View Full Version : tent or no tent
My new bride and i will be spending our honeymoon in the smokies. We will be hiking sobo starting may 25th for 5 days. We have reserved shelters at Mt. collins, silers bald, derrick knob, mollies ridge and ending at fontana dam. We are not thru hiking so i know that we are only allowed to use the shelters, our tent weighs about 5 pounds but is that extra weight worth it? or should we just bring a tarp? Also if you have any suggestions or advise for this part of the trip it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
just because you have 'reserved' a space doesn't mean you will get to a shelter and there will be room for yall.... having the tent if yall get to a full shelter may provide a nice bit of privacy since it is yalls honeymoon and all....
ps. congrats
vamelungeon
05-09-2009, 13:33
Honeymooning? Go to Gatlinburg and get a cheap motel room to sleep in and go on day hikes. If you're not too tired...
bigcranky
05-09-2009, 13:37
I would bring a tarp. It's good insurance against finding a full shelter and/or needing an emergency shelter, but it doesn't weigh as much as your tent.
Have fun.
Honeymooning? Go to Gatlinburg and get a cheap motel room to sleep in and go on day hikes. If you're not too tired...
Sorry, but the terms "cheap" and "Gatlinburg" don't go together at all. Avoid this tourist trap like the plague.
vamelungeon
05-09-2009, 13:58
Sorry, but the terms "cheap" and "Gatlinburg" don't go together at all. Avoid this tourist trap like the plague.
I was kidding. Should have put a :D in there somewhere.
sliderule
05-09-2009, 14:10
just because you have 'reserved' a space doesn't mean you will get to a shelter and there will be room for yall....
According to the rules, that is precisely what it does mean. People with reservations have priority over those who don't have reservations. And using a tent can subject you to a citation if you don't have a thru hiker permit.
I personally don't carry a tent when I have shelter reservations. In 36 years of hiking in the Smokies, I have never had a problem. I did observe a problem trying to happen once, when a group with reservations showed up after the shelter had filled with mostly thru hikers; once the rules were explained, those without reservations moved out.
mt. collins was close to full when i "reserved" the shelter but the rest were pretty much empty. since we are going sobo do you think the bulk of thru hikers will have already passed or is there no real way to know.
sliderule
05-09-2009, 14:11
Another reason not to carry a tent: about half of the people with reservations don't actually show up at the shelter.
sliderule
05-09-2009, 14:16
do you think the bulk of thru hikers will have already passed or is there no real way to know.
By late May, thru hikers should be pretty scarce.
Blissful
05-09-2009, 14:34
Well, interesting way to spend a honeymoon. The bears will be entertaining no doubt. :)
We were gonna do some backpacking overnight in Hawaii on ours. The bugs and humidity, along with the multitude of people told us to stay at our resort and day hike, and glad we did.
And what's wrong with taking a side trip to Galtinburg??? It's their honeymoon!
i was also wondering if attempting to hike from derrick knob to mollies ridge one day and then to fontana the next is to ambitious. we are both in decent shape and hike several times a month but in florida where speed bumps are considered hills. I grew up in shenandoah valley but sadly never hiked any sort of distance. it will be our last 2 days so i was just trying to gauge the difficulty.
thanks for eveyones help
sliderule
05-09-2009, 14:59
You could shorten the trip a bit by starting at Clingman's Dome and/or staying at Russell Field or Spence Field on the last night and terminating at Cades Cove. Mollies to Fontana is mostly down hill, but Derrick to Mollies Ridge is a long day with lots of scenic spots (worthy of spending time at) along the way.
A less strenuous itenerary would be Clingman's, Silers, Derrick, Spence, Mollies, then Fontana.
Rockhound
05-09-2009, 15:28
You are not thru hiking and are going to be hiking the Smokies. leave the tents and tarps behind. You are required to stay in shelters. It is not optional. Make your reservations, abide by the rules and enjoy your nice romantic honeymoon rooming with a bunch of smelly, filthy hikers. If your marriage can withstand that then you know it was meant to last.
gollwoods
05-10-2009, 08:31
my alternate would be something like this. but your plan is fine too.
do it in four days. double springs, derrick knob and russel field, skip the last section of the A T and end at the cades cove campground.
Skip the AT with it's shelters, hike the BMT and use a tent; you're honeymooners after all:banana:banana
saimyoji
05-10-2009, 08:46
Another reason not to carry a tent: about half of the people with reservations don't actually show up at the shelter.
you're joking right? :-?
