Deep Gap, NC to Wallace Gap, NC doable in one day?

[steve_zavocki]

My wife surprised me by saying that she thought we could hike the 21.3 section from Deep Gap, NC to Wallace Gap, NC in one day.

We are both in good shape. The longest have done before is Unicoi to Dicks Creek which I think is around 17. In June we hiked together for 14 miles in Shenandoah rather easily.

My pace is about 2.1-2.3 mph, which makes for about a 10 hr hike. I would also need to use a shuttle service and park at either terminus. The direction is not important. I am hoping to go in late October.

My questions:
Has anyone actually done this in a day?
Given that I need to use a shuttle, is it logistically doable?
Which direction makes the most sense?
I know that deep gap has parking because I have been there, is there parking at Wallace gap as well?
Is that section easy, medium, or hard? I know that I have to go over Standing Indian Mountain.

Any other advice would be appreciated as well.

Steve

[ChuckT]

Absolute lightest load for starters. And consider, you may not need it but you could hike sunrise minus 2 hours to sunset plus 2 hours. The start and finish are always well worn as versus the middle where you may have to pick your way past blow-downs, faded/missing blazes and other confuses.

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[MuddyWaters]

Go for it.
Be prepared to hike in dark and spend night on trail if needed. Not likely, but prudent.

All it takes is a twisted ankle or tendonitis or knee issue.

[Dunwoodyhum]

The nice thing about this section is the ability to loop around your car parked at the Standing Indian campground. That's about 27-28 mile loop with some blue blazes and yellow blazes at either end. For me, that's an overnight or two, at least.

By slack packing one could make it 21 miles, IMO. BUT going northbound puts you at Albert Mountain right at the end of the day and in the summer in the South that means afternoon Tstorms. With the scrambling required to summit Albert, you may have some trouble if you get some rain and lightning. Maybe try SOBO. You would be climbing over Standing Indian near dark and you could miss the view, but perhaps the view is not what's important to you anyway. Have a good hike.

[u.w.]

It is absolutely doable in a day! With room to spare in fact, in my opinion & experience... I did it, as have others.

The days prior I did from Blue Mt to Dicks Creek Gap, then from Dicks Creek Gap to just north of Deep Gap, in-between Deep Gap and south of Standing Indian shelter (the creek), then from the creek just south of Standing Indian shelter to Winding Stair gap... so perhaps a bit further than deep to wallace... We're within a few years of each other also, FWIW..

I went north when I did it last year, and went to Winding Stair gap - so didn't even give a thought to parking as I went. How hard is it? That's extremely subjective... for me it was easy-ish with a passing thought of medium, but no more than a passing thought of it really. I'll put it to you this way - I Loved it!. I will say Standing Indian is not a hard climb or descent. For it's height, it is quite subtle.
As to which direction? Would you rather climb UP Albert Mountain, or DOWN it? If you go north, you climb up it. There is a little bit of a scramble to it. Not a big deal. Thousands have done it, and thousands more will.
And the view(s) from the summit of Standing Indian... make the short and easy side trail hike. Views are TOTALLY worth it! It's not hard, it's not steep, it's not long - but it is oh-so-sweet and nice! Pretty sure you'll agree when you do it.

u.w.

[MtDoraDave]

My last section hike, I did 13 - 14 miles the last few days, and had scheduled the same for the last day - but I felt so good, I went ahead and did 17 miles so I didn't have to hike 3 miles back to my truck in the AM, then drive back home. Hike to my truck, sleep in the back, drive home the next morning fresh.

Those extra miles (of downhill) hurt me. The most I'd ever done before then was 15 miles in a day. I think I actually injured something on/in the balls of my feet, they were sore for weeks. - so be careful.


If you are going to shuttle, have them come very early in the morning before you start your hike, that way you can take some worry (stress = energy) of getting back to the finish point at a specific time - and if you need to stop, you can do so without worrying about re-scheduling a ride.

[daddytwosticks]

The most I've ever done in one day was Wayah Bald shelter to the NOC. Maybe 17 miles? To answer some of your questions: The Standing Indian mountain climb going northbound is a pussycat. It's not that hard climbing southbound, but it's a long hike. Seemed like it went on forever. Parking at Wallace Gap sucks. Really just a pull off and doesn't seem to safe. I'd think about parking at Rock Gap. Way safer and just about less than a mile south of Wallace Gap.