Oats on the Appalachian High Route
Note: This article was originally published on The Trek and can be found here.
I was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve seen more than 4 bears at a time cross the lawn of my childhood home, I serenaded dimly-lit parents on my clarinet at AC Reynolds Middle and High School, and I even streaked and dropped acid (on rocks!) in the geology classrooms of UNC-Asheville. Though I’m now a Texan and reside in the music capital of the world, western North Carolina will always be my quirky mountain home.
Because of my deep mountain roots and frequent homesickness, you can imagine my excitement when Jennifer Pharr Davis announced the completion of the Appalachian High Route – a peak-bagger’s dream that ran 2 miles from my father’s house.
I’ll begin tackling this route in the next two weeks and plan on publishing a trip report daily here on The Trek. Below are some resources I’ve pulled together for my hike and my notes on preparing for this adventure.
The Basics
The Appalachian High Route is a loop that runs approximately 350 miles southwest and begins in the town of Burnsville, a mountain community 40-minutes from Asheville that I’ve startlingly never visited before. From Burnsville’s Main Street, the trail follows the Burnsville Connector to the strenuous Black Mountain Crest Trail that stretches to the highest peak on the east coast, Mount Mitchell. The trail then continues on to the Mountain to Sea Trail for ~155 miles southwest into the Great Smokey Mountains. There, connects with the Appalachian Trail just east of Clingman’s Dome. The route sticks to the AT for ~135 miles until meeting the Burnsville Connector once more, comprised of various road walks and other local trails – and completing the loop back on Main Street.
Peak Bagging
An optional challenge for hikers tackling this route is to bag all the peaks over 6,000 feet that are reachable from the trail – even by means of bushwhacking or up to 17 mile detours. I will be attempting to summit all of them. The two official lists I’ve cross-referenced are the Carolina Mountain Club’s South Beyond 6000K Challenge and Peak Bagger’s Ranked Southern Appalachian 6000-foot Peaks. All of the peaks in order of encounter on the trail and distance from the AHR can be viewed on the “6000 Footer” sheet of my Itinerary and on the CalTopo Map I’ve assembled.
Due to dogs not being allowed in the GSMNP, Thru the husky will have to man the couch back home for this adventure.
Permits and Camping Restrictions
I remember a bit of esoteric knowledge from my time on the AT, and that was that the GSMNP offered a special deal for thru-hikers; an AT Thru-Hiker Permit enabled holders to not have to declare their shelters and campsites in advance, provided they began and ended their hike at least 50 miles outside the boundary of the park. I was in business! Until I went to book and saw the other stipulation – remaining on the AT the entirety of your time in the park. Knowing I’d be on the Mountain to Sea Trail at least one night, I’ve finished sorting out the logistics of declaring my campsites in advance.
The Mountain to Sea Trail follows the Blue Ridge Parkway for a significant number of miles and therefore doesn’t allow camping along much of the trail. The Friends of the Mountain to Sea Trail offers trail guides that I found immensely helpful in my planning. FarOut Guides would be my faithful companion on the Appalachian Trail section, and CalTopo would take me home on the Burnsville Connector and Black Mountain Crest Trail.
Food Protection, Worth the Weight
In my final week of preparation, I made an important decision that took my carefully-planned yet budget-unfriendly pack to a weight I was begrudgingly proud of at best but I know is worth every ounce: I am opting to carry a bear canister. I carried a bear canister the first half of my 2019 AT thru-hike and always slept well knowing myself and my food were secure, not to mention the rapidly increasing number of bear-human conflicts on the Appalachian Trail. Sure the weight is a burden, but I’m willing to bear it.