Going thru SNP

[Old Hickory MH]

My sons and I will be doing the trail the last week of September. Is it possible to leave a mail drop somewhere in the park so we can lighten our load and spend more time seeing the sites on the side trails?

[Jack Tarlin]

You could certainly "cache" food ahead of time somewhere in the park (I know of no rules or regulations that forbid this), but if you do so, I suggest you invest in a top-of-the-line bear cannister. You'll also have to figure out what to do with the cannister once you retrieve it. If you go canister-less, and decide to either bury food or hang it up somewhere, be aware that there's a good chance it might not be there when you need it.

Another possibility, of course, is to leave the Trail and the Park briefly at Newfound Gap and go into Gatlinburg. The hitching is easy and safe and you could get to town, re-supply, enjoy a restaurant meal, hit the Outfitter if necessary, and be back in the Park in a few hours.

[Alligator]

...

Another possibility, of course, is to leave the Trail and the Park briefly at Newfound Gap and go into Gatlinburg. The hitching is easy and safe and you could get to town, re-supply, enjoy a restaurant meal, hit the Outfitter if necessary, and be back in the Park in a few hours.Shenandoah Jack, not the Smokies :jump . It would be a long hitch to Gatlinburg.

[Jack Tarlin]

Whoops!! Guess I missed that!

The campstores in Shenandoah should still be open thru September and will be available to hikers, probably til at least 1 October. Call the Park at 540-999-3500 for details, or call the Park concessionaire at 1-800-778-2851, or see www.nps.gov/shen/

Another possibility is to leave the Park at Thornton Gap and hitch the six miles to the town of Luray.

[bearbait2k4]

You can probably hit a camp store, or a Wayside in the park every day or so, and they have food items you can purchase - either to cook on your own or just to eat (cheeseburgers!). It makes it really easy to leave food behind.

In fact, I know quite a few hikers who didn't bring any food into the park, and just ate along the way.

[teachergal]

You should be able to purchase all your resupply needs within the park. In the south district of the park you will find Loft Mt campground and store - there is a restaurant but it's down the hill. Then as you enter the central district you will get a restaurant/wayside/campstore nearly every day - Lewis Mt campground has a store, Big Meadows has a lodge close to the AT and a Wayside/Campstore, but it's off the trail a bit. Then you come to Skyland - there's a lodge right off the AT. At Thorton Gap there is building that used to house the Panorama Restaurant but it has closed - I believe the gift shop there had closed as well. Route 211 passes right through Thorton Gap and would be an easy hitch into Luray (it's a busy road) - there is a Super Wal-Mart in Luray. Then in the north district there is the Elkwallow Wayside/Campstore - minimal re-supply here -the other stores are better for hiking foods. Just before you exit the park (.2 mile before the boundery/backcounrty registration) there is a horse trail that goes down into Chester Gap and if you follow it - 1/2 mile of gentle descent - you will find the Terreipan Station Hostel - this is a fairly new hostel. If you continue on the AT outside of the park the 1st road crossing you get to should be an easy hitch into Front Royal - Martin's is a nice grocery store and there is an outfitter.

While you are in SNP be sure to sample a signature blackberry shake or blackberry sundae at the Wasysides or indulge in some blackberry cobbler a la mode in either the Big Meadows or Skyland dinning rooms.

The AT in SNP is a beautiful place to hike - fairly easy terrian and in September the humidity should have broken a wee bit making hiking more comfortable.

Enjoy your hike! :)

[teachergal]

Check out www.patc.net (http://www.patc.net) for more information about SNP....also check out the PATC trails forum at http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/trails/PATC.html - the folks here can answer pretty much any question about the park so ask away! :)

[Old Hickory MH]

Thanx to everyone for the help, I was hoping someone had knowledge of a place we could drop off a 3-4 day supply like you can do at other places on the trail. I was really hoping someone had in the past sent a package to one of the ranger stations that we will pass on our trip. Maybe waysideing it wouldn't be so bad after all, we could really cut our weight and enjoy big days of site seeing and hiking the trail at the same time.

Old Hickory...............I'd rather die living life, than live life dying!