Don't forget to go skinny dipping in the Midnight Hole http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=22078&catid=member&orderby=title&direction=ASC&imageuser=9622&cutoffdate=-1
MintakaCat
05-10-2009, 09:18
LOL, imagine being at a shelter and a couple shows up saying they just got married and they are going to spend their first night together as a married couple in that shelter with you.:eek:
I think I would just pack up and find a spot to set up my tent far, far away, and let the Ranger just deal with me. I bet if you told him the story he would understand.
ChinMusic
05-10-2009, 13:19
My new bride and i will be spending our honeymoon in the smokies. We will be hiking sobo starting may 25th for 5 days. We have reserved shelters at Mt. collins, silers bald, derrick knob, mollies ridge and ending at fontana dam. We are not thru hiking so i know that we are only allowed to use the shelters, our tent weighs about 5 pounds but is that extra weight worth it? or should we just bring a tarp? Also if you have any suggestions or advise for this part of the trip it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
A group of us 50ish folks (2 from Florida) just did this section 10 days ago. We had planned on 4 days but finished in 3 days due to torrential rains. I certainly am NOT in ideal shape. I found this section tough but enjoyable. Trip: Gap - Silers - Spence - Fontana
Gap to Mt Collins: Very short day with ups that will get your attention.
Mt Collins to Silers: Near 1000-ft climb to Clingmans then nearly all down to Silers.
Siler to Derrick: A VERY easy day with mostly downs, one steep 350-ft climb midway though.
Derrick to Mollies: This day is HUGE compared to your first three days. There some NASTY climbs. This is your hardest day BY FAR and it is your longest.
Mollies to Fontana: Mostly down with a few ups to keep you honest. Not a big deal.
i was also wondering if attempting to hike from derrick knob to mollies ridge one day and then to fontana the next is to ambitious. we are both in decent shape and hike several times a month but in florida where speed bumps are considered hills.
Derrick to Mollies will feel like TWO of your other days. The first SOBO segment up Thunderhead was the hardest climb of the trip. It was the only segment to stop me in my tracks, sucking wind. The second segment up Thunderhead was no piece of cake either. The going was slow for me.
You have a 5-day trip. Day 4 is out of proportion to the rest of the trip. I can't say that day 4 will be killer for you as I don't know you. I can say with certainty that it is near double your other days.
I would think a better 5-day plan would be: Gap - Mt Collins - Derrick - Spence - Mollies (or better tenting at Birch Springs) - Fontana.
Day 3, although shorter than your plan would still be your hardest. I don't have you at the old-style shelter at Russell. That is a high bear activity area. If you want to see bear this is your best shelter. Day 4 is ridiculously easy and if you decide to carry a tent I would bypass Mollies and get a reservation at Birch Springs campsite (no shelter here). If you stay at Birch Springs you would have an easy half-day out at the end.
Regarding tent vs no-tent for section hikers: You "must" stay in the shelter according to the hard rules. BUT. If you show up at a shelter after dark, and find it full, it is super uncool to kick out some thru hiker. While according to the "hard rules" the thru must give you the spot, it is not cool to kick him/her out after they have settled in for the night. In this case you should quietly tent but only in this case. If you plan on getting to your shelters at a reasonably early time then this would not be an issue.
Another reason to bring a tent is bad weather. Bad weather throws EVERYONE'S plan out the window. Some hikers may not be able to advance to their reserved sites. In a case like this some shelters COULD be over-crowded. At the time of year you are going I would not THINK this to be an issue, but you never know.
Sorry for the long post but I just did this section SOBO and loved it. Feel free to ask me any other questions.
sliderule
05-11-2009, 10:04
you're joking right? :-?
The no-show rate in the Smokies is quite high. I say this on the basis of past volunteer work where I knew how many slots were reserved versus how many people actually showed up. There were nights that I slept alone in a shelter that was fully booked. And plenty of nights when fully booked shelters had plenty of room. A shelter occupied "as booked" (thru hikers not considered) was extremely rare.
ChinMusic
05-11-2009, 10:52
The no-show rate in the Smokies is quite high. I say this on the basis of past volunteer work where I knew how many slots were reserved versus how many people actually showed up. There were nights that I slept alone in a shelter that was fully booked. And plenty of nights when fully booked shelters had plenty of room. A shelter occupied "as booked" (thru hikers not considered) was extremely rare.
At the 4 shelters I stayed earlier this month, I would say I stayed with maybe 6 other section hikers.......total
I would guess the no-show rate to be around 75% for those 4 days.......not kidding.