No Business knob shelter area

[NC Blaster]

Does anybody know if there are any decent spots to tent near the No Business Knob Shelter area but not at the actual shelter. I would like to camp before the big drop into Erwin.

[oldwetherman]

There's a flat ridge line not too far (I'm guessing about 50 yards) from the shelter itself. It has room for 4-5 tents. There's also a small space for two or three tents on the west edge of the trail about half way between No Business knob shelter and Erwin. However that small site has no water source.

[rangeley]

This shelter sux i met sum sjetchy gujer tresh there a lonnnnnnnnnng gime agu

[SCRUB HIKER]

There are a ton of tent sites at that shelter. This was something of a watershed moment for me, realizing that the little tent symbol, or lack thereof, next to the shelters in the AWOL guide meant nothing. In 2011, there was no tent symbol for No Business Knob and when I rolled up I saw only about a dozen tents, with room for more.

[Firefighter503]

Agree with everyone else. That shelter ranks in my top 3 worst shelters on the trail, but there are a couple of tent spots at least. That is actually a nice little night hike into Erwin from NBK shelter. I also remember passing the tent spots halfway between NBK and Erwin on my night hike into town.

[The Cleaner]

What most hikers do not know is that there used to be a dead end of a well maintained USFS road only a few hundred yards SE? from the shelter. This would account for the geezer/rneck factor there. I've met several hunters there several years ago and wondered how they got there. On one trip I hiked down this road and it comes out just below the trail above Uncle Johnny's ....

[mikec]

When I sectioned that area I was really pushing it one day. I made it to Spivey Gap with the intention of making it to No Business Knob Shelter. I just ran out of energy so I camped about a mile past Spivey right in the Oglesby Branch creek bed on a sand bar. I'm glad that it didn't rain that night.

[NC Blaster]

Thanks for the help!

[Tennessee Viking]

There is some decent camping at the Temple Hill Ridge Gap.

Just to the south of the NBK Shelter along the branch.

Just north of Spivey Gap is Devil's Creek Gap (USFS Road 278). Jump off there and immediately there are two roads (hi and lo). The higher road leads up to an open area. Its either a field plot or something. Horse riders usually park trailers there. The lower roads (5506??), and leads to back side of Flattop Mtn to a field plot and Devils Creek Trail. But there are a few flat areas along that road with nearby springs.

After Devils Creek Gap (USFS 278), its a lot of hillside trail.

[NC Blaster]

Temple Hill Ridge Gap was what I was guessing. Another trail intersects there according to the map. Thanks!