Water Situation this week between Wayah and Choah Balds?

[ElleSqured]

Planning on doing a Bartram Trail/AT loop starting and ending at the NOC (highway 19) over Thanksgiving (leaving Thursday, back Sunday). Just wondering what the water situation is like on the AT portion of this hike (roughly Wayah Bald to Cheoah Bald). Are the springs/water sources at the shelters flowing? Any creeks/streams along this part of the AT?

[Tipi Walter]

There's a spring on top of Cheoah Bald if you know where to look. Here are some directions from an old Whiteblaze thread---(Of course you know all the ribbons are now gone so take it with this knowledge)---

From the WhiteBlaze database:

Water on Cheoah Bald, There is a spring a couple hundred yards down the west side of the mountain. When you get into the trees, there are plastic ribbons tied on bushes marking the way. In the center of the field at the bottom of the bald, there is a farm/access "road bed". Follow this road for about 30 yards, right before the road turns to the right, there is an old orange flag/tape tied to a limb on the left side of the road. Follow this path, which is marked by an occasional orange flag/tape to the bottom of a small ravine/draw, about 30 yards. The "path" then turns to the right/down hill following the draw to a good spring/creek, about 20 yards. Overall it is around 3/10 of mile from the top of the bald to the water source, it is steep.

This is quite dated so the flagging may be gone.

Source is here---
https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arc...p/t-53636.html

[Linesman]

Every shelter spring in that section was running a week ago.

[Snooze]

The flagging was there for August 21, Total Eclipse, very reliable water then: and much further down that roadbed...Snooze