TN AT Trail Suggestions

[Refuge]

New here to the forum..

A buddy and myself are going to be in TN the first of October to do 3 nights and 4 days on the AT in TN. This will be our first time on the AT, we are fairly experienced backpackers having hiked in several states and a few different countries. We are in pretty good shape him better than me..

The wives are going to drop us off and pick us up, they are probably going to break the bank account while they stay in Gattlinburg and shop.

What is a good trail head to start and one to finish? How difficult is it to reserve the camp sites and shelters? Is the Smokey National Park the only place in TN you have to make the reservations? We are not married to the Smoky National Park. Do you have to stay in the shelter? We will either stay in tents or hammocks depending on the weather.

What type of weather will we typically be looking at? Bear activity and such?


We are not looking to set any speed records we want to enjoy what the trails have to offer and take it all in, so 10 to 15 miles per day is what we would like to look at in mileage.

Thanks in advance

[Gambit McCrae]

What is a good trail head to start and one to finish? Start at Davenport Gap head North. 51.6 miles up trail is allen gap. 71.3 miles up trail is devils fork gap. Both good placed to stop.In this section you will see max patch, Hot springs nc, lovers leap, I40, snowbird mountain, and if you go to devils fork you will see black stack cliffs, a couple fire towers, and big butt.

We are not looking to set any speed records we want to enjoy what the trails have to offer and take it all in, so 10 to 15 miles per day is what we would like to look at in mileage.^Check

How difficult is it to reserve the campsites and shelters? E (https://smokiespermits.nps.gov/index.cfm?BCPermitTypeID=1)asy. (https://smokiespermits.nps.gov/index.cfm?BCPermitTypeID=1) Click Easy.

Is the Smokey National Park the only place in TN you have to make the reservations? yes

Do you have to stay in the shelter? Yes, No Hammocks either

What type of weather will we typically be looking at? Peak Fall colors in October, A flood of people on the trail, probably already booked up

Bear activity and such? Probably not as big of a problem as in the pring and summer. You can go to the nos website and look for shelter closures.

[HooKooDooKu]

GSMNP requires a permit. Since you're not thru hiking (starting and ending 50+ miles outside of park), you would have to get a general backpacker's permit that requires a reservation for each campsite you plan to stay at. If the campsite is a shelter, you are required to stay in the shelter. The permits cost $4/person/night.

One obvious idea would be to get dropped off at Fontana or Davenport Gap and get picked up at NewFound Gap.

That time of year should see some great fall color (and therefore park will be crowded, reservations might be difficult).

[Refuge]

Is the GSMNP the only part of the trail that you have to get reservations. If the trail is not in the GSMNP do you have to have reservations?

[Kerosene]

You only need reservations through GSMNP, where you are required to stay in a shelter and have a reservation. The challenge with getting reservations is to get one where you can stay at your preferred shelter each night. I went in early October and one group had to hoof it 22 miles on their third day to get to their reserved shelter; I was fortunate but my days were generally a bit shorter than I would have preferred. I do encourage you to look closely at the Davenport Gap (north end of GSMNP) to Hot Springs or Devil's Fork Gap section, which will also be lovely that time of year.

[Gambit McCrae]

Already answered pretty specifically above. GSMNP is the only place reservations are required.

[Gambit McCrae]

Already answered pretty specifically above. GSMNP is the only place reservations are required.

Intended for OP not you Kerosene

[RED-DOG]

I believe the OP said TN NOT NC all the above post recommends NC,Why is all the above posts talking about the GSMNP since the OP wants recomendations for TN and Not NC I am going to recommend Roan MT to Hampton TN in this section you will have Roan MT, the Humps, and Kincora Hostel and plenty of great campsites and awesome views especially from the top of the humps, easy to get on the trail and easy to get off but the trail in this section gets pretty rugged.

[HooKooDooKu]

I believe the OP said TN NOT NC ...
But most of the AT in TN actually walks the TN/NC border. Combine that with the wives being in Gatlinburg, and GSMNP seems like an obvious answer.
Otherwise, it looks like the only parts of the AT that are exclusively in TN is the section north of Johnson City.

[flemdawg1]

What type of weather will we typically be looking at? Peak Fall colors in October, A flood of people on the trail, probably already booked up



Nothing is booked up, reservations are only taken up to 30 days in advance. Meaning no shelter reservations for October trips till September.


I believe the OP said TN NOT NC all the above post recommends NC,Why is all the above posts talking about the GSMNP since the OP wants recomendations for TN and Not NC I am going to recommend Roan MT to Hampton TN in this section you will have Roan MT, the Humps, and Kincora Hostel and plenty of great campsites and awesome views especially from the top of the humps, easy to get on the trail and easy to get off but the trail in this section gets pretty rugged.

that's over 3 hours away from where the wives are staying (gatlinburg). Hence, all the Smokies and Hot Springs area reccomendations.

[Gambit McCrae]

it looks like the only parts of the AT that are exclusively in TN is the section north of Johnson City.

