Hiking the Smokies

imported
#1

Planning to hike from Fontana to I-40 May 26 - June 1. Anyone that would like to join me would be welcome. I hike slow but the conversation is fun. I just don’t like smokers around.

Subrider

#2

That’s not too slow considering the shelter situation. Do you have your permits? That is a very crowded time of the year. Have you hike the Smokies this time of year before? There is a reason to ask. Believe it or not but it can snow up there that time of the year. Rare but it does get cold. I spent one night at Spence Field Shelter and it was 20 degrees in late June and the remainder of the week it didn’t get above 50.

Have a great hike it is a great section of the trail.

Papa Smurf

#3

Really Papa? It didn’t get above 50 period or just at night? That sounds mighty cold for mid summer in the south, even at 6000 feet.

zach attack

#4

Yes, 50 during the day, wet and raining also, I didn’t want to discourage him. The flip side is I’ve been up there and it be 70 degrees in April.

Last year ZA we took 10 highschool seniors from Damascus to Troutdale (over Mt. Rodgers)between June 26 and July 1 and we had frost two mornings. We carried 30 degree bags and several, including Flame who had a zero bag, complained about getting cold.

A couple of years ago in May they had 3 to 5 ft. of snow in the Smokies and several large gourps stranded. One group was stranded between Spence Field and Cades Cove, I believe the were on the Anthony’s Creek or Bote Mt. trail. On our thru hike in '02 we had frost one night at Trail Days in Damascus which is in the second or third week of May.

There can be as much as a 20 degree differential between Clingmons Dome and Gatlinburg.

I believe in the south the old folks call it “blackberry winter.”

I’m not an expert on the Smokies, I grew up in TN and worked in Oak Ridge at the National Lab, and hiked up there every chance I got. We still hike up there about every year (even took Flame hiking in the Smokies on our Honeymoon) and we do trail magic at Newfound Gap in March.

Subrider, I hope you have a great hike.

Papa Smurf

#5

papa smurf is correct. it is blackberry winter whenit gets cold in late spring. happens almost every year. when the blackberry vines bloom, hence the name…remember, clingmans and the main ridgeline are 5000 to 6800 feet high! i was on top of mt. mitchell in 1989 or 90 on my birthday in late july and it was 36 degrees mid-day…it all depends on what kind of front is coming through…remember, it doesn’t have to be below freezing to cause hypothermia, you just have to be outside your comfort zone for too much time…:nerd

Big Dee

#6

Thanks for the reminder about the cold guys. I experienced the difference in 96 when I was up at Mt. Mitchell as well in August. I routinely carry a 20 degree bag and have been toasty in the snow. Any other things I might need to know aout the setion across the Smokies? Rough sections? I get up befor day light and start hiking right when the sun starts to shine bit not up yet so I start early due to my slower pace. Picking it up some lately though.

Subrider

#7

Subrider,

The only real climb will be the Shuckstack (I believe I’m spelling that right). It is about 4 miles of climb coming out of the Fontana Dam Visitor Center. Birch Springs campsite is about 6 miles from the Dam. That is a pretty good climb when you haven’t been hiking. If you start early enought you could make it to Mollies Ridge which is about 11 miles from the dam. (On my thru hike I met Rafter Jack on this climb and hiked off and on with him all the way to ME and summited Mt Katahdin with him) From then on the only problems will be the deep ruts in the trail bed. Some people don’t like the climb up to Thunderhead after Spence Field Shelter. The only place I’ve ever had problems getting water is at Double Springs Shelter. You can get it but it is slow and usually a crowded shelter because of it’s close proximity to Clingmons Dome (3 miles). After you come out of Newfound Gap it is a good hike. My dad took me on this section in 1951. He was in the CCC in the Smokies in the '30s and built some of the retaining walls in this section. Needless to say I’ve hiked this section many, many times over the last 50 years.

Enjoy your hike

Papa Smurf

#8

That’s really cool Papa Smurf about hiking that section in '51. That’s especially cool about your Dad. Were the trees smaller/noticeably younger back then? Was it different at all?

zach attack

#9

Very little timber. When my dad first joined the CCC he was in Cades Cove (Camp NP11) and he cut the dead Chestnut. They were afraid of forest fires. Some of the Chestnuts he cut you can still see on the ground where they haven’t rotted. There was timber in the areas were it was too difficult to cut. There are a considerable number of loop and side trail in the Smokies that were once rail beds for the small gauge railroads that hauled out the timber. One of them I’ve hiked on it Bote Mt. Trail off of Anthonys Creek trail out of Cades Cove.

As you came out of Gatlinburg, it was just scrub brush and small trees. Most of the area had been cut for timber. I have pictures from those years and it doesn’t look anything like it does now. The road around Cades Cove was gravel. We had a 1950 Chevy and we would just pull up to one of the picnic tables they had on the side of the road and roll up in blankets and sleep, if it rained we slept in the car. I can remember only one of the shelters and it didn’t have a fence and we cooked in the fireplace. We used ruck sacks back then. We carried flour, smoked bacon and canned peaches! Ultra lite!!

Thanks for asking. Those are great memories of my dad.

Papa Smurf