Trail Conditions Around Hot Springs NC

[adrifft]

Greetings,

Planning 70 mile section hike with Hot Springs NC in the middle. Was wondering about trail conditions 30 miles north and south of Hot Springs. Does anyone have current knowledge? Thanks in advance for your replies.

Adrifft

[Slo-go'en]

I would expect normal early spring conditions - a bit wet and muddy in places. It's been kind of stormy down there recently and maybe more snow soon?

[Red Sky]

Greetings,

Planning 70 mile section hike with Hot Springs NC in the middle. Was wondering about trail conditions 30 miles north and south of Hot Springs. Does anyone have current knowledge? Thanks in advance for your replies.

Adrifft

You might try looking at some of the great youtube videos being done by current thru hikers, like Reddmage, Kiwi Wandering and Early_Riser_71. They all came thru that area not too long ago.

[oldwetherman]

I live near Hot Springs. Just day hiked Allen Gap to Spring Mountain shelter and back. Trail conditions were really good. Water sources were flowing. There are a fair number of thru hikers already in the area so I suspect the shelters will be full.

[Engine]

The trail from Davenport Gap going north is amazingly good right now. The best treadway since Springer. Kudos to the local maintainers!

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[colorado_rob]

We just hiked thru there, perfect conditions as of two days ago.

[ScareBear]

We just hiked thru there, perfect conditions as of two days ago.

You are making great time!

Have fun!

[colorado_rob]

You are making great time!

Have fun!

we'll, yes we were doing great, but suddenly my old IT band issue flared, got worse and worse last couple days, so we're leaving trail for a while to recuperate. We had no real time table or agenda, just wanted to hike for a while.

[10-K]

Not around Hot Springs but I just hiked the 50 miles between Sams Gap and Iron Mt Gap and the trail is in great shape. All water sources are jamming due to the recent snow-rain. I don't think I ever carried more than a pint of water.

[ScareBear]

we'll, yes we were doing great, but suddenly my old IT band issue flared, got worse and worse last couple days, so we're leaving trail for a while to recuperate. We had no real time table or agenda, just wanted to hike for a while.

Yikes. You know the drill: rest, Vitamin I, massage, and catch up on sleep. Lot's of sleep.

Heal quick!

[Captain Bluebird]

I will meeting my brother in law ,who is doing a thru, in Hot Springs in 2 weeks. I am sectioning with him for 70 miles. I read this morning about a fire that was just contained in western N.C. in the Pisgah National Forrest. Anyway near the A.T.?

[BuckeyeBill]

No. You both should be ok.

[adrifft]

Many thanks for all the replies. Looking forward to a great trip next month. Blessings to all!

[Captain Bluebird]

I know Clingman's Dome is a few days away from Hot Springs, but my brother in law texted me this evening close to Clingman's Dome and they have been hiking in 4 - 12 inches of snow all day. I checked NOAH a few hours ago and the temps are to dip to the mid 20s with 42 mph gusts of wind. He said 1/2 half of the thru hikers he was with dropped out at Fontana.

So, just keep that in mind for what one can expect this time of year in the upper elevations.

[MtDoraDave]

I just finished that section - from Davenport Gap to Devil's Fork Gap, and the Trail and the weather were awesome! Water was abundant - more sources than my '16 AWOL guide showed.
Apparently the week before was cold, wet, snowy... but starting Monday April 10th and finishing Friday the 15th, it rained lightly the second night in 3 short spurts. Completely clear the rest of the time. Lows were in the 40's, highs in the 70's... but check atweather.org for the shelters you plan to stay in or near before your trip... and my advice would be to bring an extra layer just in case.

[steve_zavocki]

As others have said, trail is good. Just hiked Standing Bear to Hot Springs May 6 and 7. Trail is good shape, but there are many blown down trees from storms on May 4 (info from our shuttle driver Kog). Some of the blow downs take some effort to get through.

[nascarmikeb]

As others have said, trail is good. Just hiked Standing Bear to Hot Springs May 6 and 7. Trail is good shape, but there are many blown down trees from storms on May 4 (info from our shuttle driver Kog). Some of the blow downs take some effort to get through.

This is great info. I will be starting at New Found Gap on 5/20 and hitting Standing Bear on 5/23 and Hot Springs on 5/26. I am intending on carrying 2 1 liter smart water bottles. How is the water currently, any reason that I would need to carry 2 liters at a time? I've never hiked this section, so any feed back would be greatly appreciated. This is perfect timing.

Mike