AT Trail Days!

One of the most enjoyable parts of doing any hike on the Appalachian Trail is meeting a variety of interesting souls who are all out here with at least one thing in common...love of the trail!

Along with the hiking, the town of Damascus, VA sponsors a yearly event that brings together hundreds of hikers - especially large numbers of 'thru hikers' (hikers who hike the whole A.T. in one swoop). Vendors of specialized and lightweight hiking equipment, past hikers and writers, those just interested in the trail or hiking, and the folks who venture into this piece of American History.
Most are attracted to the numerous displays of gear, like the display of ultra lightweight tents and shelters. We spent the better part of two days wandering through the booths, watching demos, tasting meals and treats, etc.

And no festival would be complete without some good local music, and in Virginia that's bluegrass of course!



The highlight of the festival is the Hiker's Parade. It's amazing just how many folks line the main street of this small, sleepy community for this unique event.


Along with all the interesting folks we found a few other things that caught the eye.

The parade went on for quite some time with this year's thru hikers leading the parade. Following were the groups that had done thru hikes in years past, a reunion of sorts of old friends made on the trail.

Another highlight are the water fights. Yes, according to the townsfolk, this is an old tradition of the parade. A nice sampling of the squirt-gun action can be seen in this video clip on our YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbf2v-m9S74

Educational talks were available all weekend. Perhaps the most interesting was Gene Espy, who was the second person to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. His talk focused on the difficulties facing the hiker in the earlier years, and included many humorous tales of his adventure.

Hot Springs & Max Patch

Kim found a fabulous setting just outside of Hot Springs, Rocky Bluffs Campground. The solitude of the area coupled with the fresh colors of Spring were a delight! Our site overlooked an open hollow, with beautiful tent spots below. If you're ever here, this small out of the way park is a must stop.











We also took a morning hike along Spring Creek, which runs through one side of the campground----



The town of Hot Springs has a couple of attractions. First of all the Appalachian Trail goes right through the quaint old downtown, following Main Street through a row of shops, including a great outfitter that caters to through hikers on the trail. Check out their website for some great pix of the many hikers that vist this place every year. http://www.bluffmountain.com/

The other major attraction is a natural hot spring located here, the only such spring known in North Carolina and in much of the southeastern United States. Thus, this area has long since been a destination for those looking for therapeutic relief from their ailments. Native Americans were the first to discover the 100+ degree mineral waters, and European immigrants settled the area over 200 years ago. It is reported that people were visiting the springs by 1778 for the waters' reported healing properties.


Lucky for us, the Spring wasn't crowded, and we were able to reserve the most sought after jacuzzi (#5) for an hour's pleasure that afternoon. The bath, fed by the warm spring waters, overlooked the conjunction of Spring Creek & the French Broad River. What a great way to relax!


After the soothing jacuzzi, we had a terrific panini sandwich along with some great acoustic music at the Iron Horse Station, another nice surprise from this quaint community. http://www.theironhorsestation.com/

While in the area, we took a day to drive east on Hwy 209 and managed to find Max Patch. This unique hilltop has quite a history, as you can read here....
The view from the parking lot was quite impressive,

as was looking out from about midway up,
at the top one can clearly see what was the old airfield, stretching out towards the west, plenty of room to land an old barnstormer!
and, those beautiful spring colors were so apparent on the other side! as we start our descent to the truck, glancing westward again, we can see how the AT rounds the crest of the giant hill, and, in the distance, a nice view of those colors again with a few AT hikers just cresting the far edge....what a nice view to finish our visit to "the top of the world"!

Bryson City, North Carolina

We left the Fontana Dam area heading Northeast to a small campground in Bryson City that Kim had found would offer us the 50% off Passport America Club rate for the next few days to sit out the impending rain. As we drove drove through the mountains beyond the Dam, we stopped for one last view of the beautiful Fontana Lake area!


We arrived at Ela Campground on the Tuckaseigee River to find a charming fishing camp, complete with rows of "permanent" trailers along the waters edge.





The rain had already started making it difficult to park our rig in the already soupy ground, but with a little jogging & effort, we made it!
We watched patiently as the rain came down for days, and the River continued to swell.
Along with the downpours came the wonderful rhodadendroms. Those pretty flowers, along with the nice folks at Ela, made the stay enjoyable. We found the area had many local small farms, and took advantage of the fresh corn, snapbeans, strawberries & cantelope...what a treat!

