26 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL - TENNESSEE - Sección 14.2 - De Hot Springs, North Carolina, a Rich Mountain y Spring Mountain Shelter
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 10.08 mi
- Elevation gain
- 4,042 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 1,837 ft
- Max elevation
- 3,603 ft
- TrailRank
- 68
- Min elevation
- 1,307 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Coordinates
- 1469
- Uploaded
- January 18, 2017
- Recorded
- January 2017
near Hot Springs, North Carolina (United States)
Viewed 492 times, downloaded 15 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Stage 26
⇐ Link to previous stage: 25 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL - TENNESSEE - Section 15.1 - From Walnut Mountain Shelter to Bluff Mountain and Spring Creek, Hot Springs
⇒ Link to the next stage: 27 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL - TENNESSEE - Section 14.1 and 13.3 - From Spring Mountain Shelter to Allen Gap and Little Laurel Shelter
Tour of the Appalachian Trail ( Appalachian Trail ), as it passes through the states of North Carolina and Tennessee (United States), in a direction from south to north, in the area located between the Pisgah National Forest (2,075 km2 of protected forest , in western North Carolina) and the Cherokee National Forest (2,653 km2 of forest, in eastern Tennessee).
The stage starts from the town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, on the banks of the French Broad River, and runs uphill towards the peaks of Rich Mountain and Spring Mountain, corresponding to section 14.2 of the trail, according to the distribution official stages in the state of Tennessee, although for much of the journey, the Appalachian Trail follows the border line between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The town of Hot Springs , located in North Carolina, is one of the mandatory references along the Appalachian Trail, not only because the trail passes through the very center of the town, but also because to a large extent, a part of its tourism sector, of hospitality and services, which has a well-known reputation as a hot springs spa (which gives the place its name), is focused on the logistics and provisioning of the Appalachian Trail, with support for the thousands of hikers who travel it annually: stores , shelters, restaurants, cafeterias, laundromats and shuttle services to different parts of the trail, constitute essential services for all hikers who arrive in Hot Springs, a city that is proud to present itself as a "friend" of the Appalachian Trail.
For a short stretch, the AT runs along the banks of the French Broad River
The first kilometer and a half of the route runs at the level of the French Broad River, first along Bridge Street, and then after crossing the railway and the bridge over the river, along the same bank of the river, but soon a continuous climb that leads to Lovers Leap Rock (1,820 feet) from where you can see a beautiful view of Hot Springs and the river.
Climbing towards Lovers Leap Ridge. Panoramic view
During the rest of the stage, the trail alternates fairly flat sections with gentle hills that offer few emotions, highlighting the ascent with an unevenness of about 1,300 feet from the intersection of the AT with route US-25 / 70, in Taryard Gap (2,278 feet ), to the top of Rich Mountain (3,643 feet), which can be accessed by a short side detour of just 200 meters.
At the top of Rich Mountain there is an old forest watchtower, currently used as a privileged viewpoint, which on clear days (this was not the case, since there was a lot of fog) allows you to contemplate a stupendous view of the Great Smoky Mountains, from from Mt. Cammerer to Mt. Guyot, and from the Black Mountains, including Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
From this point, the trail descends rapidly for a mile and a half to Hurricane Gap, then gradually climbs again for a further two miles up the slope of Spring Mountain (3,700 feet), at the highest and least Sheltered is the Spring Mountain Shelter , a small shelter, poorly built and poorly maintained. We will spend the night there this cold, rainy and foggy night, with the only company of a large family of little mice, who did not seem intimidated by our presence in the least.
Due to continuous GPS failures, on a very rainy and foggy day, and several temporary deviations, the stage profile graph, altitude, slopes and route layout do not correspond faithfully to those published, and at the time they did not we were able to correct them.
Luckily, with the collaboration of our colleague Arturo Ciorraga , we have now made the appropriate corrections, which can be consulted and downloaded here , and in the compilation of Tennessee stages, which we will publish soon.
PPI Index: 83 HKG
Total distance: 17.15 km
Desn. cumulative ascent: 1115.19 m
Desn. cumulative descent: 442.36 m
Maximum height: 1083.1 m
Minimum height: 400.72 m
Total time: 8:25:59 h
Moving time: 6:35:29 h
Stopped time: not stated
Total average speed: not stated
Average moving speed: not stated
IBP index. IBP index is an automatic assessment system that rates the difficulty of a route traveled
⇐ Link to previous stage: 25 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL - TENNESSEE - Section 15.1 - From Walnut Mountain Shelter to Bluff Mountain and Spring Creek, Hot Springs
⇒ Link to the next stage: 27 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL - TENNESSEE - Section 14.1 and 13.3 - From Spring Mountain Shelter to Allen Gap and Little Laurel Shelter
Tour of the Appalachian Trail ( Appalachian Trail ), as it passes through the states of North Carolina and Tennessee (United States), in a direction from south to north, in the area located between the Pisgah National Forest (2,075 km2 of protected forest , in western North Carolina) and the Cherokee National Forest (2,653 km2 of forest, in eastern Tennessee).
