I will be hiking from Erwin to Hot Springs in a few weeks. Just looking for any current trail info that folks are willing to share about this section. I know it's still a bit away and hard to tell, but if anyone has been in the area, I would love to hear reports on things such as:

Trail conditions
Temperatures (daily & nightly)
Water Sources
Bugs
Bears/Critter problems in any of the area's

Also, I know it is getting late in the season for thru's to be in this area, but I also know that there are still going to be some stragglers, or later starters...

Also, are there any areas in this section that are just mind-blowing? Great camp spots worth staying at over others? (And as a foot note too, we will be hanging on this trip.)

Thanks for any info provided!