View Full Version : Hiking Through the Great Smoky Mountains.
jkoerner
03-31-2011, 18:38
Hey guys and girls! I am planning a hike along the AT through the smoky mountains, from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap. I have got the 2011 Data book, I've been looking at the trail from google earth and my biggest questions/concerns are about food. I am pretty confident that I can hike the section in 6-7 days but there doesn't seem to be any places (without going 10 miles or so off the trail) to mail a food drop. Is carrying seven days worth of food with me from the start a bad idea or does anyone know of places along that part of the AT where I can re-supply that maybe I don't know about? Thanks for the help, I can't wait to get out there and will be greatful for any advice!
Thanks,
Julian.
carry enough food for your trip
LoneRidgeRunner
03-31-2011, 18:59
The only place to resupply that I know of is Gatlinburg a little over half way or Cherokkee from the same point ...Gatlinburg is 16 miles I think and I believe Cherokee is a little farther..IMO not worth the distance to travel for another 3 to 4 days worth of food I would do it non stop but that's just me..HYOH
earlyriser26
03-31-2011, 19:06
Just take 7 days worth. If you are really worried and want to spend the money I am sure you can hire someone to meet you at Newfound gap to resupply. Best option take 7 days of food, second best pay someone, distant third, hitch into Gatlinburg.
Its an easy hitch down to Gatlinburg. There are ALWAYS plenty of people at Newfound Gap looking to take pictures and hear stories about people hiking without setting food on the trails themselves. The harder part is catching a ride back to the top.
I wouldnt carry that much food if I had to chance to resupply half way through. Worst case, there are two hiking shops in downtown gatlinburg that I'm sure you could arrange a shuttle back to the top.
Tourists are your friends!
Blissful
03-31-2011, 19:13
Hitch at Newfound Gap to Gatlinburg or there is a shuttle service
jkoerner
03-31-2011, 19:17
Thanks for the advice! you'll are quick. Before finding this site I was planning on tent camping, from my understanding there are places to camp around the shelters. I'm hoping to be on the trail in early September so the nights shouldn't be too cold. Is tent camping pretty easy out there or should I try and use the shelters or a hammock?
In SMNP you have to use shelter unless it's full. If full then you can tent near by. You also need to make reservations ahead of time.
Thru hikers have priority when it comes to shelter space (make sure to check in at fontana dam). You can only tent camp within visible sight of the shelters, no fire except inside the shelter in the chimneys. I'd deffinately try to get in a shelter...I ran into 5 bears in a day once in mid August. Lots of huck berries on the trail.
jkoerner
03-31-2011, 19:28
I guess thats an easy answer, thanks for the info!
hikingshoes
03-31-2011, 19:39
Thru hikers have priority when it comes to shelter space (make sure to check in at fontana dam). You can only tent camp within visible sight of the shelters, no fire except inside the shelter in the chimneys. I'd deffinately try to get in a shelter...I ran into 5 bears in a day once in mid August. Lots of huck berries on the trail.
Thats alot of bears! i seen one as i was hiking across the Dam into the Smokies.It seen me and i seen it and it was gone.HS:banana
ShelterLeopard
03-31-2011, 20:54
If I was planning a Smokies hike, I would do WHATEVER I COULD to avoid Gatlinburg. Shiver. On the other hand, it was such incredible culture shock that I wanted nothing more than to get right back on trail. Immediately. I felt sick I wanted out of Gatlinburg so badly.
Maple_Sky
03-31-2011, 21:56
I did the Fontana-Davenport section last July, and just carried all of my food for the 7 days. Make sure that you book your shelters far in advance. Standing Bear, about 2 miles from Davenport, is a nice place to get a cold drink and snack and wait for your ride.
Thru hikers have priority when it comes to shelter space (make sure to check in at fontana dam). You can only tent camp within visible sight of the shelters, no fire except inside the shelter in the chimneys. I'd deffinately try to get in a shelter...I ran into 5 bears in a day once in mid August. Lots of huck berries on the trail.
Although perhaps thru-hikers SHOULD have priority for shelter space, in reality this is not the case. Last summer I was told that in the Smokies, two shelter spots are left vacant for thrus (classified as people starting 50 miles before and ending 50 miles after the park), with the rest of the spots going to the weekenders and sectioners. The original poster wouldn't qualify as a thru-hiker, so he'd have to make reservations.
I did the Fontana-Davenport section last July, and just carried all of my food for the 7 days. Make sure that you book your shelters far in advance. Standing Bear, about 2 miles from Davenport, is a nice place to get a cold drink and snack and wait for your ride.
