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View Full Version : Hot Springs to Max Patch in 1 day?



grrickar
10-01-2004, 18:04
Is it possible, or are we kidding ourselves that we can make it there in a day? I wanted to spend time there and check out the stars (I'm an amateur astronomer), and take some pics but the only way it fit into the hike was to reach the summit in the first day, then make it to Standing Bear on the second day.

From there on the NOC we are looking at 14mile or less days for the most part. If we bite off more than we can chew the fallback is to end at Fontana Dam. Any suggestions contrary to what we have planned? We are starting at sunrise Monday. Both of us are in reasonably good shape, both with 2.5 days food and water with my pack coming in around 34lbs, his coming in at 33lbs.

We each pick up a food drop at Standing Bear, and are not planning to resupply until we hit Fontana Dam, where we will pickup a mail drop with 2+ days of food.

Here is the itinerary we are thinking about:

Day 1 - Hot Springs to Max Patch 19.8 mi (whew, getting tired just thinking about it)

Day 2 - Max Patch to Standing Bear 14.8 mi

Day 3 - Standing Bear to Cosby Knob 13.3 mi

Day 4 - Cosby Knob to Pecks Corner 12.3mi

Day 5 - Pecks Corner to Mt. Collins 14.9mi

Day 6 - Mt. Collins to Derrick Knob 13.5mi

Day 7 - Derrick Knob to Spence Field 6.3mi

Day 8 - Spence Field to Doe Knob 8.5mi

Day 9 - Doe Knob to Fontana Dam 8.2mi

Day 10 - Fontana Dam to Brown Fork Gap Shelter 12.7mi

Day 11 - Brown Fork Gap Shelter to US 19 (NOC)16mi

A-Train
10-01-2004, 18:45
I'd recommend not going Hot Springs to Max Patch on day 1. Your not in hiking shape, you'll have a pack full of food and theres a whole lot of climbing: out of town, then up Bluff Mtn and finally up Max Patch. It was my first 20 miler on my thru-hike (going north) and It took me 250 miles to be in good shape for that. Took me most of the day and I was in good shape. Why not take two days to get there, camping in between and then adding two of your smokies days into one? You have some low mile days (6,8) in the southern end of the smokies. You can easily do 13-15 mile days. The terrain is somewhat gentle and you'll be in better shape and carrying less food.
I don't want to scare you into thinking HS to MaX Patch is impossible. I'm sure you can make it. It'd be a shame to get up there too exhausted to enjoy camp and camping at one of the best if not THE best spot on the AT. Especially if you miss the sunset you'll be very bummed. Not only that but it may impact your whole trip, if you start off hurting, tired and feeling rushed. From experience its always been better to start a trip with an easy day. Whatever you decide, enjoy it, its a great section!

Lone Wolf
10-01-2004, 18:45
Yeah you can do it. Just start early in the morning. I've hiked from Groundhog Creek shelter to Hot Springs 3 times over the years. 26.2 miles.

Frog
10-01-2004, 19:30
Not knowning how many miles you are use to walking in a day i really couldnt give an honest answer. But by pushing your self on the very first day you could cause a strain. And why would you want to ruin your adventure on the very first day. Just my 2 cents worth.

orangebug
10-01-2004, 20:12
Ditto. I'd anticipate that HS to Max Patch in one day would leave you too fatigued to enjoy the stars, assuming they are out that night. It is an easy two day (actually about 1.5 days). Just feed up and get a late start in HS, walk about 5-6 hours, then get to Max Patch and have your choice of campsites and viewing stations. I bet you will wish for a light weight telescope.

Bill...

Groucho
10-01-2004, 22:02
I'd also try to do the 2nd half of the Smokies in less time, unless you already have reservations. Where were you planning to stay at Doe Knob? Stealth camping?

You could do the one-day-to-Max Patch, but you might have less enthusiasm for viewing the stars, at least I would.

Are you traveling from 'bama on your start date? If not maybe you could make a late start on your travel day.

Pencil Pusher
10-01-2004, 23:22
I agree, you can do it. Just try not to think '20 miles' while you're doing it, instead think of it in smaller intervals. You'll get there before you know it and feel fine enough to enjoy the stars. But if you're hurting... maybe it'd be best to catch an afternoon snooze then hit the trail again and try to reach this place around midnight for some star watching. Just don't limit yourself by what others tell you, do what you think you can and see what happens.

Tim Rich
10-03-2004, 13:41
My section hikes (typically 5-7 days, usually 90-110 miles) have been best when I start slow and work up in miles. If I were hiking to spend the night at Max Patch, I'd make sure I left early enough to see the afternoon sky and sunset, even if it meant blowing out of Hot Springs by headlamp.

Good luck and hope you have clear weather.

flyfisher
10-03-2004, 16:05
Lots of people have suggested breaking it up somehow, at the beginning of the hike. Dittos.

However, the trail between Max Patch and Hot Springs was in great shape in Early September (before the hurricanes). The pathway is not hard on the feet and the hills did not seem too steep. I walked from the valley just north of Max Patch to Hotsprings and arrived before 5 PM on the last day of a 5 day trip and it did not seem hard.

