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View Full Version : Hot Springs to Devils Fork Gap



Ashman
01-18-2010, 17:27
This weekend I am doing the section from Hot Springs north to Devil's Fork Gap. Does anyone know how that area is doing for water?

Chaco Taco
01-18-2010, 18:07
This weekend I am doing the section from Hot Springs north to Devil's Fork Gap. Does anyone know how that area is doing for water?

Id be more worried about blowdowns. Water is fine

Chaco Taco
01-18-2010, 18:08
Id be more worried about blowdowns. Water is fine
There has been alot of snow melt. But with the temp close to 60 today, most should be gone

Chaco Taco
01-18-2010, 18:10
Weather looks like a typical early spring forecast. Enjoy yourself

Ashman
01-18-2010, 18:17
thanks I am glad to see it creep up before. I have gone down to the mid 20's with my set up, teens would have been a fun stretch

Chaco Taco
01-18-2010, 18:23
thanks I am glad to see it creep up before. I have gone down to the mid 20's with my set up, teens would have been a fun stretch

Just carry a 15 and you wont have to worry about it

Ashman
01-18-2010, 18:26
I go in a hammock, different bird. No bag under/over quilts

Chaco Taco
01-18-2010, 18:37
I go in a hammock, different bird. No bag under/over quilts

Gotcha, man Im jealous. I love that section you are doing. Have fun!

10-K
01-18-2010, 18:46
This weekend I am doing the section from Hot Springs north to Devil's Fork Gap. Does anyone know how that area is doing for water?

I'm doing an out and back from Devil's Fork Gap to Little Laurel shelter this Friday, maybe we'll cross paths.

Cabin Fever
01-18-2010, 20:53
Plenty of water everywhere. The only long stretch without a source is across Firescald Knob. Not that far. Just load up before you cross it. Lots of blowdowns.

Tennessee Viking
01-18-2010, 23:58
Blowdowns ands ice/snow are going to be your concern. The climb up to the top of the Bald Mtn ridgeline steep. Iced trail not going to make it fun.

Definitely top up water at Flint Mtn Shelter. There are a couple springs on the bad weather trail on Firescald.

Chaco Taco
01-19-2010, 10:43
Blowdowns ands ice/snow are going to be your concern. The climb up to the top of the Bald Mtn ridgeline steep. Iced trail not going to make it fun.

Definitely top up water at Flint Mtn Shelter. There are a couple springs on the bad weather trail on Firescald.

Seriously doubt there is anymore snow anywhere near here. Its been pushing 60. Even the tops of the mountains arent showing anymore. Maybe maybe in the Smokies but between Hot Spings and Erwin will probably have a few melting streams and lots of blowdowns.
We hiked Tellico to NOC Sat. and there were alot of blowdowns via Wesser Creeks, but the others said the AT was ok. The ice was still there but like I said, its been puching 60 degrees here for the past couple of days so Im sure mopst of it is gone.

Tennessee Viking
01-19-2010, 13:06
Seriously doubt there is anymore snow anywhere near here. Its been pushing 60. Even the tops of the mountains arent showing anymore. Maybe maybe in the Smokies but between Hot Spings and Erwin will probably have a few melting streams and lots of blowdowns.
We hiked Tellico to NOC Sat. and there were alot of blowdowns via Wesser Creeks, but the others said the AT was ok. The ice was still there but like I said, its been puching 60 degrees here for the past couple of days so Im sure mopst of it is gone.Your probably right..my info is just about a week old.

Chaco Taco
01-19-2010, 13:17
Your probably right..my info is just about a week old.

Yea its been gorgeous here the past 2 days, high temps. Good hiking weather. Screw it, Im goin!

Ashman
01-19-2010, 16:18
Yea its been gorgeous here the past 2 days, high temps. Good hiking weather. Screw it, Im goin!

Woo Hoo! Hope to see you up there Taco and 10-K!

Chaco Taco
01-19-2010, 19:30
Just got back from the area. There is still a small small amount of snow especially on the west side of the mountains. Big Bald has a little snow the last mile. No snow on top though. Not a single blow down from Big Flat to Sams Gap. The trail is in great condition as well. Beautiful day to be on the trail.