Although perhaps thru-hikers SHOULD have priority for shelter space, in reality this is not the case. Last summer I was told that in the Smokies, two shelter spots are left vacant for thrus (classified as people starting 50 miles before and ending 50 miles after the park), with the rest of the spots going to the weekenders and sectioners. The original poster wouldn't qualify as a thru-hiker, so he'd have to make reservations.
There is actually a sign as you are hiking from the Fontana Hilton that states that thru hikers do not have priority to the shelters. The folks with reservations have full priority, even if they come in late at night...
Bear Cables
03-31-2011, 23:10
If you want to lighten your load and resupply you could contact Nancy and Jeff at the Hike Inn near Fontana. For a reasonable fee they can meet you at Newfound gap with a resupply box. You can also use them as a shuttle service. Great people. You also might want to consider leaving you car at the dam,get shuttled to davenport and hike back to your car. There is more supervision for your car at the dam than the gap. It's a great hike, expect rain. Take the side hike to Mt Crammner fire tower.
godsfshrmn
03-31-2011, 23:39
I am planning on doing the same. I know it varies based on the food, but approx how much can I expect 7 days worth of food to weigh?
fredmugs
04-01-2011, 06:27
Or you can hike it in less days. If you have 7 days to be on the trail you can have a re-supply at Standing Bear and keep going.
junglecat
04-01-2011, 16:56
Thru hikers have priority when it comes to shelter space (make sure to check in at fontana dam).
I thought section hikers must reserve space at GSNP shelters. How can a thru hiker have priority? Does this mean the section hiker must move out of a shelter? Someone please clarify. I leave for a section hike from Fontana to Gatlinburg next weekend and I have reservations at 3 shelters.
ShelterLeopard
04-01-2011, 16:58
Someone here got confused. Thru hikers do NOT have any sort of priority. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was lucky- I went thru the area in late Feb/ early March and had no trouble with shelter spots.
Ox97GaMe
04-01-2011, 18:05
Leopard and Junglecat are correct. The park leaves a total of 4 spaces as 'non-reservable' in each shelter during the thru hiker season. This leaves 8-12 (depending on shelter capacity) spots in the shelter that are available for non-thru hikers to reserve.
That doesnt mean that every sheleter will be full, or that only 4 thru hikers can stay in the shelter. It just means that the park will never reserve more than (capacity - 4) spots in a shelter for any given night. A non thru hiker with a permit and a reservation number takes precedence over a thru hiker, or a non thru hiker without a permit.
Most people hope that the shelters are full when they get there so they can camp outside anyway. Those wooden bunks are hard. There is usually a snorer or an early riser in the crowd, and the mice love to tap dance on your head while you are sleeping.
max patch
04-01-2011, 18:09
I thought section hikers must reserve space at GSNP shelters. How can a thru hiker have priority? Does this mean the section hiker must move out of a shelter? Someone please clarify. I leave for a section hike from Fontana to Gatlinburg next weekend and I have reservations at 3 shelters.
You're fine. You have a reservation, if there is no room at the shelter when you get there you can ask those without reservations to move out.
Thru hikers don't have to make reservations because it would be difficult for them to know exactly when they will be in the park. So they can stay in a shelter only if there is room. If no room, then they have to camp within the vicinity of the shelter. Its not first come first served in the GSMNP.
Thru hikers handbook 2009
"Regulations - you are required to stay overnight on the AT route. Any overnight side trip to a backcountry area off the trail voids your permit. Overnight departure to Gatlinburg or Cherokee does not
-You are required to use the shelter system for overnight camping. Four sleeping spaces in each shelter are reserved exclusively for thru hikers, on a first come first serve bases April 1-June 1
-You are not permitted to stay more than one night in the same shelter, even if space is available, unless sick or injured.
-You are required to tent within sight of a shelter if no sleeping space is available
....................."
You dont have to hike the entire appalachian trail to be considered a thru hiker. If your walking from fontana dam to davenport you thru hiked the smoky mountains. It dosent matter if you started in GA.
I'm not confused
max patch
04-01-2011, 18:28
....................."
You dont have to hike the entire appalachian trail to be considered a thru hiker. If your walking from fontana dam to davenport you thru hiked the smoky mountains. It dosent matter if you started in GA.
I'm not confused
Yes you are. Just a little.
A thru hiker for purposes of the GSMNP is someone who both starts and ends their hike 50 miles outside the borders of the park. Fontana to Davenport doesn't cut it.
Ox97GaMe
04-01-2011, 18:59
Another bit of information that is sometimes misleading or misunderstood.
most thru hikers dont WANT to take side trips to other places in the park. you are not forbidden to do so, and it does not void your thru hike. If you decide to wander from the AT in the park to explore some of the truly spectacular places, then you need to understand the general rules about backcountry camping in the park.
