GSMNP - Aug 31 - Sep 5
Avoid Gatlinberg
...ok...but now I'm curious.Originally Posted by Deco
GSMNP - Aug 31 - Sep 5
Gatlinburg is like a tacky beach town. I hit it on Labor Day weekend, when the poster is going to be hiking, I was expecting just a little mountain town for resupply and shower boy was I wrong. The place was so crowded, as it is a vacation spot for people in that part of the world, and it was nearly impossible to find a room. We had been on the trail since Springer, talk about a culture shock!
GSMNP - Aug 31 - Sep 5
Sorry Omaha I spaced out you are the original poster.
however, if you need salt water taffy and an air brush tshirt----go into gatlinburg....
As long as I don't have to squeal like a pig.
5 Guys Grill and KFC also
If you are just hiking the GSMNP you probably don't need a resupply. But if you want a resupply there is nothing wrong with Gatlinburg. Has cheap hotels, AYCE buffets, pizza places, steak places, - everything a hiker needs. I have no idea why some families will spend a weeks vacation there, but for a one nite in and out there is nothing wrong with the place.
Would it not be reasonable to make day trips into the park from there?!
Yes. There are many trailheads within twenty miles of Gatlinburg.
Our resupply vehicle (my hiking partner's [who is my aunt] husband) is meeting us either at Fontana or Clingman, depending on which direction we go. I'm hoping for a sb trip so we can cover more miles in less days and continue south out of the park (and generally away from people) with fresh food and legs.
I am expecting lots of people during this time as well. Unfortunately, I do not have many other dates available due to my work schedule.
----the areas around the shelters are like land minds / mole hills full of hiker waste! So be careful---what u dig into! Pretty gross when u think about it!
The NC shelters are better then the Tennessee shelter in this regard.
a quick note about temperature....
although its way too early to predict temperatures and what not for that time period, this past weekend can be an example of what to prepare for.....
weekend of july 13, while i was not in the park but rather in the mountains just a range over, at an elevation of 4500 feet......
i didnt record temperatures during the day, but it was somewhat milder than some of the days we've been having but yet still hot and muggy......i was dripping sweat within an hour of my hike...
however, at night, when i reached the elevation of 4500, it got kinda cool.............enough so that i wish i had brought some sweat pants or some other long type pants......just had shorts and a fleece jacket.....i ended up putting my rain pants on to keep warm....
i should note that i was using a thermometer that was built into a watch, instead of a "real" thermometer, so there is obviously some degree of not being exactly accurate....
at 830 pm, the temperature was 65, and about every half hour or so, it would dip another degree til i went to bed at about 11 pm with a final reading of 60 degrees......
for a summer night, it got cool pretty quick......
but, once in tent, i got warm and the inside temperature quickly rose to 66 before i finally passed out......
Another question - What is the best location to seach in accuweather or wunderground, etc. to get a decent forcast for the area around the trail?
I'm getting really excited. Finishing touches on my new Tyvek tarp/tent this week, and counting down the days until I can start reserving shelter spaces for my co-hiker and myself.
I like this site for weather info:
http://www.sophiaknows.com/atdb/waypoints.php
Once you get closer, I used this site for weather - http://www.mountain-forecast.com/pea...forecasts/2025 You can pick different peaks and elevations to see what the temps will be. Have a great time!
Ok. Shelter reservations are going to open for my dates (8/31 - 9/2) in a couple of days. My hiking partner and I are starting at Clingman and going south towards Fontana.
8/31 we will likely start at 2 pm and it looks like Siler's Bald is a good target for the short day (4.6 miles)
For day 2, I was thinking Spence Field, which is 14.7 miles from Siler's Bald.
There doesn't look to be a shelter between Mollie's Ridge and Fontana, which would make day 3 a 16 miler? Is that a pretty easy hike or is it a lot to bite off in one day? I'd hate to have to only go the 5.4 miles from Spence to Mollie and call it a day, but without knowing the terrain I don't want to bite way too much off, or if I'd be missing some great sidetracks by trying to kide too much in one jump.
Now, our "support car" will be meeting us at Fontana Dam to restock our food and swap out some gear. Once we cross the dam and are out of the park, are we free to camp anywhere along the trail?
It looks like south of the park we would get to Stecoah Gap on Hwy 143, which, if we DID say at Mollie's and did the 10.6 to Fontana on day 4 (9/4/2013) - we would have the option of being picked up again on the highway and dropped anywhere for a short dayhike. My plane leaves from ATL at 8pm on 9/5, so I'd need time to drive back to Atlanta, stopping somewhere at a cheap motel to shower and change into airplane clothes (aka - 'doesn't smell like a wild animal') and have plenty of time to check in and board. Thoughts / suggestions?
Lots of great info here...wished I got the same response for my WV-MD plans thread but oh well...My experiences in the smokies is as follows:
Allways see bears. Comin up from fontana is a mother humper and no water when i went until mollies ridge.
Rattlesnakes every trip along with the bears. Never has it rained(while on the AT) thru there, always very hot, very stagnent and sunny lots of sun!
My main advise is to collect as much water and consume it when you can cause I have gotten caught twice in smokies witha shortage of water.
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