The first stop out of the Smoky Mountains is Hot Springs. The trail goes straight through town, no detours or shuttled required. The main hostel is Laughing Heart, a B&B as well as the AT hiker bunkhouse. It is located just outside town, and a short walk to the grocery shop, the outfitters, ice cream shop and local brewery.
View from Lovers Leap
That night there was a bonfire and we met several other AT hikers. After a jolly night, we left town and went back to the trail. Immediately there was a steep climb, out of the river valley into the mountains. A landmark on the way is known as ‘Lovers Leap’ after a local Native american story about two young lovers. Their families that did not approve, and so, together they jumped to their deaths. It reminded me a lot of Romeo and Juliet.
On the trail, we passed a few familiar faces – at this point, more and more hikers had trail names. Bagel was heading for the ‘Cookie Lady’s’ house. This old lady is known for offering water, a rocking chair, and free cookies to any hiker who walks the extra 300 yards off trail to her house. Slim Pickings was suffering from black widow spider bites and had slowed down. Riot had decided an extra day in town was just the thing. Scoops was miles ahead of everyone as usual.
Hiker Laos and the BBQ feast
The next few days were the hottest yet, and hiker after hiker was falling sick with the dreaded Norovirus. Dan caught the bug shortly before we reached the next town, so we shuttled into Erwin and took an extra day at Uncle Johnny’s hostel for him to rest. The second night, there was a hiker named Laos who had just finished his section, and he made a BBQ feast. The rest of us bought drinks and snacks to contribute and we had another great evening. We also met two hikers who we would see the whole way to Katahdin, Stealth and Pigeon.
On a cool and misty day, we got a shuttle of Erwin and began the hike to Roan Mountain, the next Big Climb, and a surprisingly gentle one, when compared to what we had just done in the Smokies. This was one of the coldest nights on trail, with the temperatures hovering at freezing. The next morning, I saw for the first time ice crystals in the soil.
View from Roan Mtn
Happily, we stumbled across more trail magic at the foot of the mountain. A hiking group out of Tennessee was setting up with hot tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot chocolate and coffee(!) and the usual assortment of bars, chips, soda, and first aid basics.
Trail Magic with the Tennessee Hiking Club
From here it was a nice easy coast down into Carter’s gap,where we would be staying at Mountain Harbour hikers hostel. Home to the most famous breakfast on the Appalaichan trail!
Damascus was the first major ‘hiker vortex’ town we encountered. People would walk in, everyone planning to take a zero, enjoy a hot meal, see familiar faces, and hike on. How we, with so many hikers taking zero’s it was an easy place to spend an extra day (or two).
We managed to escape the vortex, mostly because of Dan’s visa clock, tik-tok, tik-tok. There was however, a very jolly night with Slim, Bagel, Scoops n Blue, singing songs to the guitar. So, with a later start than usual, we took the Virginia Creeper Trail. This is one of the ‘Rail to Trail”s that are becoming more common in the States. Old railroads – reliably flat, wide, and near water – have been converted into biking and hiking paths. On a dreary, drizzly morning, it made for a fast and pleasant walk out of town. 13 easy miles, and then back up into the mountains to rejoin the trail.
Our next major ‘highlight’ of the trail was yet another steep climb to high altitudes – the Grayson Highlands, home of the famous wild ponies. It would be 2-3 days of sustained high altitude during an unusually cold spring. The highlands were ecologically unique, with lots of balds. These are big, wide open spaces that have very few scraggly trees and lots of wide open meadows.
But, there were ponies. And snow. May 1 and there were tiny little flakes falling from the sky. In the morning, at the designated shelters (there is no free camping in the Highlands) hikers were waking up to frost, crunchy socks, and beautifully freezing scenery.
We hurried through, and began the final ascent to the famous ‘Friendship Shelter’. It is the first fancy shelter on the trail, with fancy meaning that it has four walls and a roof. Also, a hot shower (usually, but not always in service). There is a visitor center nearby that is friendly to hikers, heated, and has a land line which is most frequently used to ORDER PIZZA. After leaving Damascus, this is THE highlight.
It is also the jumping off point for the shuttle to Marion – a handy town to re-supply, have a hot meal, go to an outfitters, and even do laundry if you stay at the hostel ‘Merry Hiker’. This hostel is conveninelty located downtown above the outfitters.
