is it possble?

[double j]

just wondering what the terrain is like from uncle johnns hostel to sams gap is it possible to do this in a day. reason i ask is i wanna do iron mt gap to sams gap or as some of you know it i-26

[Wise Old Owl]

just roughly measured it on GE and its 30+ miles. It would be a before sunrise start and would not finish until dark and 12 hours unless you were running. I have no idea.

[Johnny Thunder]

it's possible. i made it from sam's to devil fork (the shelter before erwin...I think that's what it's called) with room enough to make it down to town by dusk. This was in thru-hiking season so the days were still short and we had a latish start. it's doable...just a LONG ASS DAY. Start up the mountain at sam's rather than down the mountain at johnny's and you'll be better off.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Isn't it about 25miles?
Definitely possible, just depends on your condition.

[earlyriser26]

24.6 miles total. If you hiked from sams north (2K less elevation change) it can be done in a day. It will make a difference if you are just doing a day hike and what time of year. It would be tough to do it in daylight this time of year. This is a nice section. The view above street gap is great. Big Bald is nice. The climb out of Spivey gap is fun (nice stream). Good views of the river going into Erwin. I would say if you are in OK shape with a day pack no problem in the spring. With a pack in November, get out the headlamp.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I haven't been there in about 6 years but I don't remember it being a difficult section.

[flemdawg1]

24.6 miles and the only tough climb is over Big Bald. Tough but doable, especially if you're in good hiking shape/trail legs.

[10-K]

It can very easily be done in a day if you start early. A couple of months ago I hiked from Devil's Fork Gap to Erwin in 10 hours (without a pack...) - it's easy hiking.

The climb up Big Bald is not as difficult as folks make it sound - by the time you start the actual ascent you've only got 500' elevation to gain.