McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 11/24/2024 | AT Mile 1866.3 | Day Total: 13.6 miles | Gain: 4184 ft

I slept like a rock last night. I was in need of a good nights rest after some rough nights and weather. I took another hot shower this morning and organized my resupply food before going to breakfast. They have a very basic cereal, bagels, coffee, and donut breakfast. I uploaded a few journals while I sipped coffee.

Back in my room I gathered everything and puzzled it back into my bag. It’s crazy how the whole room could be filled with gear and it all magically fits back into my pack. It’s going to be so nice to have dry and not frozen gear to deal with later.

At 8:50 I checked out and a moment later Steve, Unicoi Shuttle, showed up. During our short drive we talked a lot about the trail conditions in parts that haven’t been cleared yet. He’s found my recent comments on FarOut super handy because. nobody else has gone through a lot of the trail I’ve been on. He’s also been doing a lot of clearing as well! Both of us think that the trail will be clear for the nobo season, other than the bridge what was washed out in Erwin.

We passed by Uncle Jonny’s which was demolished by the nearby river. They are hoping to be open for nobo season- they’ve done a lot of clean up.

Got a 1600ft climb out of the gate. Luckily the trail was free of blowdowns all the way up. So nice! Had some good views of the Nolichucky River and distant mountains on my way up.

The cool air made the climb pretty easy. Today’s high is around 60, but it’s about 45 at the moment. I hope it’s warm enough to melt the snow at the higher elevation. I’d rather not have to trudge through that today.

At the top there were some easy to get over blowdowns. They didn’t slow me down much at all until I was near Temple Hill Gap. There was a field of blowdowns here that took some time to get through. Past hikers have made a few cuts but I also made some additional cuts. The more people that come through the easier it’ll be to navigate and get through.

After the blowdown field I had minimal blowdowns left to get to No Business Knob Shelter. The shelter has survived the storm and all the trees are standing around it. I ate lunch on the newer looking picnic table.

Afterword I continued down the trail and for the first .1 miles there were a few large blowdowns but after that crews had cleared them all the way to Devils Creek Gap 2.2 miles away! Some easy hiking!

At one point I passed by a large hollowed out tree and noticed something inside. It was a toy ferris wheel?!?!? Not sure what to think of that… LNT?

I continued on to Spivey Gap 2.2 miles away. Most of the blowdowns here were easy to get over or around. I made some cuts and pushed some really big branches off the trail. There were 1 or 2 medium difficulty blowdowns but not bad at all.

The trail sobo of Spivey Gap is as comments say “impassable”. BUT I’m going to try – I’d regret it if I didn’t try.

The first .9 after Spivey were pretty easy to get through. Then the trail turned into a massive field of blowdowns. Unfortunately the trail weaves in and out of the blowdowns for the next mile or so as it climbs up to high rocks. I spent a good hour and a half working my way through the mile of blowdowns. There’s still some snow on the ground so I took it really slow and carefully.

After what felt like an eternity I made it to the last stretch to High Rocks that appeared to have minimal blowdown and it did! That last stretch I had to go off trail quite a bit to get around some of the bundles.

At the top of high rocks I was able to make out Roan Mountain in the distance. The sun was beginning to set so the sky was turning pink.

Luckily the last .3 to Whistling Gap had only a few blowdown and a small cluster I was easily able to walk around. There were some deeper drifts of snow that I was trying to avoid. My feet had gotten a little damp from navigating the blowdown field.

Once at Whistling Gap I pitched my dry tent and snuggled into my dry quilt and dry clothing. Not to mention to the lack of wind and snow. It makes it so much easier after having the chance to get gear dry.

I cooked some dinner and made some comments on FarOut. It’s not quite going to get below freezing tonight and tomorrow’s high is 65! Looking forward to some good weather!

I’ve got about 1.3 miles of blowdowns that’ll take 1 hour to get through according to the Handsaw Boys. After which I’ll have a few easy to get around blowdown to Bald Mountain shelter. AND the best part… the trail after Bald Mountain Shelter should be CLEAR of blowdowns all the way to Springer Mountain! I can’t wait to be back on clear trail!