Appalachian Trail Hike: North Carolina - Mile 78 - 175

Hello all! North Carolina is the second state along the Appalachian Trail route. This is not to be confused with the North Carolina/Tennessee border section - in which hikers weave in and out of each state. This section went a few miles longer than the official North Carolina border but was within close enough parameters for me to count it.

Appalachian Trail Hike: North Carolina Summary

Statistics:

Days: 5.5
Full hiking days: 5
Zeroes: 0
Neros: 1
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 99.8
Total Miles Hiked: 100.1
Total Elevation Gain: 25,255 ft
Total Elevation Loss: 24,628 ft

Highlights:

Getting into a new National Park - Great Smoky Mountains. This felt like an accomplishment to even get there!
Continuing to enjoy the trail community in the form of both other hikers and trail towns. Franklin was great.
IT band slowly but surely getting a little more stable.

Lowlights:

The weather kept me on my toes.
Interesting hostel experience - would not go back.
Learning how to pitch my new tent correctly, specifically in preparation for inclement weather.

Appalachian Trail Hike: North Carolina Detailed Version

Day 5 Part 2: Mile 78.3 - 90.4

Trail Daily Miles: 12.1
Total Daily Miles: 12.2
Total Trail Mileage: 90.4
Elevation (State) Gain: 3107 ft
Elevation (State) Loss: 2529 ft
Weather: Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: A new state!

After my momentary celebration at the border, I stopped for lunch at Bly gap. This is an area that has decent views and also an interesting tree, pictured below. There is a steep ascent directly after this that took me much longer than I anticipated.

It was also at this time that I noticed that my shoulder strap on my backpack was sincerely fraying. I estimated that I had a week before catastrophic failure of the gear. I was able to chat with a friend that promptly ordered me another pack to a stop that I would reach in 4 days. Hopefully it arrived on time because I didn’t want to stop and wait for it.

There were some southbound hikers that alerted me to some great trail magic down at Deep gap. This was about 5 miles away, so I hurried along as quickly as possible to get to the trail magic because you never know when it’s going to end. I arrived there to a few dozen people; hikers and non-hikers included.

It was a great set up with tons of food and beverages spread out. I ran into the guys from the hostel the night before as well, and we planned to camp on top Standing Indian Mountain, which was the next ascent. It was great to talk to former thru-hikers that were doing the trail magic that were still involved in the trail community. They made sure there were treats to enjoy both there and to take away. I specifically enjoy some gluten-free cookies that were an absolute surprise. There was also a massage gun which was the biggest gift of them all.

The climb up Standing Indian was much easier than I thought. So even though it had a lot of elevation gain, it was appropriately graded and brought me back to the PCT. I went all the way to the top and the guys were not there so I figured they must’ve been at the shelter that was about halfway up the climb. The views works expansive so I took pictures of the top, but it was clear weather was blowing in so I needed to get down off the top of the mountain. The descent was generally as graded as the ascent and my last 3 miles went quickly.

There were a couple tents at the campsite already set up as I arrived late. At the same time I was talking to George about where to stay in Franklin the next night because of the serious weather - I did not want to be caught in wet weather for too long. I was able to get a booking at the same hostel as George so we made a plan to meet at the Winding Stair gap road crossing at a specific time. It was going to be a busy and tight day for me to do 19 miles before that time, but I was hopeful - even though my IT band continued to cause issues.

Day 6: Mile 90.4 - 109.5

Trail Daily Miles: 19.1
Total Daily Miles: 19.1
Total Trail Mileage: 109.5
Elevation Gain: 3328 ft
Elevation Loss: 4081 ft
Weather: Mist, Rain
Overall Day Sentiment: I guess I’m dry?

I woke up early this day at the sound of fellow campers laughing loudly around 5:30am. It started heavily raining around this time and it was clear that they were just in their tents laughing at the situation. I can appreciate laughing at unfortunate situation, but the headlamps shining into everyone else’s tents at this hour was perhaps a little excessive.

I packed up early because I had to do a lot of miles in a short amount of time to meet George at Winding Stair gap. The first few miles went quickly as it was just a misting outside then the rain really started to come in and slow my pace. My IT band also really started to act up around mile seven for the day which led to a lot of stopping and massaging it to loosen it up enough to continue hiking.

There was a comically steep climb to Albert Mountain to a fire tower that marked the 100 mile marker for the AT. There were several of us trying to go up the stairs primarily made of stone and wood in the pouring rain that was just a completely laughable sight. Slipping and sliding on these steps with puddles and mud added to the strenuous nature. Once over this fire tower, the hiking got easy again and I was able to push through some serious mileage in a short amount of time that put me back on track to meet George.

