Day 20

Having done a different route in 2020, I forgot how much uphill we'd have today!

In 2020, we never went into Newport, going straight through the smokies and into Hot Springs instead. When in town, we stayed at the Alpine court, eating dinner the night before, and breakfast the same day we walked out of town. 

This time, things were a little different. The Alpine court was closed, which resulted in us walking .5 out of town and camping on the river, and not going back into town for breakfast. We also only went 13 miles out of town in 2020 I believe. 

With this is mind, we had plenty of time to do the 21.5 miles we had planned -- or so I thought.

Once you finish the half mile river walk, which is where we camped, you immediately go 1000 feet up. The views in this section are pretty nice, as you're still listening, but now viewing, the French broad twist and turn in the valley below. 

From there, you have some minor ups and downs for the next few miles, until you start going up rich mountain. Surprisingly, there had either been a controlled burn, or and actual fire on rich mountain, which resulted in an almost western feel. 

After we summited rich, we set up for lunch next to a small stream, took lunch, and enjoyed the warm afternoon sun. We only had a couple thru hikers pass us and one in particular we'll certainly see more of. His name is Chase, both in real life and on the trail. He started on the 23rd, but hadn't taken any zero's yet. Since we're pacing just about the same, I'd expect that we'll continue to bump into each other at least until Virginia.

After we left our lunch spot, our day was spent descending rich mountain, and then ascending viking mountain and firescald mountain, which was one heck of a climb. Having already gone 5,000 feet up, climbing 2,000 more feet in the last couple miles was no joke. 

Also, when we got to where we wanted to camp, the spot was being used by day hikers. So, we scouted around, checked out the side trail to Jones Meadows, and setup camp on a fairly comfortable and even long forgotten logging road. With it being 7:30 already, we weren't looking to go much farther. 

As I'm writing this the morning after yesterday, today, we will hit the 300 mile marker. In fact, we should hit it within the first hour or so of our hike. And by the time that we get off for a zero in Banner Elk, we'll be right before the 400 mile mark too -- feels good to be making progress. 

Daily recap:

Total miles: 21.5

From mile marker 276.1 to 297.6

From the french broad river to Jones meadow

High temp: 65 and sun

Low temp (morning): 30 to 35

Low temp (tonight): 40

Ascent: 7,044 feet

Descent: 3,940 feet

Thanks for following along.

Tyler M.