thru the smokies in 4 days

[jpwvu]

Is this realistic? Can it be done in 3 to 3.5? I thought I read on this site that people do it in a day but it doesnt sound realistic to do 72 miles in a day, especially if the terrain is as intense as I've heard.

[Lone Wolf]

Is this realistic? Can it be done in 3 to 3.5? I thought I read on this site that people do it in a day but it doesnt sound realistic to do 72 miles in a day, especially if the terrain is as intense as I've heard.

sure you can do it in 3 days. the northern part from newfound gap to davenport gap is a breeze. the terrain in the smokys is not "intense"

[jpwvu]

sure you can do it in 3 days. the northern part from newfound gap to davenport gap is a breeze. the terrain in the smokys is not "intense"

great! thanks LOne Wolf!

[ChinMusic]

Is this realistic? Can it be done in 3 to 3.5?

I depends on who you are.

For Horton it would be 2 NERO days.
For a thru 4-5 days is typical.
For me (weekend warrior from flatland Illinois) it was 5.5 relatively hard days.

It is a question that just can't be answered without knowing one's abilities.

[Plodderman]

We (the group I hiked with)did it in five but if I had to do it again we could do it in four without any problems.

I would suppose that people do it in three all the time but most take four to five days.

[bigcranky]

Is this realistic? Can it be done in 3 to 3.5? I thought I read on this site that people do it in a day but it doesnt sound realistic to do 72 miles in a day, especially if the terrain is as intense as I've heard.

Depends on what kind of hiking shape you are in. The terrain isn't bad once you've climbed the ridgeline, so if you're already doing 20 mile days, 3.5 for the Smokies is doable.

If, like me, you're not in Trail shape, it would likely take longer.

[Sly]

If I'm not mistaken, Squeaky did it southbound in 22 hours.

[Egads]

I managed it in 4 days of actual hiking time.

[DavidNH]

Is this realistic? Can it be done in 3 to 3.5? I thought I read on this site that people do it in a day but it doesnt sound realistic to do 72 miles in a day, especially if the terrain is as intense as I've heard.

What's the rush? The Smokies is one of the most beautiful parts of the trail. And for the South, nothing can touch it!

David

[modiyooch]

I did it in four, but I had a mega days.