I was absolutely sopping wet when I arrived at Rock gap shelter to have a late lunch because I was ahead of schedule. George, a couple from Michigan, and another thru-hiker named Jenny were all huddling underneath this shelter to avoid the rain. The last several miles of the day went by quickly and I arrived earlier than anticipated at the meeting point.

We stayed at a hiker hostel outside of Franklin, North Carolina and I have mixed feelings about it so I will not be saying the name. The person picked us up on time and got safely to their home. But the rain quite literally had put a damper on all of our things and we were not allowed to bring anything wet inside. I understand not wanting tents and such but even our backpacks, jackets, and other items that needed to be dried out were not allowed. They were only allowed on a covered porch that was leaky (at best) and things continued to get wet while out there.

There’s also that also overbooked and so I slept in a trailer, which ended up being a good scenario as I got space to myself. This hostel is located near Franklin, but not in Franklin so if you need anything from the actual city, it would have to wait until the next day. We got a home cooked dinner, which was kind, but I am gluten-free and so it was a risk that I got the dinner was also gluten-free friendly - turns out it was which was a relief.

There was also laundry that the hosts did for you. There are several items of mine that cannot be dried, but definitely needed to be washed so I requested that they allow me to separate out after the wash and before the dry. This did not happen and a few of my items were ruined. No acknowledgment, nothing from the hosts just plain ruined. Additionally, the Wi-Fi that was advertised was nonfunctional because there is a limit to their monthly usage and they have already reached it. I didn’t have phone service either so I had to quick use another hikers phone to call home.

There were three other hikers there as well who turned out to be very funny. Kincaid, Renegade, and Colt made the evening light and fun. It continued to rain all night, including several thunderstorms. I was thankful to be in shelter, even though there were a few leaks in the trailer’s ceiling.

Day 7: Mile 109.5 - 117.7

Trail Daily Miles: 8.2
Total Daily Miles: 8.3
Total Trail Mileage: 117.7
Elevation Gain: 2721 ft
Elevation Loss: 1130 ft
Weather: Sun, Clouds, Cold
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful for trail towns.

As I planned a true nero, I was moving slow in the morning. I grabbed a cup of coffee, went back to my trailer, and I was able to do yoga, which helped my IT band. The hostel also made breakfast, which happened to be gluten-free too - thankfully. There was a minor altercation between another hiker and the hostel owner for bringing something damp inside and it made the remainder of the morning a bit uncomfortable.

I packed up my things and waited for the hostel owner to get back to drive George and I into actual Franklin to resupply. We were able to do that and head to downtown Franklin to look around the hiker friendly spot.

There’s a wonderful outfitter downtown Franklin. I was able to get my freeze dried meals and any other items that I might need would be there as well. I ran into some lovely hikers, Packrunner and FreeWill. They hiked the AT before and recently done the CDT and were kind enough to listen/answer my barrage of questions.

Franklin offers an inexpensive shuttle to get back to a few locations such as Winding Stair gap, which is where George and I had to get back on trail. That shuttle was not until 3:00pm so we headed over to the Lazy Hiker Brewery, appropriately named because over the course of a few hours several hikers congregated there. I even saw Smokie and Burger Man after our miscommunication from two days ago. Just like I thought, they ended up staying at the shelter, but eventually made their way up to the top of the mountain to see if I was up there. Don’t worry, we now have each other‘s contact information in case something like this happens again.

It was great to see hikers come in and out of the brewery and all the locals be so supportive of the hiking community. Eventually, we got the shuttle back to the trailhead and did a nice short mile 8-mile day; up, up, up.

The climbs were steep, but in time I got to our predetermined campsite and there were many people there. It was quickly getting cold and as I was wrapping up dinner and a cloud completely moved in. I was thankful for all of my layers and for my 10° quilt because it got down into the low 20s or high teens and everything was damp. Despite all of this, I slept really well.

Day 8: Mile 117.7 - 136.0

Trail Daily Miles: 18.3
Total Daily Miles: 18.4
Total Trail Mileage: 136.0
Elevation Gain: 3241 ft
Elevation Loss: 6453 ft
Weather: Cold, Windy, Sunny
Overall Day Sentiment: Knees… ouch.

I got an early start relative to the cold morning. You can only move so fast when your hands are non-functional to pack up your gear. The first few miles cruised and then started the climb up to a Wayah bald. I climbed up the tower and got amazing view, even though it was windy and cold it was sunny, which made it special.

There was easy hiking for a few more miles, but continued to be chilly. As I was coming down the descent to a gap that was accessible by road, I saw trail magic in the distance. A few lovely gentlemen from Louisiana were camping for the week and providing trail magic for hikers. They had many goodies, but the highlight was jambalaya around a campfire. I had a cup of coffee sitting next to the fire, which was a gift after such a cold morning.

