NOC to Fontana Dam

Not much to show from this section of the trail. I forget where this picture was taken, but it was our first glimpse of the smokies. We could see Clingmans Dome from this spot.
The Mountain Laurel blooms were falling and the ground was blanketed in white blossoms.
The Fontana Hilton was a pretty nice shelter, had a nice view of the lake, was close to the re-supply town, and had a great swimming hole. There were showers located a short distance from the shelter but we decided to forgo the luxury due to how squeaky clean we got on our afternoon swim.

The shelter was completely devoid of mice - perhaps due to this friendly black sanke that was living underneath the floor.

Max Patch

Max Patch is one of the most spectacular balds on the AT and was probably our favorite bald in North Carolina. Its named after a horse named Max that would to there to graze whenever he got loose. It is one of the spots I met Jess when she was hiking in 2005. The feeling of being on top of the bald is hard to explain, but its certainly magical. When we were up there last time the bald was filled with yellow wildflowers.

On the way up to the bald

The trail on the top.

On the way down.

Worst Thunderstorm: Hot Springs to Flint Mountain Shelter

After we stocked up on some extra calories in Hot Springs we hit the trail again. The weather continued to be really dry, but the water sources weren't bad - so we enjoyed the nice weather. We started coming across ripe blueberries at this point which made for some delicious trail side snacking.

A view from Lovers Leap overlooking the French Broad River

The next two pictures are from Blackstack Cliffs.
Firescald knob was an area that was once burned and now its pretty open (which provides nice views) and the rocks were covered in rhododendrons and blueberry bushes full of fruit.

After crossing over firescald knob the weather got really dark so we took out our raincoats and in five minutes the skies had cleared. Later in the day we made it to Jerry's cabin shelter to find a dry spring, a dirty shelter and lots of bugs. The skies were getting cloudy which could have meant a source of water but judging by earlier in the day we figured the ominous clouds would sinply pass over with no rain so we decided to keep moving. Over the course of the next two miles the skies got progressively darker and then without warning it began to pour - literally. A severe thunderstorm had set in, the trail had become a river, and we were soaked. We should have done the smart thing and walked back down the mountain to find a place to hunker down but we were cold and decided the best way to stay warm was to keep moving. We eventually made it to a clearing and the storm seemed to have calmed down a bit so we began making our way across the open field (I think it may have been Big Butt). Once we were about 50 meters in we were taken by surprise by a snap of lightning and the deafening roar of thunder. Before I could scream out run we were already moving as fast as humanly possible with soaking wet packs through 3 inches of water. Lightning was popping all around us as we sloshed trough the soaking wet grass. Shortly after we made it across the 200 meter or so clearing the storm began to subside. It was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time - an experience I'll never forget. Afterwords the forest was covered by a cloud of mist and we hiked on to the next shelter while talking about the death defying experience we had both had. I know they say your chances of being struck by lightening are really slim, but I wonder what the chances are when you are standing in an open field at 3000 feet in a severe thunderstorm? The shelter ended up being nearly full - we took the last two spots. Fortunately there was a group of men there that had built a fire which allowed us to dry out some of our stuff. They also had brought along some whiskey which was much needed after the 7 miles we did after being soaked by the rain.
Above is a picture of Shelton Graves taken after the storm.

Roan Highlands: Favorite Place (Tied with Grayson Highlands)

A view of Big Hump

Located in the Northern Section of North Carolina is Roan Mountain. It starts out with a tough 2000ft climb as you gradually make your ascent through everchanging forests until you reach the open summit with great views of the surrounding areas. It was also the location of the Cloudland Hotel, built in the 1800s as a resort - only a few ruins now remain. From there it was a short hike over to Roan High Knob - a wooded summit that has a great shelter and cold spring located right in the middle of a spruce/fir forrest. From there you make your way down to a gap with a parking area (this is where we met mom and dad). We hiked back up to Roan High Knob to spend the night with them at the summit. It was a cold night up above 6000 feet and a little rainy - the shelter on top of Roan High Knob is a 4 sided cabin (formerly a fire marshalls cabin) and is the highest shelter on the trail. The next day we hiked back down to the gap then up to Round Bald and Jane Bald. The weather was a little cloudy so the views weren't great, but watching the clouds sweep over the open grasslands was pretty cool. The second night we stayed at overmountain shelter.