From Marion, the next town is Pearisburg. Home of one of my favorite hostels, and the point in Virginia when spring truly sprung.
There are many ways to hike the AT -NOBO vs SOBO, flip flop or LASHing- but every hiker will spend a few nights under a roof, in a bed on the way. Dan and I managed about once a week to sleep inside with all the perks. Even if not officially a ‘hostel’ most places that welcome hikers offer at bare minimum shower & laundry. Most will also have loaner closets – spare, Clean clothes that hikers can wear while washing everything else. Sometimes, it’s just a campground that offers free or discounted camping for thru-hikers. Once memorable occasion, it was a drive-inn movie theatre. Each spot will have it’s own unique atmosphere based on the people who run it, do they cater only to AT hikers, and how close to the ‘bubble’ you are.
Here are the places we stayed, from south to north:
Above the Clouds, GA Around the Bend, GA* Gorgeous Stays, NC Franklin Hotel, NC Laughing Heart, TN Uncle Johnnys, TN Mountain Harbor,TN Boots Off, TN Broken Fiddle, VA Merry Hiker, VA Quarterway Inn, VA* Wood Hole, VA Angels Rest, VA* Middlecreek Campground, VA Devils Backbone Brewery Campground, VA Stanimals Waynesboro, VA Open Arms, VA Mountain Home, VA* Bears Den, VA Towns Inn, WV Zero Day, PA South Mountain Hotel, PA Ironmasters Mansion Hostel, PA* Doyle Hotel, PA Sunny Rest, PA DWG, PA/NJ Warwick Drive-In, NJ Maria’s, CT Catamount Inn, VT Inn at the Long Trail, VT Hikers Welcome, VT The Notch, NH* Libby’s House, NH Ellis Pines, ME Roadhouse of Maine, ME* Hostel of Maine, ME Shaws, ME
*My Favorite Hostels
Everybody has different taste when it comes to what you want from a hostel. On the AT the hostel vibes ran from quiet and sedate to full-on party places. Most had a balanced blend of the two, with a couple extremes. For Dan and I, we found our favorite’s tended to be clean with a good kitchen, close enough to town that we could wander or shuttle in to shop and have a meal. We also enjoyed places that had comfortable communal living space, where hikers could lounge on comfortable couches and talk, or catch up on the socials.
Roadhouse of Maine (ME): the epitome of a hikers hostel. Shuttle pick-ups and drop-off included with stay This was one of the few times we stayed in a dorm, and it was incredibly well designed-privacy curtains, charging ports, personal nightlights and fans with plenty of room to re-organize your pack. THe private rooms were small, and grouped along the hallway to the bathrooms. Downstairs was magnificent. Log cabing interior style, a huge kitchen with two fridges, tons of shelves for storage, and a massive stove, with two smaller ovens for pizzas. Living room with a TV & comfortable seating on couch for ten, and another seating area around a smaller coffee. There was also a corner bar with Another pizza oven, and a small drinks fridge (no beers on sale but the shuttles ran at hikers convenience until 8pm and would take you into town for whatever you needed). They also had a very well-stocked re-supply shop, at prices that weren’t too outrageous. Breakfast for additional fee.
Extra points: when you left in the morning, one of the ‘Jens’ would be sure to snap your polaroid and put it on the wall in the kitchen. It was really fun to find hikers we met who had already passed this way.
The Notch Hostel (NH): this hostel caters to both AT thru-hikers, and to people who are coming to New Hampshire to complete various other milestones, and casual hikers. It’s very comfortable with 4-6 bed rooms, multiple bathrooms and showers, a gorgeous dining room with good sized kitchen. There is a normal sized living room, and lots of outdoor seating, comfy hammock, and two balconies. All hiker gear is stored in a shed outback, so the inside is clean and uncrowded. It has the feeling of a well-organized BnB, with meticulous decor, and private rooms with comfortable beds. One of the private rooms has it’s own bathroom and balconey.
Extra points: You can slackpack here from Hikers Welcome which is just on the other side of Mt Moosilauke, and they offer a free slackpack when you stay two nights to help the AT hiker get over and through the Kinsman Notch, which is one of the most challenging 15 miles on the AT. They also have bikes you can take into town, which is about 15 minutes away.