By day eight, the rains had ceased so we discovered that Smokey Mountain National Park was just up the hill from the campground. We took advantage of that first sunny morning with a nice brisk hike up the Thomas Divide Trail.

As we climbed higher along the ridge mountain laurel, iris & forget-me-nots signaled that along with the rains, Spring had sprung...


All-in-all, not a bad area to sit out a week's worth of rain. Kim caught up on her reading, we both worked on photos, and I enjoyed the new ham rig & antenna. We highly recommend Ela Campground to anyone wanting an inexpensive plave to just relax here in the Smokies.
http://www.elacampground.com/

AT Hike

On April 30th, we started out to do a six day 50 mile segment hike on the Appalachian Trail beginning where we had left off at a crossroad just below Wayah Bald. This was the place where we had aborted due to an ice storm the day before Thanksgiving in 2005. This is a rugged yet beautiful segment of the AT so we were pretty charged about the opportunity to complete the segment. The folks and Rangers at the Fontana Dam Visitors Center allow RVers and other hikers to leave their vehicles and rigs in the center parking lot. It's a nice area, protected and patrolled regularly by the staff there.

Although the forcast was for "scattered showers" for the first couple of days, the longer term outlook was more upbeat, so we had our fellow RV buddy, Dave Holmes shuttle us from Fontana to Wayah Gap. Soon we found ourselves once again immersed in that wonderful Smokey Mountains forest making good progress along the four mile 3000+ ft climb.


Along the way we get treats to spectacular views of the valleys below, making the strenuous undertaking rewarding.

As we gain elevation, we're given a brilliant display of nature's colorful spring creations, a sure sign that warmer weather is here to stay in the mountains.


We reach the top just in time for lunch, relax in front of a lofty background and take our picture at the same spot we'd used on that ice covered Thanksgiving days years ago.


A mile or so beyond the Bald we reach the Wayah Shelter early in the afternoon. Although we'd elected to use our Hennesey Hammocks for this trip, we decide to stay here, since water and firewood are available and the skies looked a bit threatening. For those of you who are not familiar with the AT, the entire 2100 mile Trail from Georgia to Maine is dotted with shelters that are maintained by volunteers, typically organized on a state-by-state basis.
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/

We had an enjoyable afternoon just relaxing at the campsite.

During the night, as luck would have it, the pouring rain begins. We reluctantly crawl out of the dripping (yet dry inside) hammocks, have a quick breakfast under the shelter, roll up the soaking gear and move on. Within the first hour, the rain is pooling on the worn flatter portions of the trail....what a soupy mess!


We do find many interesting creatures and flora brought out by the water along the way........


Around noon we approach a road crossing and a delighted to find a large version of AT "trail magic". "Trail magic" is a term used by hikers to describe the practice of hiking support groups and others leaving bags of goodies along the trail at intersections and road crossings for those coming through. A person who leaves food and performs other acts of kindness for hikers is known as a "trail angel". This particular group was kind enough to provide a nice shelter, ice cold drinks and fresh oranges....what a treat! Thank you AT Angels!

As the day wears on, things between rain and showers, and warm and muggy.

We reach Cold Springs Shelter about two in the afternoon. This is a somewhat unique shelter constructed of American chestnut logs by the CCC in the 1930's. One of the few remaining log structures built by that organization. Since it's early in the day, we opt to push on stopping at overlooks like this one noticing the smokey cloud layers below.


I climb the old Wesser Firetower, and although conditions are not ideal, get this nice panoramic of the valley far below. Breathtaking!

Arriving late at the Wesser Shelter, we're surprised to find it empty. We pitch the hammocks in a light rain next to the shelter, and cook & eat inside. Early to bed, and it's a good thing, we're snug as the rain pours through the night.

The entire next morning is spent hiking in anything from a light shower to a downpour, slipping and sliding on the long downhill towards Nantahala Outdoor Center.

The only enjoyable activity is stopping to enjoy and photograph the numerous beautiful flowers along the way. The dogwoods have burst out everywhere and shine like bright stars against the dark woods.

Arriving sopping wet at NOC just before noon, we get a weather briefing and discuss our options over a wonderful hot lunch at the NOC cafe.

With an increasingly gloomy outlook for the next four to five days, we elect to cut the planned hike to Fontana short, and take a nice, dry shuttle back to the trailer.

We used Jeff and Nancy Hochs of the Hike Inn, what a great and accomodating couple. They cater strictly to hikers and provide reasonably priced shutles and lodging. http://www.thehikeinn.netfirms.com/

Boy that shower when we got home was awesome!