NFG -> Davenport gap itinerary help

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

Hi Folks,

In the planning stages of a trip Starting at New Found Gap and ending at davenport gap around the late july to august time frame. I'm a fairly avid hiker and will presumably have a pack weight no greater than 10-15lbs. I was able to knock out amicalola to neels in 2.5 days this april. I want to bring my wife along, this will be her first serious multi day trip. I'm having some trouble planning the itinerary since I will need reservations in the smokies. I don't wanna do too much miles and give her a bad first experience, but i also don't want to do to many days and nights andbe carrying too much food and be bored by getting into the shelter at noon ech day. How difficult is this section of trail for a fairly active couple in their early/mid 20's. Can someone suggest a reasonable itinerary?

[Veetack]

I Just got back from this section not 4 hours ago. We didn't get back from Trail Days until about 6, so we stayed at Icewater Springs shelter, which I recommend, as the view from the shelter is unbeatable, but it's only 3 miles into your hike. Day 2 we pulled a 20 and went all the way to Cosby Knob. There was some pretty significant bear activity there, but that should be handled by the time you get there. I hiked from Cosby Knob to Standing Bear Hostel this morning where Curtis and Maria were more than accomodating while I waited for my pickup. Also, if you're interested and set it up ahead of time, you can park at Standing Bear for $2 a day and Curtis will shuttle you to Newfound for $80.

Seeing as you have your wife, I assume 20s are out of your range as a group. If you start in the morning, Peck's corner shelter is probably night 1 at just under 11 miles, night 2 at Cosby Knob makes for a 13 mile day, only option for night 3 (if there is one) is Davenport Gap shelter about 7 miles later.

Peck's corner is .4 off the trail and I did not stop there. Tri-Corner Knob Shelter is another option, but it doesn't really fit your distances and because of the proximity of the spring, has strong potential to flood if there is a heavy rain. Other than that, it is a nice shelter and was a really good place to stop and eat lunch.

[Veetack]

Oh, and on the difficulty of the section, there are several large climbs, but nothing extremely steep. Your last day will be a lot of knee killing downhill though. Cosby Knob to the end is up just a bit and then down the entire way. I have a goofy right knee from the Marines, and I was in a noticeable amount of pain by Standing Bear.

[bigcranky]

Did this hike mid-November a couple of years ago. I didn't get on the trail until well after lunch, so I stayed at Icewater Spring the first night. Veetack is right about the view - awesome. Then I hit Tricorner Knob for the second night, and hiked out to my car at Standing Bear the third. The third day was the longest, and the downhill was very long, so I was pretty wiped at the end, but overall the section was pretty easy. Some decent climbs, nice views in a lot of places (but it was November with no leaves on the trees.) I could have made it easier by parking at the ranger station, which would have shortened it by several miles.

Not sure what to tell you about planning. Totally understand the problem. When I hike with my wife, I tend to slow down a bit, take nice breaks at overlooks, etc., -- things I don't do when I'm by myself. It's much easier (and nicer) to take a long lunch with a good conversation at an overlook with company.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

Oh, and on the difficulty of the section, there are several large climbs, but nothing extremely steep. Your last day will be a lot of knee killing downhill though. Cosby Knob to the end is up just a bit and then down the entire way. I have a goofy right knee from the Marines, and I was in a noticeable amount of pain by Standing Bear.

Yea the descent down blood mountain this april showed me long down hills are no joke! Thanks for your service btw Im AD airforce right now and appreciate all who serve.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

Did this hike mid-November a couple of years ago. I didn't get on the trail until well after lunch, so I stayed at Icewater Spring the first night. Veetack is right about the view - awesome. Then I hit Tricorner Knob for the second night, and hiked out to my car at Standing Bear the third. The third day was the longest, and the downhill was very long, so I was pretty wiped at the end, but overall the section was pretty easy. Some decent climbs, nice views in a lot of places (but it was November with no leaves on the trees.) I could have made it easier by parking at the ranger station, which would have shortened it by several miles.

Not sure what to tell you about planning. Totally understand the problem. When I hike with my wife, I tend to slow down a bit, take nice breaks at overlooks, etc., -- things I don't do when I'm by myself. It's much easier (and nicer) to take a long lunch with a good conversation at an overlook with company.



Yea when I'm alone or with the guys I like to push sometimes a little too hard, but I do not wanna lead the old lady on a death march. wish there were easy shelter options for a 3 night/4 day 8ish miles a day. THat seems to be half the problem with the smokies AT all the rules make it less user friendly. You have to make an itinerary, have to use the shelter no tent camping blah blah blah. I understand it's for the good of the park so I'm not complaining. It just makes it more difficult to plan then other trips I've done. When i did springer to neels this aprin I set off with 4 days of food and a week of vacation time and let my legs do the planning.

[bigcranky]

Right, so why not hike the Nantahalas, just south of the Smokies? They are rugged and beautiful, and you can camp anywhere. The ~30 miles from Winding Stair Gap to NOC are a great hike.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

I'll have to do some reading on it, for some reason I have an obsession with the smokies even tho I know the surrounding areas are equally beautiful.