There was a climb that proceeded the trail magic, but I was feeling caffeinated and he was relatively graded for went to a fire tower, but I continued on the trail because I wanted to get into camp at decent time.

For the remainder of the day it was primarily a descent that was difficult and long. I have never had knee problems before the trail, but these long and steep distance are really tested my body. There was some rock scrambling to get down which added a layer complexity to the hiking and made it go a bit slower. I was nearly tears by the time I got to the campsite because I was so thankful to have arrived and because of my knees aching.

George and I had a lovely dinner with some other hikers at the shelter, Logan and Ashton. This site was busy but we were able to find camping spots this allowed for me to only be about a mile outside of the NOC. The NOC is an outfitter that had my new backpack and would print your Great Smoky Mountain National Park permits that are required for the forthcoming section.

Day 9: Mile 136.0 - 156.1

Trail Daily Miles: 20.1
Total Daily Miles: 20.1
Total Trail Mileage: 156.0
Elevation Gain: 6522 ft
Elevation Loss: 5096 ft
Weather: Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: New pack, but hard day.

Because the NOC was only about a mile away from where I camped and did not open until 9:00am that meant I could have a slightly slower morning. I got down to the NOC when they opened and luckily my package with my backpack was in fact there. I switched over my backpack from my old one to my new one, while they were able to print my Great Smoky Mountains National Park backcountry permit.

I had not realized my backpack had lost its integrity after over 2000 miles of backpacking, but the new back felt wonderful and overall felt lighter than my previous one.

The climb out of the NOC is infamous and I quickly realized why. It is several miles long and there are some very steep sections. In fact, one steep section has its own name on my mapping application titled “the jump up”. You can imagine how much elevation gain a short span that is.

This elevation led to Cheoya bald which had a nice view, but fundamentally was not worth the effort - in my humble opinion. There were some easy miles then heading down to Stecoah gap and at the gap there was wonderful trail magic by some sweet families. It was a treat to chat with people who have hiked these sections before and want to give back to the hiking community.

After this gap there were limited miles left that George and I wanted to go to for the night. Unfortunately, within these miles was another feared section called “Jacob‘s Ladder”. This is due to its steep nature and seemingly never ending length - it was correctly named because this small section of trail took me as long as 2 miles normally takes me.

From there, the rest of the day was relatively smooth, but it was getting late. After not leaving until after 10:00am, doing 20 more miles with a lot of elevation gain was a bit overzealous. I arrived to camp around 7:30pm and George was there also looking absolutely exhausted.

Day 10: Mile 156.1 - 178.1

Trail Daily Miles: 22.0
Total Daily Miles: 22.0
Total Trail Mileage: 178.1
Elevation Gain: 6336 ft
Elevation Loss: 5339 ft
Weather: Rain, Hail, Thunderstorm
Overall Day Sentiment: The Smokies don’t play.

The start of this day was initially easy. It was a gentle trail down to Fontana Dam. This is a resupply spot for a lot of people, but George and I had packed enough to get to Gatlinburg. We stopped to have lunch at the Fontana Hilton, which is a colloquial name for a nice shelter located on the Fontana Dam.

After lunch, we officially crossed the dam, and of course, it was downpouring rain during the exposed section. After one initial look over the edge of the dam, I jumped to the other side of the road and determined that I was just going to like as fast as possible to get over rather than taking in the sights.

Right over the dam, I entered great Smoky Mountain national Park. As a National Park nerd, this was one I had never visited before, which was an exciting development. The AT only goes through two national parks and this is one of them.

The introduction to the Smoky Mountains was pretty brutal. There was another several thousand foot climb straight away. Our goal for the day was to reach Mollie Ridge shelter, which felt like a moving target at some points. I did run into Stevie Wonder again who had friend out for a few days in this section with him.

It had been drizzling on and off for the entire climb, but thunder started really rolling in as I was wrapping up for the day. It felt like a race to get to the shelter, to set up my tent, and to get settled before the rain came. Because the Smokies are high in elevation relative to everything you must take some shelter if there is a thunderstorm.

I arrived to the shelter sincerely out of breath, and with the impending storm, I quickly set up my tent. Just as I grabbed things to make dinner and hide underneath the official Mollie Ridge shelter roof, the thunderstorm came in earnest. There was rain, hail, snow and the lightning was close to us. I was watching my tent that I had relatively poorly pitched start to crumble under the pressure of all the hail, but because of the severity of the weather, there was nothing I could do except watch from afar.

After sometime, the storm subsided and the temperature dropped. I quickly finished dinner and tucked into my internally wet tent. It was a wild finish to just the North Carolina section before I would weave in between North Carolina and Tennessee.