Hi All ... planning a five day father/son hike NOBO from US64-Winding Stair Gap/NC (109.8) to Fontana Dam Visitors Center (166.1) at the end of this month. It is our first child leaving for college so trying to squeeze just a little more time in together before he starts his freshman year. We have gone through Scouts together (Tiger Cub to Eagle) but this is our first trip greater than 2 nights out in the woods.
Both hammock hangers, he is stuck to his Eno w/separate rain fly and sometimes a bug net and me with the Hennessy Expedition. Son is more of a light weight hiker and endeavors to keep the gear in this pack >20 lbs (including the weight of his pack, excluding food + water). I will allow for some comforts such as a camp chair (1.5 lbs) and coffee press (14 oz) but try to keep my pack to >24 lbs (not including food + water).
I have the AT trail guide and maps. I have also read a number of blogs as well as visited the Nantahala National Park website ...but still have not found the definitive answer: do you have to camp out at a shelter each night or can you set-up camp wherever along the trail? (The trail guide sometimes mentions campsites away from the shelter - but then have read/heard mention of having to stay in the shelter - and some have said that you make a reservation somehow?
We are well versed in "Leave No Trace" and are not looking to set-up a new fire ring each time we stop. We are thinking, however, that we might want to do different distances than those segments in between the existing shelters.
So ... is it okay to camp along the trail? Are there a number of established campsites along this section of the AT? Or do you have to stay at the shelters? Are you supposed to make reservations? The guides are pretty silent about the US64-Winding Stair Gap/NC (109.8) trailhead ...any insight here? Can we drop a car at the Fontana Visitor Center for a number of days?
According to the guides, water seems to convenient/not scare - hoping that is true even in the dead of summer. We are also planning on resupplying at the Nantahala Outdoor Center so that we only have to carry two days worth of food at a time. Any insight on these two things also welcome.
If anyone has done these sections before then any advice or comments you have would be more than welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Bookmarks