Post Smokies

9/26/26

8.6 miles; Cabin The Woods Hostel

We slept in a bit, as we had plenty of time, and mice woke us up several times, as they chewed on the shelter walls. Epic left first, hell bent on increasing his bear sightings count. Unfortunately there were no bears to be seen. Later, before I caught up to him, an unleashed dog scared the living crap out of him, before the owner corralled it. FYI – dogs are supposed to be leashed at all times!

I caught up soon afterwards. We had a decent view or two, before arriving at Stecoah Gap. Craig, owner of the Cabin In The Woods Hostel picked us up. We then headed to Robbinsville for resupply and lunch (smash burgers & fries!).

Back at the hostel, town chores ensued. Dinner was fried chicken (grocery store). We watched college football, then called it a night.

9/27/26

14.7 miles; Rufus Morgan Shelter

I had a delicious breakfast burrito & fresh ground coffee, prepared by Craig this morning. He & I & Epic chatted for a while, before he shuttled us back to the trail. It was a beautiful & cool morning, perfect hiking conditions, except for the 5+ miles of fairly steep uphill to start our day.

Following that fun, we hit the top and had nice views at Cheoah Bald. Then the mostly downhill to the NOC began…gosh, that was wonderful! The NOC is the Nantahala Outdoor Center, mainly focused on kayaking on the Nantahala River, but also caters to AT hikers. We stopped for smash burgers and Mac & cheese, and maybe a beer (me), for about 2-3 hours. It was heaven. We have decided that these last 10 days or so are our “victory lap”, and we are ok with slowing down and enjoying the trail just a bit more. It is a bit strange, since we have grown accustomed to bigger miles, and 14-15 miles a day seems like a walk in the park. 

Anyhoo, we then hiked about 0.9 miles (uphill) to the Rufus Morgan Shelter and called it a day after about 15 miles.

9/28/26

18.3 miles; tent site @ 2080.1 miles 

Boy, the mornings have been chilly lately. It is getting tough to roll out of my tent, in the cold & dark. I cannot imagine being a SOBO, still hiking in November…brrr!

Anyhoo, Epic was out of camp before me, as usual, trying to increase his bear count. I caught up within 2+ miles, as we both continued ascending the first 3-4 miles…good way to warm up. After a while we hiked up to Wesser Bald, with a spur trail to an older Forest Service fire tower. At the top, we enjoyed great views as we snacked in the sunshine.

We pressed on and had some nice views along the way, including Rocky Bald, where we chatted with a nice couple. Then it was onward towards our destination at Wayah Shelter, but we decided to go a bit further. That was a good call, since we then got to Wayah Bald, with an impressive stone lookout tower with amazing views.

A mere 2 miles later, we arrived at Wine Spring Camp, a nice tent site with a spring close by. A hiker cannot ask for more! We may try to visit Franklin, NC tomorrow, for burgers and fuel canisters, since I forgot to buy one the other day, ugh.

9/29/26

20.4 miles; Betty Gap tent site 

Well, it is official, we have less than 100 miles to go, before finishing at Springer Mountain in Georgia! We originally intended on hiking about 16 miles today, but ended up walking 20+.

The first 8 miles or so were pretty cruisy and before we knew it, we were at Winding Stairway Gap. This is where we would have shuttled into Franklin, NC, but we decided to pass and press on.

At 11 miles in, we took a break at Rock Gap Shelter, where it was agreed that we would try to go 20 miles or so. Our 2100-ish mile trail legs are so used to the miles now, that shorter days find us at camp too early. We hiked 6+ more miles to the top of Albert Mountain, the unofficial 100 mile mark for NOBO hikers, or 2100 for those going south (us). On the mountain top stands another US Forest Service fire tower, where we took a few celebratory and wonderful view photos.

Then it was a mere 2.4 miles down to Betty Gap, where there were many camping spots to choose from. We played some tunes (camp dance party) while we set up, ate and hit the hay. Another great day on the AT…we have so few remaining.

9/30/26

19.0 miles; Bly Gap campsite

Last day of September & last day in North Carolina 

Epic and I are camping tonight a mere 0.1 miles from the Georgia state line! We will step into the Peach State first thing in the morning; our 14th and last state on the AT…woohoo! I can hardly believe it.

Today was another beautiful day; it started chilly, but warmed up just enough for great hiking conditions. We hiked along without too much trouble, and eventually reached Standing Indian Mountain at about 10 miles in. It had wonderful views and photos ensued.

As we looked down on a small parking lot, at Deep Gap (?), I commented that there was another hiker down there. Epic said that it looked like Mary, girlfriend of his trail buddy, Jerrod. As it turned out, it was indeed Mary, and she was waiting for us with trail magic! She explained that Jerrod told her we should be passing by there today. Mary cooked hotdogs and had chips & drinks too. What a great surprise! We are hoping that Jerrod catches up to us, so that we can walk across the “finish line” with him as well. FYI, Jerrod & Mary are fellow New Yorkers, and live less than an hour from me…small world.

After all that fun, Epic and I still made it to our intended destination, Bly Gap, albeit a bit later than desired, but it was well worth it! We have 9 miles to hike in the morning to get to Stanimals Hostel.

Hike on! Acorn