McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 12/04/2024 | AT Mile 2046.7 | Day Total: 15.5 miles | Gain: 4777 ft

Woke up at 6:15 and was wide awake. Didn’t sleep very well last night. There were some snorers in the shelter… Hard to complain after spending the past 31 nights (excluding hostels) solo with nobody to talk to. It’s nice to have some company at the shelter.

I spent 10 minutes packing up and headed straight for the 80 degree heated bathroom by headlamp. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make breakfast in a heated environment. Kinda gross but it was fairly clean and had a small wooden bench.

I probably spent an hour in the sauna before heading back outside to begin my hike. The lake was beautiful and steam bellowed from the water. Not to mention the clouds in mountains in the background. What a sight!

Yesterday I reserved a bed at a hostel a little over 15 miles away. Really looking forward to a good nights rest in a real bed. There’s a marina about a mile away with snacks and my stomach is begging for more food, although I’ve got low hopes for them being open this early in the day and off season. FarOut comments report it was closed 10am on a weekday a few days ago.

The trail walked along the lakeside for the mile to the marina. It was beautiful! The water level seems much lower than it normally is but what would I know. There’s a bunch of exposed dirt and tons of drift wood. The parking area had a familiar looking AT sign. One very similar to the one on the front cover of my dad’s journal.

Once the trail turned into the boat ramp I walked down to the marina in hopes for it to be open at 8:30. The shop is floating on the lake to my surprise. I was shocked when the door swung open when I pulled. A gentleman was sitting at the counter watching the tv. There were a few candy bars and a bag of twisters. They clearly hadn’t restocked because hikers were few and far between at this point. I grabbed the medium sized bag of original flavor twisters and a butterfinger bar. I’m sure this’ll satisfy my stomach until I can reach the hostel this afternoon. Otherwise I’m rationing a bar and a handful of trail mix.

Happy as ever I walked back up the long boat ramp and up to the trail snacking on twisters. They also had some heated bathrooms up here that were super clean.

I had a massive climb up from the parking lot. I had multiple views of Fontana Dam and the lake through the trees. I found that it’s too awkward to use just one pole so I stashed them away. Maybe the hostel will have a rubber tip that I can use until I get to an outfitter with a replacement tip.

On my way up I walked over Billy Goat Gruff Memorial Bridge. The sign was quite silly! I was also starting to walk through more snow as I got higher. It didn’t amount to much.

Near the top I walked through Walker Gap. Pretty uneventful.

I had a rather early lunch at Cable Gap Shelter. Like before, a 5 minute break comprised of me eating the ingredients of a wrap separately. The pepperjack cheese wasn’t a solid brick like yesterday but the texture was still way off – only took one bite. This shelters in rough shape. The sleeping platform is very slanted and the roof clearly leaks (it’s currently got a tarp on it).

Had another 1000ft of climbing and made it to Cody Gap. Nothing to note here, just trees and a dusting of snow.

After Cody Gap there was a small rocky and super steep section of trail. Felt like I was back in Maine. At the top there was a view of Santeetlah Lake through the trees.

I gave the hostel a call a mile before I got to the gap. I’m a little earlier than I anticipated but they were ready. Passed by some power lines with a good view. As I made it to the parking area (Stecoah Gap) there was a ton of construction and a trail reroute. They are expanding the highway and removing mountain to do so.

I sat at the picnic table for a few minutes before my shuttle arrived. He took me into town first to resupply and we headed back to the hostel. Because of the construction the 10 minute drive was more like 20. Tons of one way lanes. Had some good conversations with Shadow, the caretaker and driver. He’s got lots of hiking experience outside of the AT.

At the hostel Shadow gave me a basic tour and I jumped into the shower. Once I was settled I met the owner, Lonnie. He does a lot to help hikers and our conversation never seemed to end. Very sweet people here.

I made some dinner, kielbasa and eggs, and enjoyed a half gallon of chocolate milk. The half gallon contains 1600 calories alone. Had a FaceTime with the family and organized my food. Relaxed for the rest of the evening. Going to relax tomorrow morning as well. Leaving to go back to trail at 10. Just me and Shadow here tonight. Slip and Slide and Franks were here last night. I may see them in the next few days.