The stage starts from the town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, on the banks of the French Broad River, and runs uphill towards the peaks of Rich Mountain and Spring Mountain, corresponding to section 14.2 of the trail, according to the distribution official stages in the state of Tennessee, although for much of the journey, the Appalachian Trail follows the border line between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The town of Hot Springs , located in North Carolina, is one of the mandatory references along the Appalachian Trail, not only because the trail passes through the very center of the town, but also because to a large extent, a part of its tourism sector, of hospitality and services, which has a well-known reputation as a hot springs spa (which gives the place its name), is focused on the logistics and provisioning of the Appalachian Trail, with support for the thousands of hikers who travel it annually: stores , shelters, restaurants, cafeterias, laundromats and shuttle services to different parts of the trail, constitute essential services for all hikers who arrive in Hot Springs, a city that is proud to present itself as a "friend" of the Appalachian Trail.
For a short stretch, the AT runs along the banks of the French Broad River
The first kilometer and a half of the route runs at the level of the French Broad River, first along Bridge Street, and then after crossing the railway and the bridge over the river, along the same bank of the river, but soon a continuous climb that leads to Lovers Leap Rock (1,820 feet) from where you can see a beautiful view of Hot Springs and the river.
Climbing towards Lovers Leap Ridge. Panoramic view
During the rest of the stage, the trail alternates fairly flat sections with gentle hills that offer few emotions, highlighting the ascent with an unevenness of about 1,300 feet from the intersection of the AT with route US-25 / 70, in Taryard Gap (2,278 feet ), to the top of Rich Mountain (3,643 feet), which can be accessed by a short side detour of just 200 meters.
At the top of Rich Mountain there is an old forest watchtower, currently used as a privileged viewpoint, which on clear days (this was not the case, since there was a lot of fog) allows you to contemplate a stupendous view of the Great Smoky Mountains, from from Mt. Cammerer to Mt. Guyot, and from the Black Mountains, including Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
From this point, the trail descends rapidly for a mile and a half to Hurricane Gap, then gradually climbs again for a further two miles up the slope of Spring Mountain (3,700 feet), at the highest and least Sheltered is the Spring Mountain Shelter , a small shelter, poorly built and poorly maintained. We will spend the night there this cold, rainy and foggy night, with the only company of a large family of little mice, who did not seem intimidated by our presence in the least.
Due to continuous GPS failures, on a very rainy and foggy day, and several temporary deviations, the stage profile graph, altitude, slopes and route layout do not correspond faithfully to those published, and at the time they did not we were able to correct them.
Luckily, with the collaboration of our colleague Arturo Ciorraga , we have now made the appropriate corrections, which can be consulted and downloaded here , and in the compilation of Tennessee stages, which we will publish soon.
PPI Index: 83 HKG
Total distance: 17.15 km
Desn. cumulative ascent: 1115.19 m
Desn. cumulative descent: 442.36 m
Maximum height: 1083.1 m
Minimum height: 400.72 m
Total time: 8:25:59 h
Moving time: 6:35:29 h
Stopped time: not stated
Total average speed: not stated
Average moving speed: not stated
IBP index. IBP index is an automatic assessment system that rates the difficulty of a route traveled
Waypoints
Photo
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Hot Springs, North Carolina. Centro de la localidad
Hot Springs, North Carolina. Centro de la localidad
River
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Hot Springs, North Carolina. Vista desde el puente sobre el French Broad River
Hot Springs, North Carolina. View from the bridge over the French Broad River
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River
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Durante un corto tramo, el AT discurre a las orillas del French Broad River
For a short stretch, the AT runs along the banks of the French Broad River
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Panorama
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Subiendo hacia Lovers Leap Ridge. Vista panorámica.
Subiendo hacia Lovers Leap Ridge. Vista panorámica.
Intersection
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Tanyard Gap. Intersección del AT con la carretera US25 - US70. Inicio de la subida hacia la cima de Rich Mountain
Tanyard Gap. Intersection of the AT with highway US25 - US70. Start of the climb to the top of Rich Mountain
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Intersection
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Subida hacia la cima de Rich Mountain e intersección con el Roundtop Ridge Trail
Climb to the top of Rich Mountain and intersection with the Roundtop Ridge Trail
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Intersection
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Desvío hacia la torre de observación situada en la cima de Rich Mountain. Sin visibilidad a causa de la niebla.
Deviation towards the observation tower located on the top of Rich Mountain. No visibility because of the fog.
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Intersection
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Intersección del sendero con la carretera forestal Rich Mountain Lookoud Road - FS 467A, poco antes de Hurrican Gap
Trail intersection with Rich Mountain Lookoud Road - FS 467A, just before Hurricane Gap
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Wilderness hut
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