Watauga Lake and the Iron Mountain Ridge. The 2nd Day on the AT 2015

The second day began with clouds and fog and lots of moisture in the air. Our gear stayed dry for the most part by covering it before sleeping with the potential of rain. Most anytime I go hiking for more than about 4 mls in the Southern Appalachian mountains I bring some raingear. We also hung some stuff out to dry before we started this days walk.

Had we been farther into the day or had we been out for a few days at this point we would likely have stopped just a few miles into this days hike at the Shook Branch Recreation Area; located on Watauga Lake, with bathrooms, picnic tables and a swimming area, it would make a great stop for a bath/swim and to clean your pack etc... Even early into this days hike it looked quite inviting.

Just past this area we crossed over the dam entered into a beautiful forest with the lake to our right and a steady climb up along the side of Iron Mountain.

This section of the AT, from US 321 to Wilbur Dam Rd. (approx. 4 miles), which includes the Watauga Lake Shelter, is to be used for hiking only until December of 2015, due to bear activity. Follow this link to our friends at the ATC for more details: There was plenty of water along the way and any time I was running low it was because I was trying to keep up with The Mysterious One, or was to lazy to take off my pack and refill my nalgenes. Our intentions were to utilize the shelters as we could but there was a "church affiliated backpacking event" of some sort happening on this section of the AT, and the second and third nights out the shelters were full and overflowing so we utilized the tent all three nights out. This was fine as we had time to hang dry the tent to rid it of any moisture it collected and after that first nights downpours there was no precipitation of any consequence. This section of trail was dotted with; as was much of the four days, rhododendron in bloom as well as other native flowering plants.

When I arrived near the Vandeventer Shelter and found it full, The Mysterious One had already located the water source and a campsite off the trail and down a steep spur towards the water, which was down even farther from this campsite on a steep spur. I'd say from the shelter to the water was like a quarter mile+-. Getting to it is easy with gravity pulling you down the steep, sometimes tricky stepping trail. However the return trip up the steep mountainside could be unpleasant after a long days hike so I'd suggest you bring all your water containers with you as this is not a chore you'll want to do frequently while camping at the Vandeventer Shelter. We set up camp, got a small fire going and enjoyed the moments. This day on the AT was moderate to difficult, depending on your condition and preparation, with a over 12 mls hiked and an elevation gain of more than 2000'.