View Full Version : Davenport Gap to Hot Springs
Silver Bear
07-22-2008, 15:17
I am planning on doing this section in the next 30 days or so. To date I have hiked from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap, all of this being in the GSMP.
My question is: What will I find different from The GSMP. Are there food cables, are the shelters as nice, is the trail marked as well as in the Smokies?
Anything you think I should know would be apperciated.
My next section will be Hot Springs to around Erwin, I will take a week off to do this, the date is yet to set, maybe September.
Thank you in advance.
Shelters are nice and trail is well-marked.
Prepare for a looooong endless uphill out of Davenport once you hit Rt. 40. Not too steep but seems like an all day affair. Once you get to Snowbird and the giant golf ball, the walking gets a bit easier. Not uncommon at all for hikers to head to Groundhog Shelter and then hoof it 26 into Hot Springs the next day. It's one of those sections that just flies by.
There are no bear cables.
Most shelters are designed for 6 people, not 12-14 like the Smokies. Most are in good shape, but Walnut Mountain is very rough. You'll likely be better off with the larger and newer Roaring Fork Shelter a couple of miles earlier.
Or you can tent/tarp/hammock, unlike the AT in the Smokies. You'll have much lower elevations and a handful of small balds which will be hot this time of year. Max Patch runs over a mile.
Keep an eye out for blackberries also.
Standing Bear Hostel is a good place to start, esp. if you need to leave a car. Max Patch is one of the most beautiful sections of the AT in the south. I think the first shelter north of Davenport is Groundhog Shelter. REgardless of the name, it's nearly falling apart. That said, there are good tent sites there and a privy. Roaring Fork Shelter is next up the trail -- it's nearly new, has a privy, but it was one of my least favorite. Still, good tent sites there. Next is Deer Park -- old shelter, privy, and great tenting.
No cables at any of them. Rumor has it that there is an active bear just north of Max Patch, so you'll definitely want to bear bag.
Hot Springs is a nice trail town. Bluff Mt. Outfitters ranks at the top.
You'll have a great hike. I'm envious and would like to do that section again.
Cookerhiker
07-22-2008, 15:42
I hiked that stretch in October '04 southbund (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=84052)as part of a longer section hike. Re. Walnut Mt. shelter, I faced the opposite issue; as tired as I was when reaching it after the long uphill slough out of Hot Springs and despite gloomy rainy weather, I pushed on to Roaring Fork; it was worth it. I though Walnut Mt. was scheduled for removal but haven't heard anything lately.
Max Patch and Snow Bird have extensive open areas, something you don't see in the Smokies. And if you have nice weather, I recommend against the 26 mile day to Hot Springs. Instead, linger around Max Patch and enjoy the views and breezes.
Just Plain Jim
07-22-2008, 16:05
I also hiked that section in 2004 but started at Hot Springs to the Gap. I completed it in 2 1/2 days just in time to get to Mtn. Momas before she closed.She's closed permanently now but what a cheeseburger.
buff_jeff
07-22-2008, 16:33
I liked that section. Standing Bear Farm is a nice place to check out, only a quarter mile or so off the trail and Max Patch should be amazing (unless you hit it in a driving rain like me). The shelters are alright. Walnut Mountain Shelter isn't in the best condition and they're having a problem with a bear there and another shelter in the vicinity. You'll see all the signs.
Tennessee Viking
07-22-2008, 20:22
I am planning on doing this section in the next 30 days or so. To date I have hiked from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap, all of this being in the GSMP.
My question is: What will I find different from The GSMP. Are there food cables, are the shelters as nice, is the trail marked as well as in the Smokies?
Anything you think I should know would be apperciated.
My next section will be Hot Springs to around Erwin, I will take a week off to do this, the date is yet to set, maybe September.
Thank you in advance.From what I have heard over the ATC news wire. The Carolina Mountain Club and the ATC are currently looking into building bear cables and some other features in the next couple years. But nothing currently.
Davenport Gap to Hot Springs offers some of the most bear visited areas outside of the park.
The only shelter I visited on the section was Roaring Creek. It is a couple years old being relocated closer to the Max Patch area. And is the largest shelter on the section
Walnut Mtn supposedly has the most bear encounters. And definitely want to food bag far from the shelter.
Deer Pen and Groundhog are older shelters. Plan to camp, because they a bit small.
Two Speed
07-22-2008, 20:38
Seems like there were quite a few reports bear activity centered around Walnut Mtn Shelter this year; food bags stolen, etc. Also, wasn't this the shelter where a hiker had to apply a piece of firewood to a bear to persuade the bear not to enter the shelter?
buff_jeff
07-22-2008, 21:04
Seems like there were quite a few reports bear activity centered around Walnut Mtn Shelter this year; food bags stolen, etc. Also, wasn't this the shelter where a hiker had to apply a piece of firewood to a bear to persuade the bear not to enter the shelter?
Yeah, my buddy Ian had 25 Snickers and supposedly that super-bear, as it became known, stole all but one. :D
when I hiked by Walnut MT shelter in mid April I found notes left by previous hikers that week warning of bear activity at and around the shelter.
At that time no bear cables were present, but shredded food bags, food wrappers and metal cans that appeared to have been pierced with bear teeth were scattered along the trail. I suppose bears don't practice LNT.
SmokyMtn Hiker
07-22-2008, 21:11
I hiked I-40 to Hot Springs 2 months ago and the trail is well marked and easy to follow. There were food hanging cables at Groundhog Creek shelter just like those in the Smokies. A sign at Roaring Fork shelter said that cables had been installed a couple hundred yards above the shelter but did not go verify, the same at Walnut Mtn shelter but did not find and did not spend much time looking either. I stayed at Deer Park Mtn shelter and there is definitly is no cables there.