MST Info Needed

[wornoutboots]

Has anybody hiked this from Clingmans > east? I'm looking into hiking this next month for a few weeks. I've been to the "Friend of MST" website but it seems a little vague, or I'm lazy & need to spend more time there. Can someone tell me where to get the best guide & maps? I do understand that there is quite a bit of road walking which I'm cool with, I enjoy bouncing out of the forest & onto roads & thru small mountian cities. My main concern is resupplying & camping options. All information is appreciated! Thanks!

[10-K]

I've hiked the first 100 miles minus the road walks from the visitor's center to Baslam Gap. Basically all the trail from Clingman's Dome to Pisgah Inn.

I used Taba's MST Guide and the Nat Geo maps. At the very least you need the Nat Geo map for the Middle Prong / Shining Rock Wilderness section.

Nice trail and will probably make for some good hiking in October. When I hiked it in July it was grown up for long, long stretches and you could hardly see the trail.

[Tennessee Viking]

Has anybody hiked this from Clingmans > east? I'm looking into hiking this next month for a few weeks. I've been to the "Friend of MST" website but it seems a little vague, or I'm lazy & need to spend more time there. Can someone tell me where to get the best guide & maps? I do understand that there is quite a bit of road walking which I'm cool with, I enjoy bouncing out of the forest & onto roads & thru small mountian cities. My main concern is resupplying & camping options. All information is appreciated! Thanks!
I can be another contact. I am part of the FMST but I am more located around the Falls Lake-Raleigh section. But I have been trying to help hikers along the MST and have a few contacts on most of the sections.

Dido on 10-K. Then your best hiking guide would probably be Scot Ward aka Taba Hiking Guide to the MST. Located at www.thru-hiker.us He has hiked the MST a number of times (currently walking east to west) and has been keeping it fairly updated, and become a growing advocate for hiker services along the trail. Taba's guide book is incredibly detailed with hiker services and support along the journey.

Probably the next best source is a buddy of mine. His maps at www.artshikingmaps.info are pretty detailed for the Eno River and Falls Lake sections. His overall maps are pretty detailed for what he has mapped so far. He just doesn't have some of the newly built trail mapped out around Boone/Blowing Rock area mapped yet. But still very detailed for parking, road crossings, and water sources.

The CMC book is for a short section only. And the deHart book is a great read...but its fairly out of date.

Just to keep you updated: The NPS has encouraged the FMST into relocating a road walk away from the Parkway and tunnels until Balsam Gap (going through Cherokee/Dillsboro/Sylva along busy highway roads). Some hikers are willing to walk the tunnels. The FMST has been studying some other corridor possibilities. There is one route that is more secondary roads and will come out of the Smokies at Deep Creek, then travel through Bryson City to Dillsboro/Sylva and up to Cullowhee. From Cullowhee, the MST route will travel up forest roads to the parkway around Richland Balsam.

PM me your email, and I will send you the directions, if interested. Personally, I have been advocating a new trail corridor with the shortest road or greenway walk. I not want to see hikers miss the Plott Balsams.

[pyroman53]

Mrs Gorp is doing it right now and jounalling on TrailJournals...you'll prolly learn a bunch

[wornoutboots]

Thanks everyone!! I'll definately look into the journal & I just ordered Taba's book.

[Tennessee Viking]

Nice trail and will probably make for some good hiking in October. When I hiked it in July it was grown up for long, long stretches and you could hardly see the trail.
NPS is really being extremely hard to work with right now. They have recently banned all roadside mowing and even grass cutting trail maintenance because a contract worker in Virginia was killed while mowing.

[stumpknocker]

Mrs Gorp and I just finished this Trail today walking west to east. We used a variety of maps and a couple guide books. Mrs Gorp did most of the bookwork and says that Taba's book is really all anyone needs. The Trail is well marked for the most part.

I would wear long pants if I were to do it again because there are more nettles than I've ever seen before. There aren't many others walking the Trail, so you also spend a lot of time clearing spider webs. :)

We did the Art Loeb Trail while we were in the area and we used a Pisgah National Forest map only for walking that. (The northern part of the Art Loeb is VERY poorly marked)

Have fun!!

[wornoutboots]

Thanks again, I've decided to go ahead & finish up VA this year & forego the MST, I do now have Taba's book now for a future hike!