then to the Jumpoff yesterday. At 9 miles total and 1650 elevation gain it's a moderate hike. My oldest daughters feet were bleeding from new hiking boots. The thing that kept us chugging on was the thought of a roast, potatoes, carrots, and Mushrooms, we put in the crockpot before we left. The hike itself is just average AT trail at first. Its one of those trails where the hard earned early elevations gains in the first couple of miles are negated by a downhill the second 2 miles... Its one of those hikes your parents told you about, "uphill both ways".
You eventually wind up on the spine of the mtn with TN on one side and NC on the other, and both sides full of yummy blackberries. There is also ALOT of wild Cherries up here and plenty of very large piles of scat loaded with cherries on the trail....
Near the Bunion you will walk through an old growth forrest of mostly some kind of Fir (not Fraser). The Bunion is an amazing place that you gota see to appreciate. It's neat to watch the fast moving clouds as they bring weather changes seemingly every few minutes. All in all it's a pretty tough hike. There is a water supply near the Icewater AT shelter. I'd recommend bringing a filter or UV light to resupply your water. We thought we had plenty but ran out about a mile before the end of the trail. Could have drank alot more if we had it... The humidity was rough and we all were all sweating alot.
There was a young couple in front of us that got engaged on the Bunion. Good work buddy!
Things to bring on this hike.
Camera
Sweat rag!!!
Water filter
Good boots
Plenty of trail food.