Standing Bear can not be beat! I loved staying there.

I am not a fan of the Smoky Mountains.

grrickar
10-14-2004, 12:54
We finished out first section hike in 10 days instead of 11. We ended up at the NOC yesterday around noon. We made Max Patch just at sunset on the first day after leaving Hot Springs at daybreak. Many people on the trail told us we would not make it, and many more told us we would not make it by sunset. We did. It seems that the more people told us that it couldn't be done, the more determined we were to do it. The views were awesome, and the stars were spectacular.

Here is the breakdown of our trip:

Day 1 - Hot Springs to Max Patch
Day 2 - Max Patch to Standing Bear Farm
Day 3 - Standing Bear Farm to Cosby Knob Shelter (climbing Mt. Cammerer was one of the toughest parts of this section hike IMO)
Day 4 - Cosby Knob Shelter to Pecks Corner Shelter
Day 5 - Pecks Corner Shelter to Clingman Dome(hitched into Gatlingburg for night)
Day 6 - Clingman Dome to Derricks Knob Shelter
Day 7 - Derricks Knob Shelter to Fontana Dam (stayed at the Fontana Hilton)
Day 8 - Fontana Dam to a campsite 1 mile North of Cody Gap
Day 9 - Cody Gap to Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Day 10 - Sassafrass Gap Shelter to NOC

Burn
10-14-2004, 19:28
yeh, i did ground hog shelter to hot springs but it was after I was battle hardened. several folks at max patch asked where i expected to bed down at tonight, since it was 1 oclock. I said hot springs, and they looked at me like it was impossible. spent the night with xena bloody cactus and lekiless. what a day!

Lone Wolf
10-14-2004, 19:34
Told ya it was no biggie. :D

orangebug
10-14-2004, 20:06
Congratulations on a walk I considered a biggie.

How long did you stay awake for the star show? What area did you camp on? I'd love to camp up top some day, but only stayed by the road due to deep snow covering the steps up the first hill.

Bill...

grrickar
10-15-2004, 12:29
Congratulations on a walk I considered a biggie.

How long did you stay awake for the star show? What area did you camp on? I'd love to camp up top some day, but only stayed by the road due to deep snow covering the steps up the first hill.

Bill...We camped at the summit, on the east side not far from where all the brambles are. There was one other group that tented there in a Eureka tent. I think it was a 3 person group. It appeared that the older guy was the father and there was a couple of teens with him.

I checked out the stars for about an hour, and while we cooked, and then we turned in. My hiking buddy had a MSR Missing Link Shelter, and he did not pitch it tight so it flapped all night. I was in my MSR Hubba. About midnight (unknown to me at the time) I hear all the rustling next to me, and see that it is pretty bright outside. I figure it is daybreak so I start packing up. I walk out of my tent to find the light was about a half-full moon and that the noise I was hearing was his tent flapping from the wind. I checked out the stars for another hour or so then went back to bed until sunrise. I don't think I have ever seen a half-full moon appear that bright.

We had been forewarned that it was really windy up there, and it was. If you camped down where the hay was baled (further down on the east side towards Hot Springs) it would not be so windy. All in all it wasn't that bad, and the push to get there in one day paid off in views. We got there to see the sun set and then to see the sunrise the next morning. If it had worked out with our schedule, I wouldn't have minded tenting on Snowbird Mountain either, or the grassy area past Thunderhead Mtn. We did have lunch at the grassy bald past the peak of Thunderhead. Words cannot describe the views from up there.

Despite all of the pain and issues I had during this first hike, the vistas were enough to keep me coming back. Sadly, Cheoah Bald was socked in with rain, clouds and fog so we didn't see much coming down into the NOC.

stranger
10-17-2004, 01:58
Depends on your state of mind and hiking experience and pleasures, to some 20 miles is a real big day, to others it's the norm. I've hiked 16 miles before noon without a snap, then knocked out another 10-12...then a week later had 12 kick my butt, depends on where you are at physically and mentally.

grrickar
10-17-2004, 16:19
As it turns out, Uncle Wayne was up on Max Patch the same night we were - we camped just below him and his family.

I really need to get a Whiteblaze shirt or something- there is no telling how many people we ran into that post on Whiteblaze, and we never even knew it because we either didn't talk at length with them or we didn't get a chance to talk to them at all. Is there such as thing as a Whiteblaze ballcap or bandana?

Uncle Wayne
10-18-2004, 01:40
As it turns out, Uncle Wayne was up on Max Patch the same night we were - we camped just below him and his family.


Yeah, that was the only "bummer" of our hike; being that close to a fellow WhiteBlazer and not knowing it. We really enjoyed our time on Max Patch. Thanks to everyone who recommended it and helped with directions.

An earlier post by grrickar in this thread said:


We camped at the summit, on the east side not far from where all the brambles are. There was one other group that tented there in a Eureka tent. I think it was a 3 person group. It appeared that the older guy was the father and there was a couple of teens with him.
.

Tripper (my wife) will really appreciate that statement. I knew it was just a matter of time before someone on the trail would ask me if she was my daughter or someone would say to her that it was nice for her to hike with her old dad! :D