Appalachian Trail 2024, Days 30-32: Spring Mountain Shelter to Sams Gap

The final part of this Appalachian Trail section hike takes me from a rainy night at Spring Mountain Shelter, over the incredible views at Blackstack Cliffs, past the mile 300 marker, and into Sams Gap — where knee pain ended up cutting the trip a little shorter than planned. Watch here!

A Wet Start

Spring Mountain Shelter turned out to be an old one, built right on the trail the way they did back in the 1940s and 50s, and my camp spot had just enough slope that I spent the night slowly sliding downhill. It rained for most of the night, mostly light but with a few real downpours and some thunder mixed in. By morning it had eased into on-and-off sprinkles, with more thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon. Muddy gear, wet gear, but everything that needed to stay dry did — and the plan was nine miles to the next shelter.

After crossing Highway 70 at Allen Gap and stopping for a Lara bar and water break, I hit one of the better surprises of the trail: the Southern Cookie Lady. She bakes cookies for hikers — the first one free, with a donation welcome for more — and offers water and a place to dump trash along with good conversation. Right around there I also debuted my new piece of gear: an eight-dollar red Dollar General umbrella, ridiculous looking but a great weight and a 38-inch spread that actually helped dry my tent out in a patch of afternoon sun.

Little Laurel to Mile 300

I stayed that night at Little Laurel Shelter, mile 295, a stone-and-concrete structure I actually liked better than most, sharing it with three other hikers including a notable snorer named Otis. The next day was a quieter one views-wise — mostly just walking in the woods — and I started hearing chatter from thru-hikers who were considering quitting. Cold, damp, low-visibility days like that can really wear on people.

But the weather cleared up fast, and the terrain turned rocky and dramatic along Howard's Ridge, with standout views from White Rock Cliff and a short side trail out to Blackstack Cliffs — probably the best views of the whole section. Right around there I crossed the mile 300 marker, which felt like a nice echo of mile 100 back at the Albert Mountain Fire Tower on a previous section — both spots where the trail rewarded a stretch of rough weather with a big payoff.

Knee Trouble and a Decision at Sams Gap

About halfway through the next day, some old knee bursitis started flaring up in my right knee. I pushed on to Jerry's Cabin Shelter, another handsome stone structure with a fireplace, took some ibuprofen, and kept going toward Flint Mountain Shelter, where one of the hikers I'd been leapfrogging with, Angela, led a little impromptu acro yoga session before we headed out the next morning.

The knee didn't improve, though, even with ibuprofen morning and night, and by the next day I could see actual swelling behind the kneecap. With more rain in the forecast and no real need to force the remaining miles, I made the call to cut the trip short at Sams Gap, mile 320, rather than risk turning a minor issue into a real injury. Amy from Nature's Inn Hostel and Cabins shuttled me in, and it was there, settling into a cozy creekside cabin, that I picked up my trail name: Gator.

Looking back on the whole section, the first couple of nights dipped to 45 degrees before warming into the fifties, and I got roughly 36 hours of rain total — enough to keep things damp but never a real washout. The views mostly lined up when I needed them to, and the best part might have been the company: leapfrogging with fellow thru-hikers Angela and Rose from the Max Patch area all the way through Hot Springs made for a lot of laughs along the way. A knee injury wasn't the ending I planned, but nearly 80 miles, a trail name, and a stretch of trail this good is still a trip worth remembering.