Ironmasters Mansion Hostel (PA): just a few miles past the halfway point, this old mansion is a located in a state park, near the AT museum. It can sleep at least 30 people, and the private room here feels like something out of a museum with antique furniture, an enormous bed, and a private en suite bathroom. There is one caretaker running the whole thing, so self check-ins and making your own bed is part of the deal. It’s a historic building in it’s own right, and next door is a general store that has a grill which is open most of the day. It’s only a five minute walk to the lake for a swim where there is also a snack shack with limited food options. Kitchen facilities are minimal, but they do have frozen pizza and offer breakfast with coffee for a small fee.
Extra points: next door is the location of the ‘Half Gallon Challenge’ so it’s a fun spot to pass the afternoon, watching hikers coming in and eating themselves sick. There’s also a great long front porch that gives you a view of hiker’s coming into town.
Mountain Home BnB (VA): this BnB caters to thru-hikers and other tourists as well. It is less than a five minute walk off the trail, and has all the typical AT amenities – laundry, loaner clothes, showers, etc. We stayed in the shared cabin which sleeps two upstairs, two downstairs, has a shared bathroom and kitchen. The owners are a married couple and they bend over backwards to take their guests into and out of town, and give you a full tour of what Front Royal has to offer before dropping you off. The BnB itself is a beautiful, architecturally historic southern-style white building, that they have lovingly refurbished.
Bonus: when you first arrive you are welcomed with an incredibly refreshing beverage -homemade limeade or lemonade. The breakfast is here is also one of the best I had on trail. Visit the Beer Museum in town, and if you’re lucky, Kim will be working behind the bar (yes, at the museum!)
Angels Rest Hostel (VA): this is a traditional AT hostel. It used to be a caravan park, and has been given over completely to helping AT hikers. There is a very spacious bunkhouse, multiple shower and bathrooms (and a spare porta-potty or two). Down behind the bunkhouse is a hikers kitchen, with all the basics. There is also a double wide trailer that offers a private room with it’s own bathroom, a living room with couch and TV, and a full-service kitchen. Tables and hammocks are scattered around the yard, and a grocery store is a five minute walk away.
Bonus: the town of Pearisburg isn’t very big, but everything is in walking distance. This means the grocery store, the Mexican restaurant, fast food options, fantastic coffee cafe, CVS pharmacy and a decently stocked outfitters are all convenient. They offer a “Triple Zero” badge, as many hikers wind up staying an extra day or two.
Quarterway Inn (VA): this was probably my favorite hostel – the location, atmosphere and breakfast were all fantastic. The dorms upstairs can house about 15 hikers, with two ‘private rooms’ separated by a curtain from the main dorm. There is also a full private room with a bed and a door, next to the upstairs bathroom. Downstairs is a large living room full of gaes, books and musical instruments. The hiker kitchen has a pizza oven and microwave, just enough to feed hungry hikers. There is no nearby town, but they keep enough on hand at the in-house resupply store & fridge. It’s 3/4 of a mile off the trail, in a rural part of Southern Virginia. The owners are very welcoming, and breakfast is hearty and healthy. A beautiful front porch with rocking chairs, and an enormous sycamore with hammocks completes the relaxing vibe.
Bonus: Tina, the owner, is the creator of the famous Appalachian trail necklace. An excelelnt souvenuir of the trail.
Around the Bend (GA): for many hikers this is one of the first hostels they stay at. It is close to Clayton and Hiawassee, with free shuttles into town as well as pick-up and drop-off from the trail. Another family style hostel, the dorms here are 4-6 twin beds in a room. A separate building has two private rooms that share a shower. In the main house, there are two bathrooms and a full kitchen for hikers who head to town, rather than having a frozen pizza. A living room with enormous picture windows looks out over the property, and there is a large firepit in the back that the staff will light up every night.
Bonus: there is a very well-stocked resupply here, with wide variety of food as well as gear. Gordon the owner is knowledgable and passion about his products and doesn’t gouge the AT hiker the way some larger in-town outfitters do.
And there you have it. For short descriptions on the rest of the hostels we stayed at, follow this link:
Dancing along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, the Smoky mountains dominate the landscape. A perpetual fog hovers above them, which is how they got their name. It’s one of the most visited national parks, and as such, we needed a permit for hiking and were only allowed to camp at designated sites. The shelters were quite busy, as all the hikers bunched up.
