Yes, so long as you do not attach your hammock to any part of the shelter.
Park regulations are that hammocks are treated like tents. So anywhere someone is allow to put up a tent, a hammock can be used.
Further, hammocks can not be attached to any structure in the park.
We have decided to do the Middle Prong Loop. I’m curious about site 27 and water. Is that site on a creek?
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According tosite 27 and water. Is that site on a creek?
https://thedyrt.com/camping/tennesse...ower-jakes-gap
There is ambiguity about the presence of water.
Topo maps show a creek nearby.
Last edited by GoldenBear; 11-19-2020 at 13:38.
You correctly point out the ambiguity, and the map you post does clearly show a stream. My Nat Geo map also shows a creek at campsite #27.
For these reasons, I have corrected my posting.
When I'm wrong, I admit it.
There is water near campsite 27. Once we were planning to stay at 26 were the water source was suspected to be minimal. So the volunteer at the backcountry office suggested that we top off at 27. You have to go off Jakes Creek trail through the campsites and downhill to the water.
Going past the campsites to the creek I recall a very large white quartz rock. It was extremely slick and I lost my footling and fell beside it and "turtled". Wedged between the rock and a tree I had to unbuckle and remove my external frame pack in order to extricate myself. I retired the pack after that.
There was water at 26,Dripping Springs (aptly named).
BTW There is a crossing of Middle Prong River where Panther Creek Trail meets Middle Prong Trail. It can be tricky if the water is high.
What I recall of the water source the last time I stopped by #27 for lunch was that you had to go quite a ways thru the woods moving away from the trail to get to the creek. When I looked at Google Terrain, it measures the creek to be 300' from the trail. I don't recall it being quite that far away, but again, additional evidence you won't be sleeping beside the water.
Thanks for all of your help!
it measures the creek to be 300' from the trail. I don't recall it being quite that far away, but again, additional evidence you won't be sleeping beside the water.
when i stayed at 27 about 7 years ago, i put my tent in a spot close to the trail...
later on, when i went to draw water, going down to the creek (and it did seem about 300 feet or more), looks
like there were places to camp much closer to the creek.....
it won't be exactly creek side like some other campsites, but maybe 50-100 feet away.....
Ditch the wife, take the girlfriend instead.
Sounds good I did that hike as a day hike so should be good with a double overnight. The hike up snake den is tough but once you get to maddron bald it is all downhill
Apparently you missed the discussion about someone wanting to hike the AT in GSMNP... because other there we pointed out that until you get to the trail head, almost nothing is "all downhill".
In this case, you still have to hike Gabes Mtn trail to return to Cosby. Believe it or not, there is a cumulative climb of about 1,500' by the time you get to Cosby.
The trail starts with an 800' climb to campsite #34.
Between #34 and the Hen Wallow Falls, the trial is a bunch of little ups-n-downs, with a net climb of 200', and perhaps a cumulative climb of 500'.
Between the Falls and Cosby, there's another cumulative 200' climbing.
Sorry... I forgot to mention the discussion I was referencing was in another thread.
But yeah... that's the direction I'm talking about. If you hike UP Snake Den, DOWN Maddron Bald, and ACROSS Gabes Mtn, you will do 1,500' of climbing as you got across Gabes Mtn heading towards Cosby. Going the other direction, there might be something like 500' of climbing on Gabes Mtn (not sure, don't have my elevation profile in front of me).
But the real point of my post was that even trails that look like they are all down hill still has some uphills...
For me, a terrific example is the AT going down hill from Doe Knob toward Fontana. I've done that section twice after climbing Eagle Creek... and while the trial is MOSTLY down hill to Fontana, I find myself cursing every little uphill because I'm ususlly pretty tired by that point.