only a guess...and I certainly don't know if this is true for anyone else...but I think it might have something to do with available time....weekend warriors with limited vacation time, family demands, etc... That's my deal anyway. I haven't hiked it but I have been trying to figure out when I can go try at least some of it. The trail seems like a great option for me... the closest trail I know of to me that has some terrain, waterfalls, etc...
And between limited vacation and a constant pull for any free time I have to be spent with the family, I figure about the most I'll be able to pull off is a 4 day weekend...with the better part of two of those days travelling back and forth.
Hey there. 3 days is fast time for this time of year, and I think it is fast time for any time of year. I like to do it as a five night trip with short hiking days on the first and last days.
I'm wondering how the blow downs were in general and if you did the Fork Mt spur (if you did was that trail clear)? I'll be out there starting 1/7 or 8 doing the FHT for the second time.
The FHTC will be on the Sloan Bridge - Fish Hatchery Rd segment removing brush and blow downs on Jan 5. We could use assistance. Show up at Sloan Bridge at 9 a.m.
I haven't done the Fork Mt Tr in the last 24 months. In the past there were a few blowdowns that were left and easy to step over.
Like others have said, it is not a difficult trail overall, so you can hike a lot of miles if so inclined. I personally prefer to spend a lot of time on the trail and my pace is reasonably fast so I naturally will hike 20 miles per day or more if daylight allows. On my hike, daylight was the main limiting factor and I didn't have a need to hike at night given that I had four days to do the hike.
Coffee- I'm with you on 4-days, this is probably average for the FHT, I too average 20-per day on other trails. We originally planned for 3.5 then on the second night decided to push on through just to see if we could. We almost camped by the river but ate dinner and hiked on. And there's something special about hiking under a bright moon.
Any reports of flooding or flash flood warnings along the trail? Thanks.
Thinking of doing may 1st. T shirts and shorts? or would you need something warmer? Other option is GA section of the AT, but same clothing question. Thanks
Would like to do this trail as my first solo and also an AT shakedown hike. I enjoy 15 to 20 mile days. Is it reasonable to hike until near dark and then find a place to camp? I'll be hammocking. Also would like to do during nice weather in mid/late February or early March, so daylight will be short. This makes hitting the designated campsites a bit more difficult. However, the designated camping areas look inviting.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
Ask about Bearcamp Crk area(the trail along the old FS logging road and the road floods to ankle deep, walk the partial gravel road, it's usually boggy in this area anyway as it's temperate rain forest), Horsepasture River, Chattooga River, and Whitewater River. I've seen the Horsepasture and Whitewater overflow their banks affecting the FHT where the trail skirts Lake Jocassasee as it goes over Rock Cr and at the FHT steel bridge that crosses Whitewater and in the bottomlands NO Camping Zone along the Whitewater. The FHT can be prone to boggy travel where it gets close to the shore of the Chattooga at the lowest elevations. Going to be muddy on some segments but that can be the character of high rainfall areas. If you can safely get to experience these rivers and the FHT waterfalls during high flow with the waterfalls pumping at their max I'd do it. To me it's similar to hiking the Hoh rain Forest during the rainy season. Be ready for wet weather and some mush. You'll see things most dont in person. Nature in it's raw powerful state. Remember this is on or near the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Obviously, water flows down off the BRE creating these gorges with rivers.
The .gov site isn’t being updated d/t shutdown.
I found warnings related to chatooga river but wasn’t certain where in relation to FHT. Called OSP yesterday and they had nothing pertinent to say.
Found a water table chart that showed the river peaked on the 28th then receded. My main concern is camping in a low area and the river rising during the night.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
The Foothills Trail Conference was very helpful to me and at least two friends who have hiked all or part of it. Good maps and guidebook, too.
I parked and started at Sassafras Mt. in 2005. Made it to about Whitewater Falls. Took a break, restarted and finished at Oconee; got a ride with other hikers I met on-trail to Table Rock, camped at a campground that night, then finished back at Sassafras.
Sassafras has undergone some major changes since then, and is busier now with dayhikers and tourists but still part of the trail.
I think the FHT is very easy in places, but not everywhere. In areas where switchbacking would have made it easier (and longer), the trail builders seem to have preferred steep wooden steps -- some of which never seem to end. There is also some brief incidental bouldering in a few places. (But doable. Not as difficult as Mahoosuc Notch or other places in NH or ME.)
There are no AT-style shelters, but there are ample rustic backcountry campsites. If you've hiked the AT and depended on shelters, you may need to develop some new skills on the FHT.
A huge fire in 2017 destroyed a lot of wooden steps and decking in the Whitewater Falls area. I'm happy to report that a friend who thru-hiked the FHT in November 2018 reported that has all been repaired or replaced. Whitewater Falls is the scenic gem of the FHT (there are plenty of others, too, but you may not encounter those every day you're thru-hiking).
If you'd rather dayhike or section hike the FHT, there are ample places to get on or off the trail. Some days will be necessarily longer than others.