- ALL shelters in the park require permit, this includes Kephart and Laurel Gap. Im not clear what the ruling is if you have 'thru hiker' on the permit, but I think the same rules apply about permit reservation overrides non-reservation. Courtesy is always good.
- Most backcountry campsites do not require reservation, although they prefer that you get a reservation so that they can track usage. These are marked with black campsite signs on the maps
- There are a few sites that are relatively small, or in fragile ecosystems, that require a permit. Being in a restricted campsite without a permit could cause you to get in some trouble, especially if the maximum # of reservations were awarded for that location for that night. These are marked with brown campsite signs on the maps.
Some side trips that I think would be worth while for hikers that have the time and dont mind exploring the park a little while they are there.
- Gregory Bald in June. Campsite #13 requires permit and is usually at capacity.
- Forney Creek/Cascades to #71, back up by way of Forney Ridge to Andrew's Bald and Clingman's Dome
- Dry Sluice to Cabin Flats, back to Pecks Corner
- TriCorner to Gunter Creek (and Falls) to #36, back Camel to TriCorner or Cosby
- or continue out past Midnight Hole and Mouse Falls to Chestnut Branch to Davenport
- TriCorner to Laurel Gap to Mt Sterling, back to Big Creek (and to Davenport or out to Waterville)
(diferent, but not as nice as hiking out to Mt Cammerer)
Kerosene
04-01-2011, 22:46
...approx how much can I expect 7 days worth of food to weigh?Figure at least 2 pounds per day for a long-distance hiker. Most section hikers can get by with 1.5 pounds per day for the first week. Consider replacing some dried meals with expensive freeze-dried packages for a bit more weight savings.
stranger
04-01-2011, 23:12
On the Smokies...DO NOT expect shelter space unless you reserve space before your trip. If the shelters are full, and they probably will be, you can then set up your tent/tarp nearby. Ridgerunners are out there so don't go thinking you can stealth camp and not get caught, if you stealth camp you will need to be clever!
On resupply, Gatlinburg may seem a like a hassle to get into, but it's an easy hitch, there is a great trolley service once you're in, and if you send a maildrop to the Grand Prix you don't even have to head into the 'downtown' area, you could arrive at the motel, pick up your drop, spend the night and get clean, do laundry, hit up the outfitter and Shoneys, grab the shuttle back to Newfound Gap, you could easily keep this cost to $70-80 no problem. I will say though, the supermarket way across town is one of the best on the trail, but it does take two trolleys to get there.
If you decide to go into either Gatlinburg or Cherokee, one option available to you might be Cherokee Transit. It is a shuttle bus which runs from Cherokee to Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge and back. You can call them and see if they will take you from Newfound Gap down to the town of your choice and then let you ride a different shuttle bus back on a later run. Just an option you may want to consider. Enjoy your hike, I would love to do it one day. Make sure you take the small side trail to Shuckstack Tower -- wonderful view on a good day.
http://cherokeetransit.com/
(from their website)
Are you a hiker? Unscheduled stops along the route may be arranged with as much advance notice as possible (Happy Hiker – Gatlinburg, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, GSMNP pull-offs, etc.).
The 2010 ALDHA Thru-Hiker's Companion lists the Great Smoky Mountain National Park Shuttle providing service between Newfound Gap, Cherokee and Gatlinburg (828) 497- 5296 $12 round trip. Is this still in service?
My friend and I are hiking Fontana to Damascus this June. I understand we are not actual thru hikers since we are not starting 50 miles south of the park. I plan to try to get shelter reservations at the earliest time I can (Am I correct in understanding that I can call 1 month before the first day of our hike?). My question is how hard is it to get the reservations you want? What if you can get some shelters but not all of the ones you need? Is it easier than it sounds? Seems like a pain in the rear!!
mad4scrapping
04-04-2011, 14:33
My friend and I are hiking Fontana to Damascus this June. I understand we are not actual thru hikers since we are not starting 50 miles south of the park. I plan to try to get shelter reservations at the earliest time I can (Am I correct in understanding that I can call 1 month before the first day of our hike?). My question is how hard is it to get the reservations you want? What if you can get some shelters but not all of the ones you need? Is it easier than it sounds? Seems like a pain in the rear!!
Yes, you can make reservations 30 days before the first day or your hike. We called on that day, and although it took a few times to get through, once we did, we got the reservations we needed. So, it's not too much of a pain. I don't know what you do if you can't get the shelters that you want. Fortunately, that did not happen to us.
Even though we got reservations, we are bringing a tarp in case the shelters are full.