And everyone knows how GREAT that section is....cough cough I dont like it haha. I sugested DP to Devils gap because of the varying attractions as well as the close proximity to gatliburge for the wives. And 152 miles of the trail follows the border so I consider that its oun section as the thru hiker companion does.

[Refuge]

We are not opposed to them having to drive us a couple hours away from the Gattlinburg area plus I have family in the Johnson City and Bristol area.

I really appreciate you all taking time to give your suggestions.

Not knowing what to expect for the shelters. My first thought is I would rather not stay in the shelters but I would love yalls thoughts on that.

Thanks Again

[Refuge]

We are not opposed to them having to drive us a couple hours away from the Gattlinburg area plus I have family in the Johnson City and Bristol area.

I really appreciate you all taking time to give your suggestions.

Not knowing what to expect for the shelters. My first thought is I would rather not stay in the shelters but I would love yalls thoughts on that.

Thanks Again

[illabelle]

Refuge, don't let everybody discourage you about the Smokies. If they're crowded in October, maybe it's because a lot of people think they're beautiful in October.
I don't know if you plan to return to do more sections on the AT in the future. If so, the Smokies can be difficult because access is limited and shuttles are expensive. Since you have your wives with you on this trip, I suggest you take advantage of that and have them shuttle you. They can easily take you up to Newfound Gap, and then you can hike either north to Davenport or south to Fontana.
We did the south half in mid-October of 2012, just before the new reservation system went into effect. There were plenty of people, but the shelters were not full at that time. And flemdawg is right - no reservations are taken more than 30 days in advance, so you have as much chance as anyone else.

[RED-DOG]

We are not opposed to them having to drive us a couple hours away from the Gattlinburg area plus I have family in the Johnson City and Bristol area.

I really appreciate you all taking time to give your suggestions.

Not knowing what to expect for the shelters. My first thought is I would rather not stay in the shelters but I would love yalls thoughts on that.

Thanks Again
In my oppinion the shelters are to be passed on, most of them are run down and mice infested the only time i stay in a shelter is when the weather really crappy, so take a tent and enjoy your hike also their is plenty of AWESOME tent sites in the section i suggested. Go and enjoy your AT adventure.

[flemdawg1]

We are not opposed to them having to drive us a couple hours away from the Gattlinburg area plus I have family in the Johnson City and Bristol area.

I really appreciate you all taking time to give your suggestions.

Not knowing what to expect for the shelters. My first thought is I would rather not stay in the shelters but I would love yalls thoughts on that.

Thanks Again

As far as shelters, some really like them, some really hate them. October is a good time to try it out. You might a have couple of section hikers and maybe a SOBO thruhiker or 2. Or just as likely it might be just you. (About half of my fall section hike nights, my buddy and i were the only ones at the shelter.) When you stop read thru the last few pages of the shelter log to see if there are any "red flags" such as: rodents, snakes (which like to eat rodents), racoons, bears, local partiers, Jason Vorhees, etc. I've tented outside of a couple, even though I had the shelter to myself, due to a bad register entries. Then use some hand sanitizer, because its been known that registers transmit diseases like Norovirus (also a reason to not sleep in one).

[HooKooDooKu]

We are not opposed to them having to drive us a couple hours away from the Gattlinburg...
...but are they opposed to driving a couple hours away (x2)?

Are ya'll committed to only hiking the AT?
With the wives in Gatlinburg, GSMNP in obviously an alternative to strictly hiking the AT. There's over 800 miles of official back-country trails, with the AT making up less than 75 miles of that.

Depending upon how far you want to go each day and whether you want shelters only, tent sites only, or a mix, I can suggest a few hikes that would allow you to enjoy some of what GSMNP without the wives having to go hours out of the way.

One option I'll throw out there for you is for the wives to drop you off at the Cades Cove Picnic Area (avoiding Cades Cove Loop road... unless they would like a 2-3 hour drive around the cove with all the traffic).
You could hike up to Spence Field Shelter for the 1st night, Silers Bald Shelter the 2nd night, Mt Collins Shelter the 3rd night, and Sugarland's Mountain trail back down to a trail head near Gatlinburg.

[flemdawg1]

Or drop off at Clingman's Dome, 1st nt Mt Collins, side trip to Charlies Bunion, 2nd night Peck's Corner, 3rd nt Cosby Knob, sidetrip to Mt Camerer tower, extraction at Big Creek CG, Cosby, CG, or Davenport Gap. Most people say the best of GSMNP AT is the north end.

[Refuge]

Thanks everyone for all the input

Can't wait for the trip

[gollwoods]

hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus

http://barfblog.com/2013/01/cdc-hand-sanitizer-useless-against-norovirus/

[LittleRock]

4 days isn't enough to do the entire Smokies section unless you REALLY book it (20 miles/day). Fall foliage is beautiful up there in early October, slow down and enjoy it. :-)

I suggest getting dropped off at Newfound Gap and either going south to Fontana Dam or north to Davenport Gap. You could make the trip going north a little longer by starting up at Clingman's Dome.

Weather-wise, plan for at least one day of rain/low visibility. Snow is possible but unlikely. Be prepared for temps down to around freezing at night.