Appalachian Trail - Winding Stair Gap to Fontana Dam

This year I will continue north on the AT from where I left off last year. The plan is start at Winding Stair Gap on US-64 and head north to Fontana Dam. Fontana Dam is the southern end of the Great Smoky National Park.

Here is a distance chart:

My spring trip on the Appalacian Trail for 2012 was to section from Winding Stair Gap on US64 to Fontana Dam at the southern end of the Great Smoky National Park.

Day 1 - April 8, 2012 Easter Sunday

My Dad and Fran dropped me off at Winding Stair Gap at about 07:20a. They were dressed for Easter Service and I was dressed for climbing hills. I made it to Wayah Gap at 10:20 - about a 2mi an hour pace, right what I plan for. Lunch on the hike up to Wayah Bald was a corned beef sandwich and an oatmeal cookie. The cookie did not pack as well as I hoped.

I spent a bunch of time at the tower atop Wayah Bald. It was a crystal clear day- so you could see a long way including Siler Bald which I crossed earlier in the morning. Nice to see progress on more than just a map. Stopped at Wayah Shelter about 3pm and decided to press on. Should have been an easy hike but I was struggling. Stopped at Licklog Gap. Water is a pain here, someone left a note in a ziplock with directions. There was no way I would have found it otherwise.

Tortilla soup and a brownie for dinner. Looks to be a cold one tonight. Tomorrow I was going to target Wesser Bald shelter but I am thinking more.

Day 2 - April 9, 2012

The owls were in force last night. One of the oddest things I have ever heard. Almost sounded fake.

Long day today. Started at Licklog Gap just a bit after 8am. Cruised into Burningtown Gap where there was a fantastic Trail Magic setup. Scored an omelet and a coke by some amazingly generous folks.

Climbed out of the gap to the highest point on the trip - Copper Ridge Bald Lookout. Big drop into Tellico Gap for lunch. Honey, while tasty, does not work well in the heat. It is too runny and sticky.

Tough climb to Wesser Bald and the observation tower. Pretty amazing views including my first look at Fontana Lake.

Long, long decent was about to begin. I got to Wesser Bald shelter about 2pm. 5 miles would get me to A. Rufus. Figured on 2 1/2 hrs so I went for it. Tough decent took me until almost 5:30p. I rolled my bad ankle about a mile out of camp. No out-of the ordinary pain on that last leg.

Camped out on a slopped hoping my ankle is OK. It was packed in camp - maybe 40 people. Biggest group I have ever stayed with on the AT.

Day 3 - April 10, 2012

Up and going just after 8am. Made it to the Natahalia Outdoor Center (NOC) with no ankle issues. Hot breakfast at the restaraunt, then grabed a liter of water and a coke from the store.

Started up biggest climb of the trip about 9:30. NOC is at 1723ft, Cheoah Bald is 5062ft - a climb of about 3300 ft. That is in about 7 miles.

Stopped at Sassafras shelter below the summit about 3pm and made a tough call on pressing on. It was blowing pretty good and threatened rain - but none fell. I kept going and cleared Cheoah Bald a bit after 4pm. Made it to Hogback Gap and setup camp for the night. There were five of us in camp that night.

Total for today was 11.3 miles, but they were hard miles. Cable Gap is 11.6 from here. But none of it is the huge elevation gain like today. Rain chance faded out as the sun set. Probably going to get as cold as I have seen tonight.

Day 4 - April 11, 2012

Cold this morning. Read 35 deg inside my tent. I was toasty in my down bag though, so I slept well. Got a decent start about 8:20. Found some trail magic @ Stecoah Gap in the form of a Diet Dr. Pepper. Tasty.

Toughish climb up to Brown Fork Gap shelter for lunch. Had the place to myself. It is a pretty nice shelter. Some left a couple snack items, so I picked up a pop-tart and a cliff bar for lunch/breakfast.

Made it to Cable Gap shelter just after 4pm. No cell signal at all.

Total for today was 11.6. Tomorrow is 6.9 to the Visitor Center and should be get there between noon and two.

Cable Gap shelter is the oldest on the trail - built in 1937 or something. It is a really solid build, even compared to the other shelters I have seen.

Day 5 - April 12, 2012

Cold again this morning. Was about 35 degrees again; not cold enough to freeze my water bottles but pretty cold non-the-less. On the trail a bit after 8am again. I was able to get a cell signal at the top of the first climb and called for my ride.

On that last day, I got a near constant look at my destination of Fontana Lake and Dam. My camera gave up the ghost- seems like some dirt got in the lens mechanism.

The next to last drop put me down on the road onto the dam. The group I stayed with last night started to break-up as we got near the visitor's center. Some folks headed into Fontana Village and others went into the Fontana Shelter which is called the Hilton because of the size and the fact that it has showers.

I got to the visitor's center just about noon. The store was closed for the season, and the actual visitor center was under renovation so it was a quiet place. The coke machine was empty and the pay phone was missing as well. At least I had a place to change into my rain pants to get out of some of my funky clothes.

My folks showed up shortly after I got there and we headed back to their house. We stopped for lunch at the same restaurant I had breakfast at three days earlier and got to sit right on the river again.

56.3 miles in about 4 1/2 days. It was a very successful trip.