McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 11/18/2024 | AT Mile 1768.7 | Day Total: 16.1 miles | Gain: 2156 ft

Tried to get an earlier start this morning. Was hiking by 7:30. Loaded up with water at the spring .2 south of shelter. Unfortunately it seems that the trail is not clear south of the shelter. My goal today is to get to Boots Off Hostel. May not be possible if blowdowns are bad but I’ve got extra food for that reason.

First 2ish mile. had fairly easy to get around blowdowns. Didn’t slow me down too much. I made it to Turkey Pen Gap – nothing to note here. I eventually reached a difficult field of blowdowns. I hopped from tree to tree and trimmed a few pesky branches. Took a few minutes to get through it all.

The whole morning I was along the ridge that bordered Watauga Lake. Between the blowdowns and the leafless trees I could almost always make out the lake below.

After that rough field of blowdowns I had pretty consistent easy to get around blowdowns. Slowed my pace down a little but not too much which was nice.

A little after 11am I arrived at Vandeventer Shelter. The shelter was damaged slightly by a large blowdown. The gutters hanging and there’s a large dent and broken supports on the roof. Otherwise the shelters in okay shape. I wouldn’t want to spend the night in it with the blowdown nearby.

Just behind the shelter there’s a really good view of Watauga lake. I ended up having an early lunch here with a nice place to sit.

After lunch I was able to keep a good pace through some easy to navigate blowdowns. They weren’t as frequent as I had seen before, maybe one every 2min.

After 2 miles the trail had been cleared! At this point I was pretty sure I’d be clear all the way to Boots Off based on some comments I’ve read.

With the clear trail I also descended down off the ridge I’ve been on since Damascus. It’s about 2000ft down to the lake. At the bottom I reached Wilbur Dam Road and climbed 300 ft over another bump along the lake.

On the other side of the bump I walked nearly a half mile along a road across the dam. Pretty neat rock mountain faces on either side of the dam.

A little over a mile past the dam I took a break at a small stream to filter some water. It was about 2pm and I was 2 mile away from Boots Off Hostel so I was making good time!

The last mile before I reached the hostel I walked right next to the lake boarder. Lots of small campsites near the lakes shore. When I reached the road to the hostel I briefly walked through the beach area.

The hostel was up a fairly steep driveway but there were multiple signs of encouragement along the way. They definitely know their audience!

When I arrived I was immediately greeted by Lucky Moon and handed a soda! After we talked about trail conditions for awhile I got checked in and showered. This property is really cool! It’s like a small community of mini houses, clear globes, tents, outdoor showers, bunkroom, restrooms. Everything’s got its own building and paths connecting it.

After getting settled in they shuttled me into town and I resupplied and grabbed a meatball sub from subway. When I got back I ate dinner and had a second dinner a few minutes later! They had a chilly dog station setup! I was stuffed!

We sat around the fire and talked for the better part of an hour before I went and facetimed with the family.

The hostel at night is beautiful! Lots of lights and it’s setup to really suit hikers.

In the bunkhouse I organized my food, journaled and went to bed. Going to get up around 6:30 tomorrow morning for coffee and breakfast. Next 10 miles should be clear which is super nice!