After a few months of prep and training, I think we are finally ready for our 5 day hike from Fontana Dam to Newfound Gap. Last weekend we did a long hike in our town over the bridge with full weight backpacks and he did pretty good. But I will be carrying two days of his food to keep his pack lighter. A few of the questions I have been going back and forth on are below:
Do we need a satellite phone? I don’t have a mini satellite communicator but a friend let me borrow his sat phone and we loaded some minutes on it just in case we have an injury. I just don’t know if it will be worth the extra weight. I was going to make a last minute decision based on weather but I know weather changes quick on the trail.
Since our preferred shelters were full when I booked our backcountry permit, after Double Spring Gap, one of our camp sites is a few miles off the AT. Are those sites hard to find or are they marked pretty well in the Smokies? Do these site have decent bear cables easily visible or should we plan on making our own 200’ from camp?
We plan on playing it by ear regarding sleeping in the shelter or pitching a tent adjacent to the shelter. I’m expecting to have to deal with college kids being loud and staying up late or the occasional weirdo for at least a night, which in any case if we know before nightfall we may opt out of the shelter and set up a tent. My guess is that you need to claim your bunk early and hope for the best?