10-K
10-06-2014, 13:48
Just got back from hiking this section. The trail is in great shape all the way. To surmise, there's not a lot of water in this long section because it's up on the ridge most of the way but as of now there's enough water that it's not really a problem. We never carried more than a quart.
We didn't stop at Watauga shelter so I can't verify the water source there but the spring just south of Vandeventer Shelter is dry. We didn't go to the water source for Vandeventer but there was a note by the blue blaze trail dated 10/2 saying the water was a trickle and "****ty". The spring at Iron Mt. shelter was a trickle and we needed to dip water with a cup to fill our bottles but it's flowing. Water at Double Spring Gap shelter was ok. We didn't stop at Abingdon Gap shelter but was told by 2 hikers that the pipe was dry but water could be found a little lower down the hill and was easy to find.
The cistern just south of Hwy 91 / Shady Valley was flowing strong.
We didn't stop at Watauga shelter so I can't verify the water source there but the spring just south of Vandeventer Shelter is dry. We didn't go to the water source for Vandeventer but there was a note by the blue blaze trail dated 10/2 saying the water was a trickle and "****ty". The spring at Iron Mt. shelter was a trickle and we needed to dip water with a cup to fill our bottles but it's flowing. Water at Double Spring Gap shelter was ok. We didn't stop at Abingdon Gap shelter but was told by 2 hikers that the pipe was dry but water could be found a little lower down the hill and was easy to find.
The cistern just south of Hwy 91 / Shady Valley was flowing strong.