May 4, 2024 4 min to read

AT Blog: 32 through 34

The Last Days in Tennessee

Day 32:

We wake up before the sun, so we can get into Hampton early today and avoid the rain later in the day. We camped in a meadow last night, and got rained on throughout the night. Fortunately the rain stops as we pack up to head out.

The first few miles are simple downhill towards Pond Mountain Wilderness. The Pond Mountain area is beautiful with a wide gentle river near its entrance and a nice flat path. Eventually we diverge into Laural Canyon to see the Laural Falls. The AT goes right up to it then does rock scrambling right next to the river.

There’s no shoreline as we cross over, just rocks 3 feet above the fork. If we fell, we would fall right into the river.

We take a quick break at the shelter then continue, crossing bridges many times. Eventually we climb Pond Mountain itself, which takes a decent amount of time as it’s over 2000 feet of climbing in 4 miles.

After crossing the mountain we make it to the Boots Off Hostel. I only have a campsite for the night as everything else was booked.

My parents and brother come to visit. They were visiting my grandparents in WV, and were driving home and were able to stop by. We are able to eat at a local restaurant. It was nice to see them but the short timeline meant we only spent a small amount of time together.

Day 33:

Wake up naturally today. It rained lightly last night and I pack up my tent and stuff.

I grabbed breakfast, a mix of fruit and cereal with some hot coffee. I also use the restroom one last time and find out they have tortillas at the shop so I grab some.

I depart the hostel. The first few miles are gentle, due to going around Watauga Lake. We do have another dam crossing, this one being a land dam and less impressive as Fontana.

Next is the climb up the Iron Mountains and it’s a doozy. While the climb is only about 2000 feet, it started to hail tiny pellets, due to the sub freezing temperatures. The pellets don’t hurt but are annoying and stick to the ground. By the time I make it to the first shelter the entire ground is covered in these pellets.

I go on a lunch break (putting on extra layers first due to cooling down after exercise). I brought a quarter pounder with cheese with me from McDonalds. It’s cold but preserved and better than most lunches I could make.

Continuing on, the trail is not too bad, but my worn down shoes are making it slower. I knew they needed to be replaced as they aren’t supporting my feet much anymore, but Hampton didn’t have any sellers, so I have to wait for Damascus in a couple days.

I eventually make it to Iron Mountain Shelter where I meet up again with Lobster, Tigger, No name and Taxi. We chat for a while as we all quit early today due to snow and cold.

Day 34:

Start the day after the sun rises. It got pretty cold last night, proofing that the start of April doesn’t bring showers, it brings snow here in Tennessee.

The plan today is to make 16 more miles leaving us with 10 miles into Damascus the next day.

The morning is pretty with the snow melt on the ground and the miles are gentle. The edge of the Iron Mountains, is marked by meadows the trail walks through. Probably the easiest mile of the trail, gravel flat land.

Soon we stop for an early lunch at the double springs shelter. The second half of the trip is slower than the first. Mt feet are killing me as it feels like I feel every pebble and stone on the way.

There’s a neat stop at McQueens Knob, where an old 1937 shelter is. It’s still standing but barely has room for 2 people to lay in, plus it’s slated logs doesn’t block all the snow coming in.

A few miles later I make it to the shelter. I kinda wanted to press on since I got there shortly after 3 PM, but my aching feet convinced me otherwise.