70mi AT newbie hike thru smokies

imported
#1

Looking for any advice for an AT newbie planning to hike the 70+ AT miles northward, over a week, through the Smokies:

  1. As the trail follows the “top” of the Smokies, will we be able to find plenty of water? On the dips?

  2. If we don’t really want to stay at the shelters, will we be able to find plenty of tent-able spots (3 or 4 tents) along the way?

Thanks,
Runjim

runjim

#2

I’ve done more reading about the shelters.

We aren’t allowed to tent-camp, in the Smokies, unless the shelter is full?

runjim

#3

I believe the actual rule is that you cannot tent at all if you are not a thru hiker. (Defined as starting or ending 40 or 50 (I don’t remember which) outside the park. You must have a reservation for a shelter. Thru-hikers are required to use the shelter if space is available. If you don’t have a reservation and you are not a thru-hiker, you are not supposed to overnight. I also believe that reservations can be made no more than 30 days in advance.

I did that trip in 2000 with my son in late May and was able to get reservations with only a minor alteration from my planned schedule.

steamboat

#4

There was plenty of water along the way. Perhaps there was slightly less available north of Newfound Gap. I carried a quart and an extra half to be safe, but had no problem refilling along the way.

Lady Di

#5

There are several opportunities to “drop” off the trail/ridgeline in the Smokies. Some tent sites are located within 2.5 miles of the trail. These would likely be less heavily used. My hiking buddy and I did this in the fall, so the sites were empty. We did this at least twice. Look at site numbers 9, 10, 26, and 28 on the Smokies map, found as you are heading north along the AT. Of course, there is a penalty of severe elevation drop as payment. We had less luck finding off tent sites on the north east side of the park.

Alligator

#6

Would anyone recommended another 60-70 mi AT section hike?
How about the Roan Highlands just north of the Smokies?
(We would be traveling from Indiana/Kentucky)
Thanks for any help.

runjim

#7

If you are new at this, I might suggest the hike from Harpers Ferry, WV to Caledonia State Park in PA. Our group of six (including my four months pregnant sister-in-law and my 65 yr. old mother who was one year off a broken hip) did this stretch as complete novices last May and loved it. For the AT, this is considered an “easy” section but for a newbie, it is still a challenge! We did easy days of between 10 and 15 miles, no bugs at that time of year, water and shelters with ample tenting space were plentiful (with quite nice shelters in PA, probably to make up for the abundance of rocks!). Started on a Sat. morning and reached Caledonia mid-morning on Fri.

Ohio Sixpack

#8

Have you ever hiked on the AT? If you haven’t already hiked the first section, why not start at the beginning and hike Springer to Hiawassee? I think it’s around 65-70 miles.

Nooga