Detours and Dead Trees (Day 34)

At 8:30 am, a group of hikers boarded Uncle Johnny’s ferry. Originally, the AT ran right by the lodge and crossed the Nolichucky River via a bridge. But since Hurricane Helene destroyed the bridge, ATC has created a 3.6-mile passable detour around the river. This detour doesn’t count toward the AT’s 2,197 miles in 2026, so many hikers have been looking for ways to avoid it.

coffee stop

The ferry agreed to drop us off on the other side of the river for a small fee. Our driver also kindly agreed to make a stop at Steel Rails Coffee House on our way. A vanilla latte later, they put me back on the trail. Today was a warm and sunny day, for my taste. Someone had warned me that the climbs from Erwin, Tennessee, would be difficult. But overall, I found it pretty manageable.

Highlights

There were a few highlights of today’s walk, one of which was the beautiful location, a grassy bald spot. It wasn’t as big as Max Patch or Big Bald, but it still would have been a great camping spot. We were also greeted with the magic of the trails at Indian Grave Gap: sweet tea, lemonade, and fruit.

Summit without views

I was originally planning to end today’s hike at the southern end of the Hurricane Helene track. It’s a 5.8-mile detour around a storm-damaged trail. There are supposed to be some campsites and water sources in the first mile. At lunch time, some friends and I decided to stop 2 miles early and camp at the top of Unaka Mountain. This way, we could see both the sunset and the sunrise at the top.

There was no water source at the top, so we rode a camel to the bottom of the mountain and carried a full 2 ​​liters each on the climb. It definitely slowed down the hike a bit. There were a few campsites at the top, but we quickly realized there would be no sunset or sunrise to see. The trees blocked the view completely.

We decided to stop anyway and a group of us set up our tents. I tried to pick the best spot I could, but there are dead trees everywhere from the storm. I woke up in the middle of the night with the wind blowing and branches rustling around me. Thoughts of falling trees ran through my head for two hours before I finally fell back asleep.

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