The trail goes along the ridge, and the change is immediately noticeable. Instead of sleeping wintery maple trees, we were walking through pine forests and beech trees. The ground underfoot became rockier and a carpet of delicate white flowers bloomed on the ground. We started seeing deer in the early morning beside the trail.
Our mileage dropped off, as the climbs became more demanding and the trail showed more wear and tear, slowing our pace. Clingsmans Dome was a particularly challenging hike. The AT wound up to the top, where there was a sudden inundation of car tourists. An Observation tower built in the 1950’s provides a sweeping 360 degree view. When we got there, a fellow thru-hiker was sitting at the foot of the tower, he pointed us to the 200 mile mark and took our photo.
200 miles and the Observation Tower in the background
We camped that evening near a shelter that was deep in the pine woods at the foot of the Dome. There were hikers everywhere and the bear hang was quite full. I had a good laugh when I noticed that someone had decided to hang their entire pack, rather than just the food bags.
The next day we reached Newfound Gap, which is roughly halfway through the Smoky Mountains. Lots of hikers left from here to go into Gatlinburg for resupply and a rest. A surprisinng number of them never came back. The last few days had been challenging and very, very cold. Walking out of the gap, we were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery yet. A narrow trail went along the ridge with views to the east and west.
Hiking at 5900 feet
Our last night in the Smoky’s we arrived at Cosby Knob camp and were told a hiker who had arrived earlier had seen a bear come running down the trail, straight through camp. By the time we had pitched our tent, it was so busy that no one was too worried about bears.
It was a drizzly morning as we left the mountains, heading down to the Davenport Gap. Here we found more trail magic, on an epic scale. A church group from Tennessee was doing their once a year trail magic BBQ. There was a canopy set up to keep the rain off, camping chairs, and steak. After freezing cold days and many rehydrated meals, this was a real treat! And tomorrow, we would be in Hot Springs with a day off to relax.
After the zero day in Franklin, it was time to hit the trail again. Dan had scheduled three nights to reach the Smoky Mountains, where we would be hiking at our highest elevations so far. The days getting there had their own challenges.
First up was the hike to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) which the trail goes directly through. The descent down to the river valley was notoriously steep, with an actual, walk-in-the-door-off-the-trail, restaurant at the bottom. The weather forecast was not looking good, and many of the other hikers were planning to wait it out at the Wesser Bald shelter just before the descent.
We decided to push on rather than take a wait for the weather all day. The view from the top was a sweeping vista with mountains hovering on the horizon. At first, the trail dropped very steeply and suddenly along a narrow path. After the first half mile, it levelled out and became more reasonable.
Flamingo fabulous in retro caravan
That night we stayed at Gorgeous Stays; more than just a hostel, the owner Elena has taken several forms of transportation and turned each into a camper with it’s own theme. There’s a red double decker bus with a Harry Potter theme, a small caravan with flamingo’s, a canine cabin, and several more. Laundry, loaner clothes, and small self-serve kitchen were available.
The next day the storm hit, and the other hikers at Gorgeous stays took a break from walking. Except Dan, he went out into the storm and made the arduous climb out of NOC. I chose to linger in our flamingo themed caravan and wash some laundry. When I joined him after the rain, it was still misty and mysterious, but no longer pouring rain.
We continued on towards Fontana Dam. The shelter on the lake there is known as ‘The Hilton’ because it is more protected from the eements, has hot showers, and a great view of the lake. If it were a real Hilton, the view alone would be worth an extra 100 dollars.
‘Fontana Hilton’ on the lake
As we were packing up our tent and heading to the Next Big Climb (4200 feet over 11 miles) we realised it was Easter Sunday. The climb from Fontana Dam to the Mollies Ridge Shelter is the first real haul – but worth every step. As we climber higher the lake spread out below us sparkling in the bright spring sun.
When we got to Mollies Dan and I found the busiest shelter we seen since Hawks Shelter, with easily 20 people. A lot had taken 1 or even 2 days off, waiting for the weather to improve, so it had created a bubble of hikers. Everyone was in a good mood – it had been a beautiful sunny day, and we had entered the Smokies!