I want to go ahead and warn you. The trail is going to be sloppy. We are forecasted to get 2-3 inches of rain between Wed and Friday. It is going to be good for your water but it may be a "tad" muddy. The weather for Friday looks good though. just know you may have to deal with some rain.

Ashman
01-20-2010, 07:30
We are getting to Hot Springs pretty late tomorrow night. I know there is a campground in town and the sites are $20 a night. Heading north out of town, are there any decent camping spots before the ascent to Lover's Leap? We will have two guys in hammocks, two guys in a tent.

10-K
01-20-2010, 07:37
We are getting to Hot Springs pretty late tomorrow night. I know there is a campground in town and the sites are $20 a night. Heading north out of town, are there any decent camping spots before the ascent to Lover's Leap? We will have two guys in hammocks, two guys in a tent.

I can't remember if there are any spots along the river before you start the climb out of town but I do remember about 4-4.5 miles north of town there were some pretty good places to camp.

Chaco Taco
01-20-2010, 07:48
I can't remember if there are any spots along the river before you start the climb out of town but I do remember about 4-4.5 miles north of town there were some pretty good places to camp.

I think its called Mill Ridge. There is a big field up there to camp in.

If you are on the AT after the bridge, you walk along a railroad. Id just stay in the campground if you are arriving late.

Chaco Taco
01-20-2010, 07:50
We are getting to Hot Springs pretty late tomorrow night. I know there is a campground in town and the sites are $20 a night. Heading north out of town, are there any decent camping spots before the ascent to Lover's Leap? We will have two guys in hammocks, two guys in a tent.

Hey Ashman, if you guys get in a bad situation, Ill be around Friday and my fiance will be around Sat and Sun. Give me a shout if you guys get in a jam. If not me call Bluff Mtn.

Marta
01-20-2010, 08:00
I don't know what information you're using, but please be aware that the water source at Allen Gap is no longer available. That spring has been capped and run into someone's well. I wouldn't want to get water from the stream next to the road. The best plan is simply to carry enough water to get you from Spring Mtn. Shelter to Little Laurel Shelter.

Chaco Taco
01-20-2010, 08:03
I don't know what information you're using, but please be aware that the water source at Allen Gap is no longer available. That spring has been capped and run into someone's well. I wouldn't want to get water from the stream next to the road. The best plan is simply to carry enough water to get you from Spring Mtn. Shelter to Little Laurel Shelter.

I see in the guide that its states "Unreliable"
Good call Marta!:D

Marta
01-20-2010, 08:08
I see in the guide that its states "Unreliable"
Good call Marta!:D

In this year's Companion, it should be entirely omitted. I spent a lot of time looking for that spring.

Unfortunately for me, last March or April, on the first hot weekend of the year, I was counting on refilling my bottles at Allen Gap. Climbing up out of that gap with no water is not very much fun, so I made it my special mission to figure out what had happened to the spring.

Chaco Taco
01-20-2010, 08:17
Heads up on the weather. Its going to start raining today and go thru Friday and start back up on Sunday. Looking at possibly 3 inches:-?:-?

10-K
01-24-2010, 07:16
Heads up on the weather. Its going to start raining today and go thru Friday and start back up on Sunday. Looking at possibly 3 inches:-?:-?

Just got back from hiking DFG to LL shelter. There's quite a bit of snow left in places. Coming back from LL shelter just to do something different I took the bad weather route 2 miles south of Jerry's Cabin shelter and there was a good half mile of 7-9 inch snow left.

It rained all day Friday and you visibility was zilch. Woke up Friday night around 1:00 and it was clear as a bell. Woke back up at 6:00 and was fogged back in with strong winds. All the way back to DFG the wind was howling and mountains were wrapped in fog. Didn't get a single view the entire trip. I had the whole place to myself though - didn't see another person though there was 2 cars parked at DFG when I got back to my truck yesterday - guess they hiked north.