This shelter was an old barn and could probably sleep 30 people - which is nice because it is one of the most popular shelters on the trail because of the amazing views it affords of the valley below. The next day we hiked up to the humps. Big hump was our favorite part of this section - an extremely large open grassland with views of the beautiful surrounding north carolina mountains. Luckily the weather cleared up really nicley for us as we made the trek across the open summits. From there it was a long downhill hike to the gap below where mom and dad had parked the car. A really great July 4th weekend.

The Open Peak of Roan Mountain - not many ruins to see, but great views of the surrounding mountains.



The top of Roan High Knob - some of the most beautiful forests that we saw during the entire trip. Nestled in these trees was the cabin and an extremely cold water spring.


Clouds on top of Round Bald


Great view of the Sunset from Overmountain Shelter


Hiking up to Little Hump


Views from rocks on Little Hump


View from Big Hump


Me, Mom and Dad on top of Big Hump


Mom and Dad beginning the descent from Big Hump


Another view of Big Hump


Dad posing with some nice cliffs on the descent off of the Highlands

US 19E to Laurel Fork Falls

After an amazing weekend with mom and dad we resupplied at US 19E and then hiked on to Mountaineer Shelter. It began to rain pretty hard while we were en route and we found the shelter full of scouts - a troop of about 30 kids and their scoutmasters had taken all of the campsites and most of the shelter. Fortunately they saved a couple of spots in the shelter for any hikers wanting to camp there. It was raining and it was getting late so we didn't have many options so we crammed in. They stayed up well past dark playing roses and thorns (each scout had to tell their best and worst experience of the trip) but we were so tired it didn't matter and we fell right asleep. On our way to Laurel Fork Falls.

Best Waterfall - Laurel Fork Falls

The best waterfall we saw the entire trip was probably Laurel Fork Falls. The waterfall was on the Laurel Fork River about 30 miles or so after Roan Mountain (I think). Like many of the other spectacular sites on the trail it came with a cost - a very steep/rocky hike down, but obviously well worth it. Not only were the falls nice, but the river was a godsend because we were in desperate need of a bath (it had been about 5 days). There was also a great shelter with a nice spring located high up on a rocky area close the falls.

The trail wrapped around this rocky area just above Laurel Fork River


Hiking through a blooming rhododendron tunnel on the way to the falls


Laurel Fork Shelter


The Laurel Fork River

Watauga Lake to Damascus: Longest Day

Watauga Lake/Dam.

We went the entire first month of our trip without a drop of rain and it seemed like during the week leading up to our arrival in Damascus it rained every day, but during this hot and humid time of year we welcomed the cool rains. It only gets bad when you are in a thunderstorm with rain severe enough to get through your pack cover and soak your clothes, sleeping bag, etc (which luckily never happened). On our way up from Watauga Lake we got rained on again - another bad thunderstorm where the wind blows the rain in from the side. We again found ourselves in a risky situation about 1 mile from a shelter walking high on a ridge with high winds and lightening. Luckily we made it safely to Vandeventer Shelter and found it dry and cozy. We were even able to use the water coming off the roof to bathe and top off our reserves which enabled us to skip the .6 mile steep slippery trail to the closest water source. Vandeventer was great as it had an amazing view of Watauga Lake from the rocks not 20 feet behind the shelter. The following is a picture of the lake (which we couldnt see at this point becuase it was fogged in).

We were told that the next section (from Vandeventer to Damascus) was one of the easiest stretches of trail on the entire AT. This by no means meant that it was easy and flat, but in comparison to what lied before and what lied beyond I would say that its safe to call it easier. When we started the day we had not planned on going all the way into Damascus. After we did the first 10 miles with relative ease we joked about how funny it would be to go all the way in and treat ourselves with a nice greasy meal. We hiked fast as the slight ups and downs didn't slow us down much and stopped for breaks at each shelter we passed. At the next to last shelter it started to get dark but it wasn't raining so we decided to move on. And as fate would have it we got stuck out in another bad thunderstorm. After getting soaked we really thought it best to stay at the next shelter but when we arrived someone had completely trashed it. We took a break - ate the next days snacks (because at this point we wouldn't need them) and hauled ass down the gradual nicely graded trail over the Virginia border and into Damascus. We had made it the entire 33 miles and we only had to use our headlamps for the last 15 minutes of our journey. When we arrived in Damascus it was dark - around 9:00 - the same time the entire town shuts down. We were tired and sore so we finished off our instant potatoes and slept like babies. This marked our longest day and was followed by a much needed zero day filled with delicious food and laziness.

We could see the clouds building before the storm.
The State Line