Appalachian Trail 2024, Days 25-26: Standing Bear Hostel to Roaring Fork Shelter

After two and a half years away, I finally got back on the Appalachian Trail for another section hike. This trip picks up at Standing Bear Farm and Hostel and pushes toward Erwin, Tennessee, with a stop at one of my favorite balds on the whole trail: Max Patch. Watch here!

Getting Back on Trail

It had been two and a half years since I'd set foot on the AT, last hiking back in October of 2021. This time around I flew into the Asheville airport and got a shuttle from Maria at Standing Bear Farm and Hostel, picked up a fuel canister, and by around 7pm I was finally back on trail. The plan for this section was 100 miles, from Standing Bear all the way to Erwin, Tennessee, with stops to see Max Patch, walk into Hot Springs for some town food, and roll into Erwin to see Uncle Johnny's hostel.

The late start meant a short first evening, just about two and a half miles to a campsite at Painter Branch. I found a spot with a bit too much slope to it, but it worked. It was chilly overnight and I kept adding layers to my 36-degree bag. Two and a half years off trail, plus the fact that a Grand Canyon hike back in 2022 doesn't exactly prepare you for backpacking fitness, meant I was definitely feeling out of practice.

Snowbird Mountain and the FAA Tower

The next morning I climbed up to Spanish Oak Gap, where the trail meets an old road bed, and continued on toward the FAA tower on top of Snowbird Mountain. Along the way I passed a guy at camp who told me the Smokies had been brutal the week before — hail, rain, high winds, and thru-hikers dropping out because of the weather. I only saw about ten people at Standing Bear before heading out, and had the trail mostly to myself all morning. From the top of Snowbird, with the FAA tower behind me, I got a nice 360-degree view out toward the Smokies.

Coming down off the mountain, the Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron were just starting to bud, with a few early bloomers scattered in. I stopped for lunch at Deep Gap, elevation 2,850 feet, then passed the junction with the Cherry Creek Trail as the weather turned genuinely beautiful — sixties, a nice breeze, and mostly clear skies.

Max Patch

The talk on trail that day was all about the Aurora Borealis, which had apparently shown up the night before and might make another appearance. That, combined with a sunset from Max Patch, had me pretty excited for the evening. I'd actually been to Max Patch before, years earlier on a summer trip with my son Kendall and my brother-in-law Todd, so it was special to walk back in as part of this section hike.

Climbing up onto the bald, the views just kept opening up in every direction. I stopped to cook an early dinner around 4:30, taking in the 360-degree panorama while my food cooked. In the end, the wind up on the bald was strong enough that I decided against camping there for a chance at the sunset or the Aurora, and instead pushed on toward the Roaring Fork Shelter to get out of the wind for the night. After a cold first night in camp, staying warm won out over staying for the show.