Yet another water update? Hot Springs north..........thanks

[Speakeasy TN]

I was just wondering about water and storm damage in the area. I've got to get out and decompress and long days and short gaps between shelters may be just what the doctor ordered!

[Dan Roper]

I'm researching the same topic, so the info I've gotten is hearsay, mainly from my related post and from Jim at Boots Off hostel in Hampton, Tenn.

Jim says the worst storm damage is between U.S. Hwy 341 and Tenn. Hwy. 91 - about 22 miles of trail. It sounds like hundreds of trees or treetops are down in the trail, making the going slow. He thinks groups are already working to clear the trail. Early today, in reply to my post, a volunteer said he'd be helping doing trail work on Thursday.

It sounds like water sources are pretty limited from Hwy. 341 to Damascus. South of Hwy. 341, water should be decent between Laurel Creek (near Dennis Cove Road) and Hwy. 19E (Laurel Creek, Elk River, and other good sources). South of 19E, I don't know how things will be.

Perhaps others who have recently hiked these areas can chime in with firsthand info.

Good luck!

[la.lindsey]

I replied on the other thread, but I just did 19E to Dennis Cove last weekend (I had the pleasure of hiking through that storm). Unreliable sources were not good. The stronger sources (according to guthooks) were low or ok. Unless it was a river, in which case it was fine.

Storm damage was definitely present. The worst that I saw was probably between Mountaineer Falls and Dennis Cove, but there are scattered limbs that I couldn't move all the way to 19E (I threw everything off the trail that I could, and only dumped one small tree on my head in the process).

I usually carry 2 liters and am not always great about filling them both up, but if I did this section again I would probably carry 3 and only bother to fill up at easier water sources. But I hike quickly and and play fast and loose with my kidneys. YMMV.




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