. There is a trolly bus to get you there and back, but the round trip took like 3 hours!
If your starting from the Mt Collins shelter, you first have a 4.5 mile hike to the road, then you have to hitch into town which can take either seconds or hours, then get the trolly to the grocery store, then get back, hitch back up the road and hike another 2.5 miles. If you can get all that done in the same day, your really good :)
Unless you plan to spend the day in town, just carry enough food to go straight through. It's not hard to do it 5 days.
perdidochas
01-13-2014, 17:24
Why not resupply in Pigeon Forge or Sevierville?
Slo-go'en
01-13-2014, 17:43
Why not resupply in Pigeon Forge or Sevierville?
Because those towns are a LONG way off and no public transportation that I know of to get there. Cherokee is a better option. I've never gone in that direction so have no first hand knowlage. Last year the Cheroke transit shuttle bus was not running which makes it a little more difficult going either way. Plus when they were running, I think they only did two runs a day so your timing had to be good.
mountain squid
01-13-2014, 18:03
How easy is it to get a ride down into Gatlinburg?Getting into Gatlinburg is easy . . . lots of dayhikers at Newfound Gap. Getting back to Newfound Gap . . . not so easy . . . at least it wasn't for me . . . (it wasn't too bad, ending up getting a good ride . . . just took longer than anticipated.)
See you on the trail,
mt squid
norovirus awareness (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?100363-2014-Norovirus-Awareness)
Because those towns are a LONG way off and no public transportation that I know of to get there. Cherokee is a better option.
i believe that the trolley also runs into PF and Sville, but those are farther off than gatlinburg...
i wouldnt go into cherokee to resupply......theres not really a decent grocery store nor outfitter anywhere close to town......
If your starting from the Mt Collins shelter, you first have a 4.5 mile hike to the road,
don't hike the road from that shelter----keep on going down the AT to newfound gap.......otherwise, you'd have to come back to the shelter area and make up for the lost mileage.....
that is still going north on the AT to get to the gap, so one would have to do it anyways...
HooKooDooKu
01-13-2014, 22:09
hitching is not legal in the park ...
The information is incorrect.
The Compendium of Regulations (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/Compendium-2013.pdf) for the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Section 4.31) explicitly allows hitch hiking "For the purpose of hiking a park trail" and "to obtain assistance for a disabled vehicle", except "where it creates a traffic hazard".
Slo-go'en
01-13-2014, 22:33
don't hike the road from that shelter----keep on going down the AT to newfound gap.......otherwise, you'd have to come back to the shelter area and make up for the lost mileage.....
I should have said 4.5 trail miles to the road at New Found gap... No back tracking. One could beg a ride from Clingmans, but from there you would be skipping some 8 miles of trail.
sliderule
01-13-2014, 23:20
hitching is not legal in the park ...
Could you cite the law or regulation that supports that assertion?
I would even settle for the legal definition of "hitching."
SGT Rock
01-13-2014, 23:31
Doing a week + long hike in the Smokies next summer, and planning on resupplying in Gaitlinburg. I've heard that it's sort of infamous, however, and this concerns me a bit. How are the commodities? Will probably just need to get to a grocery store to resupply, and grab a meal before heading back out, probably won't be spending the night. How easy is it to get a ride down into Gatlinburg? Thanks guys
Summer time will be wall to wall with tourists. But the trolley will be running so you can get anywhere in town for $2 which covers you all day.
there's plenty of places to eat in Gatlinburg, there's a good biker/sportsman's bar/grill across the street from the NOC Outpost, and any kind of food you desire along the main st. There's also a small country market across the street from NOC outpost. Easy to hitch into town from Newfound Gap, just look tired, hungry, and forlorn, and the tourists will have pity on you and take you anywhere you need to go, maybe even buy you lunch! :)The sports bar is now a parking lot and the country store is gone, replaced by a wine shop or some such thing.
My work happened to take me into gatlinburg today---there's a food city (grocery store) just about 3 miles from the downtown area...
theres sidewalks that run along the road but I would think its easy to hitch or take trolley out that way...Exactly right.
hitching is not legal in the park - "yogi-ing" a ride by talking up the tourists at the newfound gap lot will get you down the hill - to get back up hitch before the entrance sign to the parkIt's legal. Even says so in their compendium.
Because those towns are a LONG way off and no public transportation that I know of to get there. Cherokee is a better option. I've never gone in that direction so have no first hand knowlage. Last year the Cheroke transit shuttle bus was not running which makes it a little more difficult going either way. Plus when they were running, I think they only did two runs a day so your timing had to be good.I write the guidebook for the BMT and Cherokee is one of the easier towns to get to from the BMT. That said, it isn't a good trail town. for someone wanting to just get in and get out the grocery store is a few miles out of town and the only laundry (if you don't use a hotel) is not close to it. If I were hiking the AT, Gatlinburg I would go into Gatlinburg.
The information is incorrect.