[Kerosene]

I did the Smokies by myself this past October. I did the Nantahalas with my newbie 21-yo daughter last May where I had the same concerns as you about making her first hike an enjoyable experience. Her first hike should be all about her enjoyment...not yours, if you want her to join you again in the future. Think about starting at Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, US-60) -- or perhaps in Deep Gap just south of Standing Indian -- and hike to Fontana Dam. The trail was quite pleasant; there are numerous places to camp and you don't need reservations; the views may be better than through the Smokies; you've got a built-in zero day at NOC; and it's a good introduction to the Smokies. That's not to say that you couldn't make the Smokies work, but you're locked into the shelter reservation schedule.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

how will the water situation/temps be out that way in mid-late july or early august. I'm trying to decide when's a good time to go.

[Skid.]

I did this same section just last week. Mostly steady uphill from Newfound Gap to Tri-Corner Knob, although not steep. I would recommend Ice Water Spring shelter the first afternoon, and Tri-Corner Knob the next night. (The spring in front of the Tri-corner Knob shelter flows from a 2-inch diameter pipe at about the rate of a garden hose, so I'm not sure why the comment above about flooding?? There were several drenching downpours last Wednesday nite when I stayed there, and NO flooding issues). Use the bear cables provided at each shelter.

[Veetack]

I did this same section just last week. Mostly steady uphill from Newfound Gap to Tri-Corner Knob, although not steep. I would recommend Ice Water Spring shelter the first afternoon, and Tri-Corner Knob the next night. (The spring in front of the Tri-corner Knob shelter flows from a 2-inch diameter pipe at about the rate of a garden hose, so I'm not sure why the comment above about flooding?? There were several drenching downpours last Wednesday nite when I stayed there, and NO flooding issues). Use the bear cables provided at each shelter.


I made the comment about flooding because the guide book says it has potential to flood. I only stopped at Tri Corner knob for lunch when I went through, but I definitely could have seen the potential for a soggy floor after a hard rain. Other than that the shelter is in great condition and I would have still stayed there had I not gotten there mid day.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

TIme is ticking down, anybody done this route lately? Trying to decide when the best time to go is in the next 4-6 weeks

[Veetack]

I know you saw in another thread that I just did the other half, but here's what I HEARD about the situation on this half of the park:

Icewater Springs has water
Pecks or Tricorner is dry, I'm not sure which one
Cosby has water
No word on Davenport.


I may be meeting up with a friend to hike Davenport to Hot Springs next week, and he is in the Smokys right now, so if I do that, I'll let you know what I find out from him.

[P-Train]

Thursday Tricorner had water but it was slow. Good enough.

Davenport had it Friday but by Saturday morning when we woke up it was dry. NOBO 3/4 mile from the shelter (after crossing the gravel road HWY 32) there are quite a few creeks with a lot of small waterfalls. They won't dry up anytime soon. I doubt they ever totally dry up. That's two miles south from the 451 exit at the river. HWY 32 is a 15 minute hike from from Davenport Shelter. You could leave DG to get water and be back within 45 minutes.

[Veetack]

P Train! Glad to see you made it. I got a little worried about you guys after Leslie and I hopped off at Newfound Gap. That storm was brutal.

[Lyte-w8-hyker]

I know you saw in another thread that I just did the other half, but here's what I HEARD about the situation on this half of the park:

Icewater Springs has water
Pecks or Tricorner is dry, I'm not sure which one
Cosby has water
No word on Davenport.


I may be meeting up with a friend to hike Davenport to Hot Springs next week, and he is in the Smokys right now, so if I do that, I'll let you know what I find out from him.

Thanks man, let me know. I know they had a bad storm there last weekend too. I'm gonna give the rager station a call tomorrow to try and get my permits. Hopefully the clean up is going soomthly over there and that the AT wasn't impacted too hard.

[P-Train]

P Train! Glad to see you made it. I got a little worried about you guys after Leslie and I hopped off at Newfound Gap. That storm was brutal.

We didn't even know there was a storm until the next day when we heard from a day hiker people had been killed. Rained pretty heavy for a couple of hours and that was it. No heavy winds at Tri-Corner. We stopped at Cosby Knob for a break and ran into that tagged bear. He's fearless of humans. Davenport Gap ran out of water overnight but we were fine.

To whom it may concern: Veetack is a stand up good guy. Knowledgeable and a fun guy to be around. See you on the trail...

[Point Man Chef]

You saved me from asking! I'm heading out to do the whole AT section of the GSMNP Friday THE 13TH and was wondering about the other end (saw your other report). Looks like more rain coming so hopefully the less than stellar locations will be running fine by then. Really do appreciate it when others post up reports. Doesn't matter where from because hopefully somebody somewhere is out there hiking and can use the good information. Again, thanks!



I know you saw in another thread that I just did the other half, but here's what I HEARD about the situation on this half of the park:

Icewater Springs has water
Pecks or Tricorner is dry, I'm not sure which one
Cosby has water
No word on Davenport.


I may be meeting up with a friend to hike Davenport to Hot Springs next week, and he is in the Smokys right now, so if I do that, I'll let you know what I find out from him.

[MuddyWaters]

My son and I are considering doing all of the GSMNP also in a few weeks, IF I can get away from work.
Ive been away 2 weeks out of the last month, starting to catch some $__t, but hell, its my vacation.