Needless to say, water was everywhere.. Creeks and springs running strong.

What surprised me more than anything was the amount of litter. Somebody was eating tootsie rolls and every few minutes there was a tootsie roll wrapper. Lots of other assorted trash too in various places on the trail.

Hikes in Rain
01-24-2010, 09:49
Isn't there a spring about 2 miles short of reaching Allan Gap? Or is that the one that's capped off?

Ashman
01-25-2010, 08:51
10-K did you have a dog with you? We were following behind you saw one set of prints and dog prints. The Red Jeep in the parking lot at DFG was mine! There was a ton of water. Between Hot Springs and Allan Gap there were massive amounts of blowdowns. I know part of the reason is the time of year but I saw more blowdowns on that section than all my hikes put together. Lots of water but I do not envy the crews that have to clean up that trail. On at least two spots, the crater left by the root ball of tree completed destroyed the trail. Other than seeing 10-k's sjelter entry not a single soul on the trail. The wind was wicked crazy on Saturday.

10-K
01-25-2010, 09:18
No, didn't have a dog but saw the tracks too.

I parked next to you at DFG, your jeep was there when I got there Friday morning (about 8:15ish) and was still there when I got back Saturday afternoon. I'm guess that was your jeep - it had Upward basketball stickers on it?

Wind was something Saturday, huh?

Wondered if you'd see my hello to you in the shelter journal. :)

Ashman
01-25-2010, 12:06
I did see the hello, yeah that Saturday wind was CRAZY! When we got to trail split that had "Exposed Ridge" and "Bad Weather Trail" we took the exposed ridge. It was insane. Neither the map nor the trail guide nor the write up on trails.com mention the split, I wonder if it was new. It took us a while to get over it. It was dark by the time we got off of it. Hiked in the Dark to Jerry Ridge Cabin and stayed the night there out of the wind.

Yup my jeep had the upwards stickers both my girls are doing b-ball now.

Chaco Taco
01-25-2010, 21:50
I did see the hello, yeah that Saturday wind was CRAZY! When we got to trail split that had "Exposed Ridge" and "Bad Weather Trail" we took the exposed ridge. It was insane. Neither the map nor the trail guide nor the write up on trails.com mention the split, I wonder if it was new. It took us a while to get over it. It was dark by the time we got off of it. Hiked in the Dark to Jerry Ridge Cabin and stayed the night there out of the wind.

Yup my jeep had the upwards stickers both my girls are doing b-ball now.

Please send a report via the Carolina Mtn Club so the Club can get there workload in order.
http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/maint/Maint.htm

Ashman
01-26-2010, 15:46
Done. Thank you for the suggestion

Chaco Taco
01-26-2010, 15:47
New blanket of snow up on the trail today, about 3 inches in spots that it hasnt melted yet

flemdawg1
01-26-2010, 19:12
I don't know what information you're using, but please be aware that the water source at Allen Gap is no longer available. That spring has been capped and run into someone's well. I wouldn't want to get water from the stream next to the road. The best plan is simply to carry enough water to get you from Spring Mtn. Shelter to Little Laurel Shelter.

I used the stream by the road in Oct 08, just head upstream 20-30 yards from road and you shouldn't have to worry about contamination from the road.

Ashman
01-27-2010, 11:12
Here is a shot of one of the blowdowns

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=984051&l=66caaf5176&id=1321002929

10-K
01-27-2010, 12:15
Here is a shot of one of the blowdowns

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=984051&l=66caaf5176&id=1321002929

That looks like more fun than crawling through the rhodedendrons that broke the last few miles before DFG.

BTW, was it just me or did it seem like there was a lot of litter on the trail to you?

Ashman
01-27-2010, 13:02
Yes, especially at the shelters.

We at least three "two tree" blowdowns like that and countless singles, lots of crawling and climbing, glad I had the right gear for it.

Chaco Taco
01-27-2010, 13:42
Im heading up to do this section in 2 days starting on Tuesday am and ending Wednesday evening. Will take a trash bag with me to clean up the litter. Thanks for the info guys.