The Compendium of Regulations (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/Compendium-2013.pdf) for the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Section 4.31) explicitly allows hitch hiking "For the purpose of hiking a park trail" and "to obtain assistance for a disabled vehicle", except "where it creates a traffic hazard".You beat me to it. I keep a copy on my PC for dealing with the Park bureaucracy.
SGT Rock
01-13-2014, 23:34
Specifically it says:
Section 4.31HITCHHIKING
For the purpose of hiking a park trail, hitchhiking is
permitted to obtain transportation back to one's vehicle or
from one's vehicle to a trail entry point. Hitchhiking is also
permitted to obtain assistance for a disabled vehicle. It shall
not be permitted where it creates a traffic hazard.
Many park trails do not loop back to their beginning point
but come out some distance from the original entry point.
Soliciting a ride for short distances has been an accepted
practice for many years without any complaint or history of
problems.
Can someone email me a copy of the compendium?
i like to have one for reference...
thanks...
HooKooDooKu
01-14-2014, 01:40
Can someone email me a copy of the compendium?
i like to have one for reference...
thanks...
Here's a Link (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/Compendium-2013.pdf)
Thanks for the helpful replies everyone, from what I've gathered, it's got plenty of restaurants and other commodities. One worry I have is that it will be towards the end of the day when we arrive, probably around 3 or 4 at the earliest, so I would like to be able to get in and out as quickly as possible. It sounds like a grocery store is a little far out, are there any other resupply options that we could take? We all have experience with night hiking so that is not an issue, but obviously we would at least like to be back to the trailhead before night sets in. Also, hitching from Clingmon's is a possibility as we are not thru-hiking and aren't as concerned with every single mile. Thanks. Also, we are not just doing the AT through the Smoky's, we are hiking the AT section, and then after resupplying, looping back a few days to our car on a different trail. Thanks.
Slo-go'en
01-14-2014, 12:55
The only food you can find in Gatlinburg near where the road comes out is gas station snack stuff. Chips, beer, slim jims. That kind of thing. There is an outfitter who should have Mountain House meals and power bars about a half mile or mile out from the park entrance.
How many is 'we'? If there are more then 2 of you, getting a ride could be difficult. Nearly all the traffic is tourists and thier cars are typically full of suitcases, kids and grandma in the back seat.
I think you really need to plan on spending the night in Gatlinburg is you want to resupply there. It's not that expensive at the Grand Prix motel, especially split 2 ways and gives you time to get to the grocery store outside of town. It may even be cheaper then having to buy overpriced mountain house meals at the outfitter.
I think you'll find it easier to hitch from the gap rather than the dome...
More traffic flow comes through the gap..
Also, as someone noted, it's easier to hitch with a smaller amount of people..
What you could do is send someone into town with a list and send someone to ice water shelter...
Then the person who went into town could meet the other at the shelter...that's an easy hike that one could do at night if need be...
I would try to start hiking though before the sun went down as that would be easier...
Or you could hire a shuttle service to take ya there and back...
Slo-go'en
01-14-2014, 16:52
Or you could hire a shuttle service to take ya there and back...
That will cost as much as staying the night in town.
If you start at Fontana, how the heck do you plan on looping back there? There is no good way. Consider this instead : Drop you car off somewhere in Gatlinburg (maybe the ranger station), hitch or shuttle up to New Found gap and hike NOBO to Standing Bear Hostel. You can resupply there and turn around. You'd have to retrace you tracks on the AT for a bit, but then get on the Old Settlers trail which will bring you back to Gatlinburg.
The Compendium of Regulations (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/Compendium-2013.pdf) for the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Section 4.31) explicitly allows hitch hiking "For the purpose of hiking a park trail" and "to obtain assistance for a disabled vehicle", except "where it creates a traffic hazard".
A practical, common sense law, yah!
HooKooDooKu
01-14-2014, 16:56
Or you could hire a shuttle service to take ya there and back...
You could just hire someone to resupply you.
The local company "A Walk In The Woods" lists that as one of their services on their web page (http://www.awalkinthewoods.com/pages/wd_shuttle.htm).
I've never used them for that particular service, but I would assume that if you delivered to them a resupply box, they would deliver it to you for the cost of a one-way shuttle (which I would imagine is cheaper than a shuttle to town and back again).
Sounds like getting in, resupplying, and getting out quickly will be too difficult then? Might have to spend the night in town, even though a few stubborn friends don't seem to support that plan at the moment... We would most likely go in separately and not as a group as we will all be hiking separately anyway, and I can't answer questions about our route back at the moment as I don't have a map, but I recall our route taking us back on a trail that sort of parallels Fontana Lake for a little bit towards the end.
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how many cars are you bringing down?
you could always leave one at the gap and use it to resupply....
hikerboy57
01-14-2014, 18:52
as its gonna take you half day+ to get in and out of gatlinburg, just suck it up and carry a full load, dont stop. its only heavy for the first day or two. every day the load gets lighter.ive never resupplied for a trip less than 2 weeks.